The Pandemic’s Impact on Learners with Special Needs

During the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers from CRPE and the Center for Learner Equity spoke with more than 60 teachers, administrators, and parents of children with disabilities from 15 schools across the country about their experiences during the pandemic.

The pandemic uncovered systemic barriers to adequate education for students with disabilities. Recovery has to be about more than restoring lost learning time. It has to be about rebuilding the system to be more effective, robust, and resilient.

We presented what we heard in interviews and shared initial commentary to inform the field about different strategies, practices, and school models implemented during the pandemic to better support students with disabilities in the long-term, regardless of instructional mode.