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We have dedicated our careers to ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the same opportunities as students without disabilities. Specially designed instruction and related services essential to providing a “free and adequate public education” are essential to the success of students with disabilities. But amid disturbing data about student learning disruptions related to COVID-19, a wave of referrals to special education services (her one child in every three or four) has hit schools across the country. I’m afraid of being overwhelmed.
High absenteeism, poor academic performance, a student mental health crisis, declining interventions offered to children ages 0-3, and a shortage of special education teachers and staff all make school districts prepared to respond. It raises concerns that the These concerns are based on ominous anecdotes I’ve heard over the course of my work with school leaders and educators in New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and beyond. Pandemic trauma. At the same time, many students undoubtedly need additional support, but many children identified for referral may not have any disabilities at all, but struggle because of learning disruptions. I’m here.
School districts must ensure that lack of adequate instruction in reading and mathematics and lack of English proficiency do not become determining factors in referring children to special education. This is especially important under the ‘Specific learning disabilities’ category. This means that states and school districts must deal with the loss of education for all students, while providing highly specialized instruction, services, and accommodations for students with documented disabilities. must be ensured.
Issuing comprehensive letters of referral for a large number of children not only creates stress and anxiety as families navigate a complex and often contentious process, imposes onerous procedural requirements on schools and school districts to develop standardized educational programs and to provide robust professional education. order. It will also have a significant impact on school staffing, funding and academic performance.
Although most students with disabilities spend most of their day in general education classrooms, the specialized support and services they require require specially trained teachers and relevant providers. is. Further identifying students for special education will impose even greater staffing challenges for schools that are already struggling to recruit and retain professionals.
If districts can find and hire those professionals, the cost will skyrocket. Providing special education and related services could cost a student twice as much as hers. Historically, approximately 12.5% of students are eligible for special education, and additional costs beyond standard per-student spending account for approximately 14% of the average school district budget. Increasing the percentage of students receiving special education to 25% means that 28% of the school district’s budget will be allocated for these additional expenditures.
The Federal Primary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) can provide some help, but states and districts could face a financial cliff when those dollars go down. ESSER or K-12 public recovery funds are rarely used to help students with disabilities, and there is little evidence that school districts use other types of relief funds for special education. is not. If referrals to special education institutions actually flooded, school budgets would be even more strained than they are today, leaving insufficient funds to support the critical services that underpin student individualized education programs. This scenario has the most immediate impact on children with critical support needs.
Finally, special education entitlements are associated with a disastrous and precipitous decline in expectations and outcomes, especially when Black, Indigenous, and other students of color are disproportionately trained. Without deliberate action to minimize over-identification, the pandemic could exacerbate outcomes for historically marginalized students.
While these predictions are alarming, school leaders and policy makers can prevent this scenario from unfolding. To stem the flow of referrals, we recommend:
- Allocate ESSER stimulus dollars focused on robust student assessment.
- Your evaluation should refer your child to special education services only if the child has an actual disability, not if a lack of education or English language proficiency is the primary cause of the learning disability.
- Ensure that all ESSER funds used for instruction, personnel development, or direct student services are dedicated solely to practices such as universal design for learning and multi-layered support systems. These evidence-based practices facilitate access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities (see, for example, What Works Clearinghouse).
- We will double down on early childhood interventions and extend the duration beyond the 3 years normally offered while recognizing that assessments may occur at any time. Ideally, primary schools would temporarily expand their teams of early interventionists to help students identified as being behind in reading and mathematics, and to those whose inappropriate behavior in school was first recognized. You need to provide more focused and focused support when
- Expand and enhance training for all educators in inclusive and differentiated practices like universal design for learning
- Implement and train staff with robust positive behavioral interventions and support (PBIS) and other evidence-based programs designed to address underlying causes of childhood trauma and inappropriate school behavior to effectively reduce and eliminate exclusionary discipline practices and continuously monitor results for trends that indicate collapse. Effectiveness of interventions, especially disproportionate representation of black boys.
- Invest in efforts to increase the special education workforce.
In the best interest of schools and families, we are urging states, school districts, and schools to strategically use ESSER dollars to take action, prevent a surge in special education referrals, and prevent imminent crises. We ask you to develop a decisive plan to avoid
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