My name is David Taylor. I’m the parent of a child in special education in South Carolina.  I'm asking you to sign and share this petition for some of our most at-risk students in South Carolina. To understand the problem in 2 minutes, you can hear my daughter's story from this WIS report from Friday Sep 11.

There are many parents like me and children like mine for whom eLearning is simply not an option.  Last spring when schools shut down, it was rough for every child, not to mention educators and parents. For my kids who receive general education, learning was hard.  For my daughter with disabilities, it was nearly impossible.  We all give grace to each other for last spring.  But what about now?  It's been 7 months since some of our kids in special education have had access to education.  Why?

Through the summer, school districts around the nation developed and implemented effective strategies to improve learning for regular students in general education. Today, whether in virtual or hybrid models, those general ed students are now able to engage at a much higher level than last spring. In contrast, kids in special education—students like my daughter who have visual impairment, cognitive delay, physical limitations and speech disorder—have been left even further behind with no voice and no immediate hope of access to the “free appropriate public education” required by federal law.  For general education, Chromebooks have become a “plan B” tool creating a possibility for education.  For some kids in special education, the Chromebook is a barrier.  

I am motivated by trending reports from across the country where virtual-only districts with high COVID rates are still choosing to bring a very small number of students with disabilities back to the classroom. Examples include Los Angeles, Newark, and even our own Beaufort County here in South Carolina (cited below).  In Beaufort County 23/25 special education teachers said “yes” to in-person instruction even when they were a virtual-only district.  Why can't we do this across our great state?

Publicly, many South Carolina districts say they care about students in special education; however, many still have not communicated a reasonable reopening plan for special education, even though we parents have been begging for one for months.   The neglect of special education by any district unveils a discriminatory view that students with disabilities can't learn and therefore do not deserve reasonable reopening plan to accomplish each IEP.

My only option is to go to the media and to social media and to our state leaders and ask that we hold all of our school districts accountable.  With so much learning lost, our state must be proactive and aggressive for special education and not offer a bare-minimum effort.  Would you rather be a champion for inclusion or the opposite?  

State Superintendent Molly Spearman has given two impressive stands for students in special education lately.  First, in the first 8 minutes of this interview Sep 8 Taking the Pulse Podcast, State Superintendent Spearman expresses the urgency of getting kids with disability back for in-person instruction.  More importantly, she issued a Memo on September 16 to all districts to reopen in-person for not only students in special education but also other important at-risk populations, including our youngest learners.

It’s my hope and prayer that by sharing my story, you will be motivated to act by signing.  I want our state leaders and local leaders and neighbors next door to think differently about this important issue and the individuals and families affected by it.  I also hope that more conversations about disability rights can happen in South Carolina, so that we as a state can see and celebrate the beauty of all humanity.

Would you be willing to help?

Below are a few links to articles on the subject matter:

Most States Fail in Special Education - Covid (USA Today)

More Than Just Funding for Special Education (Forbes)

Students Struggle and Parents Want Better - Elearning (NPR)

Cited Sources for reopenings in virtual only districts:

Los Angeles Schools Reopen for Most Needy Kids (LA Times)

Newark Special Education Enjoys In Person Instruction (Newark Advocate)

Beaufort County Schools Accept Special Education In Person (BlufftonToday)