Page 7 — Dear Educators and Parents
efficiency reporting value (MERV)-13 rating or the highest MERV rating a building’s ventilation system can accommodate; and using portable air cleaning devices with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters.
LEAs can use ARP Act funds for all of these efforts to improve indoor air quality for in-person instruction, including inspection, testing, and maintenance of current ventilation systems and approaches; purchasing portable air filtration units and HEPA filters; purchasing MERV-13 (or higher) filters for a school’s HVAC systems or stand-alone air conditioners; repairing windows and/or doors so that they can safely open to let fresh air in; and servicing or upgrading HVAC systems consistent with industry standards.[1]
Additional prevention strategies to layer into the school community: CDC continues to recommend additional prevention strategies to help students remain safely in-person at school. Continued use of these prevention strategies can help promote the health and safety of all students, especially those at higher risk of severe outcomes due to COVID-19. These strategies include physical distancing, handwashing and respiratory etiquette; staying home when sick and getting tested; and cleaning and disinfection.
| III. | Ensuring Students Receive Education and Services in the Least Restrictive Environment |
In adopting practical, layered strategies to serve all students, schools must refrain from placing all students with disabilities, or all students with disabilities at high risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19, in a segregated setting away from their peers without disabilities as the only means to deliver FAPE safely. Both IDEA and Section 504 presume that all students with disabilities should be educated alongside their peers without disabilities unless the educational goals for the student cannot be successfully met in that setting. Similarly, schools should be cautious about singling out or identifying students with disabilities as the cause of any perceived burden to avoid stigma and the risk of bullying and must take steps to address any bullying that does occur.
When health plans are included in the student’s IEP or Section 504 Plan, it is especially important that the IEP or Section 504 Plan be made available to each regular education teacher, special education teacher, related services provider, and any other service provider who is responsible for its implementation. Further, school staff responsible for implementing any aspect of the student’s IEP or 504 Plan must be informed of the relevant content and requirements, including the specific supplementary aids and services, accommodations, modifications, and other supports to be provided for, or on behalf of, the student.
IEP and Section 504 Teams should be careful to consider how their decisions about services and service delivery impact placement in the LRE. It is important to keep in mind that every IDEA-eligible student’s program is the sum of their access to, and progress in, the general education curriculum along with progress on their individual functional goals. The two are linked, and both must be prioritized. It is important for teams to be creative and make decisions promoting maximum and appropriate inclusivity, rather than more separate or restrictive programs. In
- ↑ Purchasing of equipment by LEAs using ARP Act funds requires prior approval by the SEA. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.407 (i.e., Uniform Guidance). For more information, see B-7 and B-8 of the Department’s Frequently Asked Questions on Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Programs and Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Programs (May 2021).
