Testimony in Support of An Act Addressing the Needs of Students with Disabilities Turning 22 During the COVID-19 Emergency H.601 (Rep. Gentile), S.282 (Sen. Barrett)

MAC Senior Project Director Julia Landau presented the below testimony on July 6, 2021 before the Joint Committee on Education. Click here for a recording of her testimony (begins at 1:22:04)

My name is Julia Landau, and I am the Director of the Disability Education Justice Project at Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC). MAC’s mission is to remove barriers to educational and life opportunities for children and youth. We focus our advocacy on children and youth who face significant barriers, inequities, and/or discrimination because of their economic status, disability, race, ethnicity/culture, immigration status, English Learner status, and/or traumatic life experiences.

MAC Senior Project Director Julia Landau testifies at the Joint Committee on Education’s virtual hearing via Microsoft Teams. Click here for a recording of her testimony (begins at 1:22:04)

MAC strongly supports H.601/S.282 - An Act Addressing the Needs of Students with Disabilities Turning 22 During the COVID-19 Emergency. These bills help address the needs of students with disabilities who turned 22 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic and experienced significant interruptions in their access to necessary services at school and in the community. The legislation amends the special education circuit breaker statute to allow reimbursement for the cost of providing compensatory special education services for students who exited special education during the pandemic. School districts are already required to provide compensatory services to identified students of all ages who were unable to access services and make sufficient progress during the pandemic, (including those who turn 22). However, once students reach the age of 22, state circuit breaker funding is no longer available to help pay for the costs. Schools are left to rely on local and federal funding for these services.

For transition age youth with disabilities, their final years in school are vital for ensuring that they build the skills and partnerships necessary to work and live in the community as independently as possible once they transition from their schooling. This transition period can be both frightening and exciting, as students prepare to exit from special education. Federal education law specifically requires IEP Teams to include the provision of transition services for older youth with disabilities. Transition services can include learning experiences in the community, job training, development of daily living skills, and other specialized instruction and services related to post-secondary education, employment, and independent living. Schools actively work to support older youth by providing special education services within both the school and community.

With sufficient services and support, youth with disabilities have the potential to gain essential skills that many of us may take for granted. Congress has emphasized the importance of providing community-based services for transition-aged students. Many students are not able to automatically transfer a skill learned in an isolated special education setting into the community, but rather require instruction in the community setting to generalize their skills. Of course, with Governor Baker’s emergency orders, students were unable to participate in community settings. We heard from many families whose older children were unable to access the IEP services essential for learning the skills necessary to successfully transition to adult opportunities and services, due to the health and safety restrictions in place during the pandemic.

For example, IEPs of many students focus on travel training. Congress specifically recognized that explicit instruction to learn independent travel is essential for some students to learn the skills needed to successfully navigate the public transportation system. Independent travel is a key factor in the ability to earn and maintain successful employment and live independently. As required by their IEPs, students receive instruction in the community, learning how to safely utilize public buses, trains, and subways. During the pandemic students were not able to receive required travel training in the community due to health and safety requirements.

Similarly, other students have IEPs that require an opportunity to learn employment skills. We heard from parents that their children were unable to effectively access remote learning, and they were unable to effectively participate in classes that might focus on writing resumés, filling out job applications, and other employment prerequisite skills. Furthermore, many students have IEPs requiring opportunities to learn employment skills in the community, receiving instruction in a job setting with a special education coach or instructor. Due to COVID-19, school districts were unable to provide the instruction in the community required to learn employment skills.

Furthermore, with the abrupt switch to remote learning and services, many students with disabilities experienced major disruptions to their routines without the services they need to move through their daily lives. These students were unable to effectively access remote learning due to the nature of their disability and lack of internet and/or devices. In addition, MAC worked with many parents with limited English proficiency who faced, in many cases, what became insurmountable barriers as they tried to access services during the pandemic. As recognized by this Committee, COVID-19 disproportionately impacted parents of children with disabilities from Black, Latinx, and other communities of color, widening the opportunity and achievement gap.

Research and experience have demonstrated that with equitable services and supports, individuals with disabilities have huge potential and can gain the skills necessary to ultimately live and work in the community as independently as possible. However, since March 2020 MAC has heard from countless families whose children have lost important skills. For example, many students with autism exhibited increased behavioral challenges, lost vital communication skills, social skills, and academic skills, and in some cases are now demonstrating dangerous behaviors such as bolting, self-harm, or harm toward others. This regression greatly impacts a young adult’s ability to successfully transition into supported work environments, post-secondary education, inclusive day programs, and adult services. The provision of compensatory services is essential to help mitigate the harm.

Each of the Commonwealth’s 400 school districts will only need to address the compensatory needs of a relatively small number of students. Statewide, there are approximately 1,000 students turning 22, not all of whom will require these services. Students who turned 22 during the pandemic are entitled to receive compensatory services if the IEP Team determines that they are eligible, based on an individual student’s demonstrated needs. Amending the circuit breaker statute eases the financial burden on school districts to provide these compensatory services and address the lack of access to essential educational services during COVID-19. Access to the circuit breaker funds will help ensure that low-income students and students of color who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic will have access to necessary compensatory services.

In closing, we would like to emphasize the immediate nature of this legislation. As schools begin to navigate their needs and obligations during pandemic recovery, access to the circuit breaker funds for these students will allow schools to move with greater expediency and help to address the needs of students who are exiting special education.

We appreciate the Committee’s consideration of these important and timely bills and respectfully urge you to report them out favorably. Thank you.