How Can we Improve Remote Learning for Special Needs Students?

The staff at the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) recently released guidelines to help schools meet the needs of students with disabilities when remote learning is the norm. The report, Special Education and Distance Learning describes best practices that could pay large dividends for students with special needs.

On April 27, 2020, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos clarified that although COVID-19 school building closures create significant challenges for the special education community, she would not recommend any waivers affecting the core tenants of IDEA, which guarantees a free, appropriate public education to students with disabilities.

As the nation’s seven million students with disabilities, their families and schools transition to distance learning, parents are deeply concerned about the educational progress of their children, and advocates are troubled by the lack of equity among students receiving special education services.

ExcelinEd spoke  to students with disabilities, parents, teachers, disability-rights advocates and national organizations to inform this resource guide, which offers solutions and best practices to education policy leaders to meet the challenges the special education community faces during the pandemic.

Additional resources from the US Department of Education are available here: https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus