March 16, 2020
Dear Families,
With so many developments piling on daily, we feel the need to reach out because we are not just your attorneys - we care about your families and we know that you are dealing with so much right now. We will get through this challenge one step at a time. In the meantime, the health and safety of your families is paramount.
Over the weekend, many schools and outside related service providers have sent emails regarding remote learning, service cancellations, and other ways that COVID -19 is affecting educational programs. For those of you who have partnered with private and independent schools, most are moving to remote learning arrangements. While that may look different in terms of your daily lives, please make sure you discuss with us what your school is recommending so that we can address those changes, if appropriate. If we believe that the DOE needs to be informed and given appropriate notice regarding payment, changes in service delivery, or anything else, we want to be proactive, as these notices may impact your case.
Tonight the NYC Department of Education has decided to close the NYC DOE schools through at least April 20, 2020. This decision is aligned with countless private and independent schools have closed their bricks and mortar locations for the time being.
Closing a school, whether public or private is not an easy choice. No one wants to close a school even for a day or two. We have been in touch with a number of private schools and many schools are currently working on the following:
- How long and what remote learning will look like?
- What if a child receives a 1:1 education?
- How can behavioral interventions be implemented if school is closed?
- Will there be make up days/sessions and what will they look like and how long will they be effective?
- What about the 180 school day requirement?
- What will happen for students who are mandated to receive in-school related services?
- How are scheduled school breaks impacted?
- How if at all, will testing be implemented and how will that count towards admissions for middle or high school
- How, if at all, will graduation be impacted?
- How will school closures impact families’ work/life/childcare systems, depending on families’ employment situations and options.
As noted above, we care about you and your family beyond the attorney-client relationship. If you have any unique and pressing issues that go beyond educational questions, please reach out and we will do our best to assist or connect you to local resources that can assist.
We know you will continue to have many questions. Please continue to reach out to us with those questions and we will remain in touch and connected. Stay safe.
Your team at Mayerson and Associates