Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
New School-Opening Guidelines Bring Good News for Special Needs Students
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
August 27, 2020

Share

Like many students across the Valley, Jodie Howard’s son has struggled with distance learning since schools closed abruptly last March due to the coronavirus pandemic. He has autism and has a hard time understanding why his computer, once a source of gaming fun, now represents hard work and challenges as he tries to connect with his teachers and aides.

Photo of Jodie Howard in a law library

“There are lots of other issues that cannot be addressed online.” — special education advocate and parent Jodie Howard

So Howard was encouraged to learn that the California Department of Public Health on Tuesday issued new guidelines that will allow schools to bring small groups of the neediest and most at-risk students back to campus for instruction.

“It definitely has the potential to be beneficial,” she told GV Wire℠.

The new rules target kids with disabilities, special education students, those in foster homes, and the homeless. Also eyed for early returns to campus: English learners, students at risk of abuse or neglect, and students at higher risk of learning loss because of distance learning or who are not participating in distance learning.

Policy Sets Small Group Limits

Under the new policy, groups of no more than 14 students and two supervising adults can return to campus but would need to stay separate from other small groups. The aim is to decrease the potential spread of the highly contagious coronavirus.

The groups will be allowed on campus even as schools remain closed to students in counties where infection rates remain high. Under the state’s July mandate, counties must be off the state’s COVID-19 watchlist for 14 consecutive days before schools can reopen — unless they are an elementary school and obtain a waiver from the local health department.

Howard, who is also an advocate for special education students and their parents — she’s director of the BREN Special Education Legal Clinic at the San Joaquin College of Law — said remote learning has not been successful for many special education students, who either are showing no positive results or have regressed.

This semester her son now has more aides working with him than he did with distance learning in the spring semester, but trying to communicate through a computer screen still poses difficulties. For example, one of his aides is soft-spoken and her son struggles to understand her, so the school arranged for the aide to wear a headset with a microphone closer to her mouth.

But when it comes to physical and occupational therapies, online instruction is insufficient for meeting those students’ needs, she said.

“There are lots of other issues that cannot be addressed online.”

State Health Policy Under Review

How soon school districts will be able to develop plans to allow small groups of students on campus is anyone’s guess.

“The hard part for us is figuring out, out of 74,000 students, who are of the highest need. A lot of them are of the highest need, if we’re really honest about it, and 14 (the maximum size for small groups) is not everybody. So, that’s the next planning cycle.” — Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson

Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Jim Yovino told GV Wire℠ on Wednesday that he planned to meet Thursday with county health officials to discuss the new state policy and how it may be applied in Fresno County, which is struggling with high COVID-19 infection rates.

When it comes to deciding who can come back to campus, Fresno school officials said those will be tough decisions. Asked about how to prioritize students for a return to school, Fresno Teachers Association president Manuel Bonilla said he didn’t have an answer.

“How do you determine which group?” he asked.

Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson told trustees at Wednesday night’s board meeting that the students targeted by the state policy describe many of the district’s 74,000 students. He noted that homeless children who live in shelters at night but have no shelter space in the daytime could be considered as needy as other special needs students.

“The hard part for us is figuring out, out of 74,000 students, who are of the highest need,” he said. “A lot of them are of the highest need, if we’re really honest about it, and 14 (the maximum size for small groups) is not everybody. So, that’s the next planning cycle.”

 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Trump Impounds Billions in Education Funding. For Fresno Unified, It’s $7.1 Million

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

O’Brien Launches Fresno County Schools Chief Campaign by Handing Out ‘Homework’

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Despite $49M Deficit, Fresno Unified Gives Top Brass 5% Raise, 3% One-Time Bonus

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

13 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

20 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

20 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

20 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

20 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

20 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

20 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

21 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

2 days ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

2 days ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the United States ahead of a planned sale of the app to a group of investors, The I...

13 hours ago

A logo is displayed over a door at the U.S. headquarters of the social media company TikTok in Culver City, California, U.S. January 17, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

Boxes of aid are stacked as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Hamas Government Office Rejects US Accusation of Involvement in Gaza Aid Site Attack

A volunteer searches for flood victims after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
13 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 78, Trump Plans Visit

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk listens as US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, U.S. on November 13, 2024. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

A 22-year-old suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked CHP motorcycle and tow truck on Highway 99 near Fresno, narrowly missing an officer and bystanders, CHP said Saturday, July 5, 2025. (CHP)
20 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A service member of a drone unit of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces controls a heavy combat drone while it flies over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Region, Ukraine June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
20 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

An Israeli tank maneuvers in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
20 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned nearly 80,000 acres as of Sunday, July 6, 2025, morning, prompting widespread evacuation orders and warnings across three counties. (CalFire)
20 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend