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SOLEDAD: I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO "MATTER OF FACT." NINE MONTHS INTO COVID-19 SHUTDOWNS, SCHOOLS ACROSS THE COUNTRY REMAIN A PATCHWORK OF IN-PERSON, REMOTE, AND HYBRID TEACHING MODELS. PARENTS FILLING THE ROLE O TEACHERS ARE STRETCHED THIN. EDUCATION EXPERTS SAY IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION IS A CRITICAL PART OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT FOR CHILDREN WITH COMPLEX DISABILITIES. IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT SCHOOLS ARE STRUGGLING TO MEET THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS THAT GUARANTEE SERVICES TO SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS. FOR THEIR PARENTS, A RETURN TO SCHOOL WOULD PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT RELIEF, BUT MANY FIND THEMSELVES WEIGHING THE RISKS VERSUS THE BENEFITS >> YES, YES. HENRY PLANTED CROP MY NAME IS SHANICE NICOLE LYONS-LINARES. AND MY DAUGHTER IS VICTORIA NICOLE LYONS, AND SHE’S 11 YEARS OLD. MY DAUGHTER IS BILATERALLY BLIND. SHE IS DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED. SHE HAS EPILEPSY SHE’S 11 YEARS OLD, BUT SHE’S ONLY ON THE LEVEL OF 10-MONTH-OLD, SO SHE’S NON-VERBAL AND SHE REQUIRE 24-HOUR CARE. PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, SHE WOULD WAKE UP IN THE MORNING ABOUT 6:00 A.M., AND SHE WOULD GET ON THE BUS BETWEEN 6:30 AND 6:45 TO HEAD TO THE BRONX TO LAVELLE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND. SHE WOULD HAVE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, PHYSICAL THERAPY, SPEECH THERAPY IN COMBINATION WITH FEEDING THERAPY SHE WOULD ALSO HAVE MUSICAL THERAPY, ADAPTIVE PE, WHICH IS ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION. NOW THINGS ARE DEFINITELY DIFFERENT. SHE NOW HAS ALL OF THOSE THINGS, BUT IT’S IN COMBINATION WITH MOM AND AN IPAD. IN THE BEGINNING, IT WAS HARD BECAUSE I WAS WORKING REMOTELY AND DOING THE SCHOOLING REMOTELY. YOU HAVE TO BE SITTING WITH HER FOR EVERY SINGLE LESSON. YOU HAVE TO DO HANDS-ON WITH HER EVERY SINGLE LESSON. SO THAT WAS OVERWHELMING. IT WAS EXTREMELY OVERWHELMING. BUT THEN I WENT TO BECOME FURLOUGHED, RECEIVING UNEMPLOYMENT, WHICH IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO WHAT I WAS MAKING AT WORK. AND NOW I’M DOING THE REMO LEARNING FULLY, AND IT MADE ME MUCH HAPPIER TO KNOW THAT DAUGHTER IS SAFE, BUT I’M STILL STRUGGLING FINANCIALLY. SO IT’S LIKE A CATCH-22. THERE ARE SOME PARENTS WHO HAVE TO GO TO WORK. THERE ARE SOME PARENTS WHO ARE NOT FURLOUGHED, AND THEY NEED TO SEND THEIR KIDS TO SCHOOL, SO I UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY. BUT IT’S A BIG RISK BECAUSE THESE SAME CHILDREN DON’T HAVE THE SAME IMMUNE SYSTEM AS EVERYBODY ELSE. THEY HAVE SO MANY MORE CHALLENGES. AND IF THEY DO GET SICK, THE MAY NOT MAKE IT OUT OF I IT WAS VERY DISHEARTENING IN THE BEGINNING, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, I PRAY ON IT AND I