The U.S. Office of Civil Rights Resolution Agreement on Covid-19 Services with the LAUSD
If your special education student was not provided with the free appropriate public education (FAPE) services by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) during the Covid-19 school shutdown, your child is entitled to receive compensatory services, according to the Resolution Agreement signed by the district.
The LAUSD reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to implement a plan to address issues arising from the district’s failure to deliver FAPE during the pandemic period.
By signing the Resolution Agreement, the LAUSD agrees to implement a plan that addresses their failure to meet the needs of students with disabilities and spells out how the district will provide compensatory action for every student who was denied services.
How the District Failed to Meet Student Needs
The OCR initiated their investigation on whether the district failed to provide FAPE to each qualified student with a disability during the pandemic period (March 17, 2022, through the end of the 2021-2022). Federal law requires the district to provide students with disabilities equal access to education under section 504 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973.
According to the Resolution Agreement, the district:
- Failed to accurately and sufficiently track services for students with disabilities
- Limited services based on criteria other than the students’ individual educational needs
- Failed to institute a plan to provide FAPE during remote learning
- Informed staff that the district was not responsible for providing compensatory services because the district was not at fault for school closures
The District Must Provide Compensatory Services
The LAUSD is responsible for providing the OCR with a plan that provides the following:
- Criteria for determining how students with disabilities did not receive appropriate services to meet their individual needs during the pandemic period
- Determines how compensatory education will be provided to students who did not receive FAPE during the pandemic period
- Stakeholder outreach to be provided to parents and guardians
- Staff training on the criteria and how the compensatory plan will be implemented
By signing the agreement, the district agrees to provide the OCR with quarterly reporting in spreadsheet format tracking all students with disabilities who will be receiving compensatory education and recoupment.
Quarterly compensatory data meetings with the OCR will include the plan administrator or their designee. On or before September 15, 2022, the district will provide the OCR with a template of the Welligent format that will be used to document data capturing the terms of the agreement.
Your Rights as a Special Education Parent or Guardian
To make sure all stakeholders are informed about the Resolution Agreement, the LAUSD must determine how compensatory services will be provided through IEP and 504 processes. The district will also provide updates and information about their duties under the Resolution Agreement in the following ways:
- A mailer/brochure will be distributed to stakeholders
- The district will create a portal with links to the plan
- Ten formal parent/guardian-attended public meetings will be held
We Serve Special Education Students in Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley
At Woodsmall Law Group, we serve children with special needs and their parents in Los Angeles County. We’ve been helping families for over 18 years.
If you have any concerns about how your child’s needs are being met under the terms of the OCR/LAUSD Resolution Agreement, please call a LAUSD special education lawyer at (626) 440-0028 to schedule a FREE initial consultation. We speak English and Spanish.