Oxford Public Schools

Student Services & Special Education

Remote Special Education IEP Meetings

Due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak, Governor Baker has issued an order prohibiting all in-person educational operations at this time. During this unprecedented, extended school closure, the Oxford Public School District is committed to offering remote special education Team meetings telephonically and virtually so that the IEP Team process may continue.

Given that holding IEP Team meetings remotely is a new undertaking for the District, we want to clarify the District’s expectations for remote IEP Team meetings:

            1. Remote IEP Team meetings are being offered as an option for parents; if, however, a                     parent does not wish to participate in a remote Team meeting or is unable to participate,                  the District will work with you to schedule an in-person Team meeting when schools re-                  open.

            2.  The District strictly prohibits screenshots, pictures, audio/video recording and distribution                  of any remote team meeting. Please note that in Massachusetts it is illegal to record                         another person through any medium without his or her knowledge.

            3.  The laws that protect the privacy and confidentiality of your child’s personally identifiable                     information apply to a remote meeting just as they do during an in-person Team meeting.                 Toward that end, school staff will take steps to ensure that they are participating in the                         meeting in a quiet, private setting, and the expectation is that a parent and anyone the                         parent has invited to the meeting will do the same.       

          4.    The District will make a reasonable, good faith effort to comply with special education                         related timelines in the context of an unprecedented national emergency. In an effort to                     facilitate the sharing of important IEP and IEP related documentation with parents in a                         timely manner, the District will be sending out the IEP and IEP related documents in two                     formats.  Upon completion of the documents, an email will be sent with the documents                         provided as an attachment.  Additionally, the IEP and IEP related documents will be send                  in paper for to the mailing address provided.

        Additionally, it should be noted that parent’s participation in a remote IEP Team meeting signifies         that the parent has opted to participate in a remote IEP Team meeting and agrees to abide by            the District’s expectations set forth above.

         If you have any questions, concerns, or inquiries, feel free to contact your child's Evaluation             Team Leader:  

                 Chaffee & Oxford Middle School - Kristin Miller - kmiller@oxps.org

                  Barton & Oxford High School - Rich Maliff - rmaliff@oxps.org

Stay Safe,

Susan J. Henrichon, Ed.D.

Assistant Superintendent of Student Services and Special Education