OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The system used by Oklahoma teachers to transfer plans for students with any special needs has stalled and it's unknown when exactly it will be fixed.
The service is provided through EDPlan and schools have been using it for years to see what accommodations each student with special needs requires.
In special education, the plans are called Individualized Education Program (IEP) in Oklahoma. It is federal law that student's IEPs are entered within 10 days of school starting.
An IEP is extremely important to any student with any special needs. Without it, they fail to learn properly and could get left behind.
This adds to the already existing struggle to hold onto special education teachers that many schools are facing.
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“There needs to be respect and appreciation for educators for their job. I don’t think anyone got into education to get rich. You do want to be above the poverty level, but you also want there to be respect when parents know that you have the best interests of their kids at heart,” said Superintendent of Choctaw-Nicoma Park School District David Reid.
The problem is that those teachers will have to play catch-up with new students when (and if) the system comes back online and transfers over information.
On August 19, a letter was sent out by OSDE that stated the issue arrived from an update that the department was efforting involving the Student Information System (WAVE).
The department stated that the student's IEP would not be transferred until later in August but there was no specific date.
This issue has been around since school began so for some the deadline is as soon as next week.
KFOR was contacted by a special education teacher in the school system who wanted to remain unnamed out of fear of retaliation.
She said that teachers have been having to write down a student's plan on notes and handing it to other teachers.
Others within the school district told KFOR that some parents have taken their kids out of school until the issue can be solved.
That teacher said, "We're on day five and we only have ten days to get everything out, it's stressful for sure. The deal is that if we don't get that fixed then yeah, we would be in trouble. But teachers can't do anything, it's a system thing."
An email was sent out to teachers on August 7 that warned them of the problem, the students from last year wouldn't be rolled over to this year because of the issue.
"Welcome back!!!! Unfortunately, we do not have a tiemline for when Edplan will be rolling over to the 24-25 school year. Please reach out if you need access to a student you do not currently have access to and I will work on getting that changed over."
Email before the school year began to teachers in an Oklahoma school district
On August 19th an update was sent out by OSDE that stated the issue arrived from an update that the department was efforting involving the Student Information System (WAVE).
The department stated that the student's IEP would not be transferred until later in August but there was no specific date.
They stated that they are trying to modernize and improve systems that have been neglected for years.
"Without the IEPs educators don't know what specifically each child needs to learn," said Dr. Kendra L. Williams-Diehm.
While Dr. Williams-Diehm isn't involved with the issue seen right now in OSDE, she has taught special education at the University of Oklahoma for years and taught the subject for years before that. She is an expert in all things Special Education.
"Without access to that document, people don't know what to teach," said Dr. Williams-Diehm. "IEPs are big, this goes back to federal legislation. The IEP is the cornerstone of their education. If the general education teacher is not implementing the accommodations they are also liable for the student not receiving the education they are entitled to."
KFOR reached out to OSDE to see if there was a specific date and if there would be legal complications if the system didn't meet the 10-day deadline, but we have not yet heard back.
