69传媒

Special Education

69传媒 Struggled to Serve 69传媒 With Disabilities, English-Learners During Shutdowns

By Corey Mitchell 鈥 November 19, 2020 3 min read
Young boy wearing a mask shown sheltering at home looking out a window with a stuffed animal.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Accessing education during the nation鈥檚 COVID-19-related school closures was often an uphill battle for the combined 12 million students who are English-language learners and students with disabilities and their families.

A outlined the factors that complicated the delivery of special education services and shut off access to learning for English-learners. Under federal law, these students are eligible for tailored, specialized education services designed to help them succeed in school. But those services are not always easily transferable to distance learning.

For the study, the Government Accountability Office reviewed distance learning plans for 15 school districts, selected for their proportion of either English-learners or students with disabilities to measure how well schools adapted to serve students who were physically separated from the teachers and staff who are crucial to their academic success.

The shift to distance learning 鈥渓aid bare both the logistical and instructional challenges of distance learning鈥 for both sets of students, the report found.

The study found that educators struggled to meet the wide range of needs of students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which covers students who struggle academically, need emotional and behavioral supports, or are medically fragile and require full-time aides to access learning.

To adapt to the schooling limitations created by the pandemic, some schools adjusted students鈥 learning goals and service plans with mixed results, the study found.

For students with disabilities, schools were often unable to deliver services, such as speech, occupational, and physical therapy, that were guaranteed in students鈥 Individualized Education Programs.

In districts that provided virtual therapy, parents were pressed into duty, forced to try to replicate the therapy that trained specialists would normally provide in school.

69传媒 did report increased parent and teacher collaboration, but the study authors concluded that 鈥減roviding students with the services they need remains an ongoing challenge.鈥

English-learners, especially those from homes where English is not the primary language, lost access to teachers and classmates who helped foster understanding of the language.

Many English-learners also lacked access to dependable internet and technology at home, the report found. Their teachers faced a digital divide of their own: English-learner specialists undergo fewer hours of professional development with digital learning resources than traditional classroom teachers.

The study found that schools used strategies to build connections with families and adapted and translated learning materials in Spanish and other languages to compensate for the loss of in-person instruction. Despite the efforts, schools still struggled to address the needs of families who speak less commonly spoken home languages.

Faced with these challenges, several states urged schools to prioritize in-person learning for children with disabilities and those learning English when classes resume. But those plans are threatened as another surge in coronavirus cases has forced a growing number of school systems back into districtwide remote plans.

鈥淭his is a pivotal and perilous moment in our fight for equity in education,鈥 Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, the chairman of the U.S. House education committee, said in a statement. 鈥淭he impact on students students will be felt long after the pandemic is over.鈥

The study was conducted as part of the Government Accountability Office鈥檚 COVID-19 monitoring and oversight responsibilities under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, which provided billions of dollars in funding dedicated to K-12 schools.

A version of this news article first appeared in the On Special Education blog.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Special Education The Essential Skill 69传媒 With Learning Differences Need
69传媒 must teach students with learning differences how to communicate about their needs.
4 min read
Vector illustration of three birds being released from a cage.
iStock/Getty
Special Education A Guide to Bringing Neurodiverse Learners Into the Fold
Three tips for teachers and principals to accommodate learning differences.
3 min read
Neurodiversity. Thinking brain. Difference concept.
iStock/Getty Images + Education Week
Special Education 5 Key Ways to Support 69传媒 With Learning Differences
Teachers are often uncertain about how to support students who have dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia.
4 min read
Black teacher smiling and giving a student a high five in a classroom of Black elementary students.
E+/Getty
Special Education How 69传媒 With Disabilities Fare in Both Charter and Regular Public 69传媒
69传媒 with disabilities experienced inequities in both types of schools, a new analysis shows.
6 min read
An illustration of a small person of color dragging a very large bookbag on their back.
DigitalVision Vectors