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March 24, 2021
Frequently Asked Questions about the Guide to Addressing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students with Disabilities
In response to questions raised earlier this month, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has developed an FAQ on its Guide to Addressing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students with Disabilities. The FAQ should further assist school districts, charter schools and parents/guardians in making equitable and individualized determinations of appropriate extended school year (ESY) services, general education recovery services, revised individualized education program (IEP) services and COVID-19 compensatory services for students with disabilities related to their disrupted education or inability to access appropriate special education and related services during the COVID-19 pandemic. View the FAQ on MDE's Special Education COVID-19 Resources webpage under Due Process or on the main Special Education webpage.
For assistance with questions related to this FAQ document or the Guide to Addressing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students with Disabilities, please contact MDE’s Division of Compliance and Assistance, Dispute Resolution Team or call 651-582-8689.
For assistance with questions related to special education funding, please contact MDE’s School Finance Division, Special Education Funding.
COVID-19 Impact on Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE)
At a recent ECSE Leadership meeting and then shared briefly at the last director’s forum, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) brought to light that we are anticipating a significant impact to early childhood special education programs (and likely kindergarten and grade 1) based on the underenrollment of ECSE students spanning the pandemic timeframe.
ECSE Supervisor Danielle Hayden and Jon VanOeveren presented a PowerPoint to districts; you may also be interested in a report regarding the supply and demand of licensed educators across the state and a paper addressing the underenrollment of early learning programs (cross-divisional collaboration). You can also access an interactive Tableau Report to look at the statewide projection data based on enrollment, evaluations and average daily membership (ADM).
If you should have additional questions or support needs, please feel free to reach out to Danielle Hayden or Jon VanOeveren. For a copy of the PowerPoint presentation, please reach out to Carol Maliszewski.
Advance Employment Outcomes for Youth Through E1MN
E1MN is a partnership between MDE, the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and Department of Human Services (DHS) to advance Employment First outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities. The state agency partnership evolved from Minnesota's Employment First policy adopted by the Olmstead sub-cabinet in 2014. E1MN-Youth is focused on improving employment outcomes for transition-age youth (14 to 21). To get announcements related to supporting transition services, pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) and competitive integrated employment (CIE) outcomes for youth with disabilities, sign up for the E1MN-Youth Professionals mail list. For more information, contact Lindsey Horowitz.
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