All schools in Maryland are closed by the State Superintendent of Education, including physical buildings for nonpublic schools. Most nonpublic schools, however, are implementing a continuity of learning plan for students enrolled in their schools. The nonpublic school staff should contact you as they seek your input about what a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) will look like for your child in light of this unusual closure and your child’s circumstances.

In making changes to a child’s IEP after the annual IEP team meeting, the parent/guardian of a child with a disability and the public agency may agree to not convene an IEP team meeting for the purpose of making those changes. Instead, parents may agree to develop a written document to temporarily amend or modify the child’s current IEP/504. Within HCPSS, this document is referred to as the individualized continuity of learning plan.

We will do our best to honor timelines. However, federal guidance indicates that public agencies should work with parents to reach mutually agreeable extensions, when appropriate. If you have a concern about timelines, your service provider, case manager and/or DSE staff will be able to discuss next steps and how to document this extension.

All meetings scheduled to be held between March 13–April 3, prior to the school closure, were postponed. There are some issues that may not be able to be fully addressed at this point. For example, decisions that would require complete assessments and reports may not be able to occur because of the process interruption caused by COVID-19. As you hear from your case managers/providers, you can discuss rescheduling.

The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) does not provide specific special education implementation procedures when schools are closed for an extended period of time due to exceptional circumstances. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 does not provide this type of guidance either. HCPSS must adhere to all federal and state guidance on the subject. Current guidance for serving students with disabilities has been provided through the OSERS. The following excerpt from that guidance serves as the basis for our work:

HCPSS is aligning services for students with disabilities with guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). You may find additional information at:

• Recovery Efforts Addressing the Provision of FAPE Through Alternative Service Delivery Models for Students with Disabilities during the Reopening of Schools

Students will mainly need to access Canvas, Google Meet and G Suite. All three are readily available by going to HCPSS.me. Also included at hcpss.me are links to Clever, through which students can access a number of additional resources, Account Self-Service, and guides to commonly used resources. To access some guides, students will need to log in to Canvas using their account credentials.

HCPSS offers Account Self-Service for staff and students to reset their passwords and manage their accounts. Self-Service offers users the ability to complete a password reset, retrieve a forgotten username, and more. Instructions for retrieving account credentials are available online. Account Self-Service can be accessed via hcpss.me.

Any family without access to the internet should notify the school system using the directions below. HCPSS is working with the Bright Minds Foundation and Comcast to support families who may be eligible to participate in the Comcast Internet Essentials program. Additionally, HCPSS will prioritize distribution of a limited number of hot spots to families who cannot obtain access to the internet.

HCPSS Chromebooks will automatically join the Wi-Fi at HCPSS locations. Chromebooks also can connect to non-HCPSS wireless networks. Instructions for joining your Chromebook to Wi-Fi are available online. Translated instructions are available in Spanish, Chinese and Korean.