Chicago families: How is virtual special education going for your child?

Close up of a student’s hands typing on a laptop with grass in the background.
Chalkbeat is surveying Chicago parents of children with special needs to see how remote learning is going this fall. (Stacey Rupolo for Chalkbeat)

Many families of children with special needs have said school closures have shut their children out of vital resources that help them achieve in school and be independent. 

During the spring, districts were unsure how to provide services to special education students. In Chicago, students with special needs were left out of remote learning for a month, and many were unable to access services like speech-language pathology and occupational therapy until May. Other families didn’t receive services for the rest of the school year. 

This fall, officials have pledged to do better. Still, families wonder what that will look like.

Chalkbeat is interested in capturing the experiences of Chicago families over the next few months  to see how remote learning goes. We want to know if families have enough devices for students in their household, if the schedule works for families, and if children are able to work with school clinicians, therapists, and other specialists. 

Let us know your experiences below and feel free to reach out to us directly at chicago.tips@chalkbeat.org.

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