Lumping disabled students together “masks critical variation in outcomes depending on students' intensity of special education services, race, socioeconomic status, and English learner status,” concludes a new analysis from the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University and the Center for Learning Equity. It is therefore difficult to gauge the pandemic’s impact on their academic, behavioral, social-and-emotional, and post-graduation outcomes. But here’s what the Center’s researchers can say for sure:

Almost all students declined academically, but students with disabilities were especially impacted.
Students with disabilities appear to be experiencing intensified mental health concerns during the transition back to in-person learning.
More students who need special education services may not be getting identified.
An unknown number of families are still waiting for compensatory services to make up for what students lost earlier in the pandemic. Many are not even aware they qualify.
Students with disabilities may have experienced exclusionary disciplinary practices with even greater disproportionality than they had pre-pandemic.
Reliance on underqualified teachers in special education positions may be increasing from pre-pandemic levels.

The researchers added that their review of ESSER spending plans left them concerned about whether states and districts can make long-term and systemic improvements in supporting students with disabilities.

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What do school leaders need to know to help disabled students rebound?

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