RICHMOND, Va -- Gabrielle Cevallos was ecstatic when she found out the state was giving her money to invest in educational services for her children. Both her kids, who attend Richmond Public Schools, have autism and, over summer, struggle to retain what they've learned at school, Cevallos said.
“When I first heard about it and got approved, I was like, 'Oh my god! We got $3,000!' I'm going to put them in all these different speech lessons, I'm going to put them in social clubs. I was like, 'Thank God,'" she said.
In March, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) would provide $30 million in 'Learning Acceleration Grants' to qualifying parents so that they could buy private tutoring and assistive technologies for students with disabilities. Additionally, the VDOE said parents could use the grants for specialized educational therapy services and supports such as language therapy, physical therapy, and behavioral analysis.
The goal of the program, Youngkin said, was to address the pandemic's setback on students' learning and well-being.
“These targeted resources for parents will ensure that many children in Virginia have access to the tutoring, summer enrichment programs, and other specialized services they need in order to reach their full potential and combat the severe learning losses," Youngkin said in a March press release.
Applications for the grants opened on May 1.
Cevallos was approved for the maximum grant of $3,000, the amount provided to low-income families. But her excitement turned into frustration when she actually tried to use the funds.
Once Cevallos' 'ClassWallet' account was authorized, the website in which she can access her digital wallet and available resources, she was provided links to three different online stores where she could shop for supplies and services.
Using those links, Cevallos placed an order for assistive items such as sensory stones, a balance board, and interactive reading books.
Two weeks later, she received an email that her order was rejected because sensory items and curricula were "not allowed."
So, she tried again.
She placed three more orders, using the links provided, for different items. Again, she said they were all denied.
“Have they approved anything?” reporter Tyler Layne asked.
“No," Cevallos said.
“Nothing?” Layne asked.
“Nothing," Cevallos affirmed.
Cevallos said the multiple rejections have left her feeling "very, very, very angry."
"I feel like they set up parents, in a sense, to fail," she said. "The grant is typically for parents who can't afford it. And then to give our hopes up that we were going to have this extra money to help with our kids, and we're so excited about it, and then you just keep getting rejection letters, rejection letters. If the grant does not qualify for education curriculum, then what is it for?"
Cevallos said the restrictions on what items can be purchased were not clear to her when she signed up, but a new message that the VDOE sent to families on June 28 laid out multiple restrictions to include:
"curriculum and instructional materials/supplies purchases, tutoring and classes in elective subjects, robotics and gaming or coding courses, computer science, summer camps, tuition costs, computers, televisions, water or equine therapy, and other types of purchases and services"
Cevallos said that registering for tutoring has also proved to be challenging.
In the June 28 message from the VDOE, Superintendent Dr. Lisa Coons told families that the grants cannot be used to pay for services in advance. Funds can only be used for reimbursement after the service has already been provided.
Cevallos said in her case, she had signed up her children with a speech therapist, using the state's pre-approved list of providers.
However, she said the provider told her that services needed to be pre-paid, and since the grants cannot be used to pay in advance, Cevallos was forced to cancel.
“I feel bad because I’ve hyped my kids up about it and they were excited about it and now I have to tell them we can't do it. And of course, my son is like, 'Well why can't we do it?' And I have to try and explain that we don't have the money for it," she said.
Because of the reimbursement model, VDOE has removed two tutoring options from parents' 'ClassWallet' accounts.
That means parents can no longer access Varsity Tutors and Outschool for tutoring services.
"What would you want to tell the governor?" Layne asked Cevallos.
"He needs to fix it. Get rid of all the stipulations. Don't sit there, dangle money in front of people, and then when they try to use it, you snatch it back and say, 'Oops, too bad.' Fix it," Cevallos said.
CBS 6 reached out to Governor Youngkin's office and VDOE for comment and has not heard back as of Monday evening.
Program rules state that Cevallos must use $750 of each grant by August 15. If she doesn't, the state could take the money back and give it to someone else.
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