#In-person special education OK’d for the summer, Cuomo says

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order late Friday allowing school districts to offer in-person special education teaching this summer.

“I just issued an Executive Order allowing necessary in-person special education instruction this summer. Any school district providing these services must follow all state and federal guidance,” the governor said in a statement.

School districts will have to opt in, meaning they can decide to offer services based on an individual district’s ability to comply with COVID-19 guidelines.

Additional details were not immediately available, but the governor’s office said schools will have to follow social distancing protocols and provide proper protective equipment.

State Assemblywoman Melissa Miller (R-Nassau) has been working with Cuomo’s office on getting kids enrolled in safe, individualized special education programs — and restoring some sense of normalcy for at-risk students.

Her son, 20-year-old Oliver Miller, is a special needs student enrolled in the ‘life skills’ class at the Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst, on Long Island.

“I have heard so many heartbreaking stories, including watching my own son regress. Remote learning and therapies have been too difficult to accomplish and have not been beneficial for so many of these students,” Miller said in a statement.

“Special needs students, like my son Oliver, desperately require one-on-one in-person instruction to succeed. A nurturing, focused path of continuity is so important to this population of students.”

“The quality time they have in a classroom with experienced professionals is so critical and just what they so desperately need,” she added.

There has been no directive applying to fall education protocols yet, however.