2021 school year was in full swing. Students had settled into a routine of taking notes, waiting for the bell, and meeting friends between classes—that is, until the COVID-19 pandemic sent them home.
The pandemic forced virtually all U.S. public and private schools to shut down for the remainder of the school year, disrupting the lives of over 55 million students. Despite transitioning to remote learning, students were left without the safety, stability, and relationships that are critical for their development.
Schools have since reopened and most students have returned to the classroom, but the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on students, especially those with disabilities.
Millions of Students Rely on Special Education Services
7.2 million students (15% of all public school students) received special education services during the 2020-2021 school year. Special education and related services such as speech-language, occupational, and physical therapy are critical for helping students with special needs overcome academic, social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that schools provide a “free appropriate public education” and, to that end, special education and related services to students with disabilities. As “uncertain” as times may be, schools are no less legally or morally obligated to accommodate students’ unique needs.
Schools Struggle to Support Remote Special Education Students
After shutting their doors in March 2020, many schools scrambled to transition to remote learning and struggled to follow each student’s individual education program (IEP): an outline of their required special education services. Many of these services disappeared overnight, and those that were deployed online were of little use to students without a computer or internet access. A vulnerable and at-risk population, students with disabilities were left without the support they were entitled to and desperately needed.
Special Education Students Slip Through the Cracks
As weeks turned to months, parents watched in dismay as their children regressed despite the strides they’d made in general and special education classrooms. “I just watched my child not learning and going backwards,” said Rachael Berg of her 6-year-old daughter, who has an intellectual disability and attention deficit disorder. “I’m just sad for her.”
It remains too early to gauge the full impact of COVID-19 on special education; however, all signs indicate that students with disabilities have suffered significant setbacks. A 2020 survey revealed that over two-thirds of K-12 principles believed that students with disabilities performed somewhat or much lower than they hand in the fall of the previous year.
Another survey asked parents to share their experiences with remote special education services during the pandemic. Sixty percent reported that their children received fewer service hours, which, according to parents, had caused their children to lose ground on critical academic, social, and daily life skills. Less than thrilled with the situation, parents frequently commented that remote learning for students with special needs “just doesn’t work.”
Special Educators Are Left to Pick Up the Pieces
As schools began reopening in August 2020, administrators and educators faced a backlog of referrals for special education evaluations and requests to add additional services to students’ IEPs. Determining eligibility is already an involved, challenging process, but special educators must now deal with a new problem: Are a student’s difficulties the result of a disability or the lack of support they received during the pandemic? Misdiagnose students and schools run the risk of withholding the support students need, whether or not they have a disability.
Looking to the Future of Special Education
School closures were necessary to protect students, teachers, and their families from COVID-19, and by all accounts, educators did everything in their power to deliver high-quality education. Still, students with disabilities were left without the support and services they needed. Going forward, schools will be responsible for delivering compensatory special education services, helping students reach the level of achievement they would’ve obtained had their education not been interrupted.
Special educators, already in high demand before the pandemic, will be called upon to help students make up for the skills they’ve lost. To address this growing need, The University of Texas Permian Basin offers an online Master of Arts in Special Education program for teachers interested in enriching the lives of students with disabilities.
Earn a Master of Arts in Special Education
Our online MA in special education program provides the training needed to overcome the unique challenges encountered in today’s classroom. Graduate students explore the use of technology to minimize learning challenges, characteristics of developmental disorders, and strategies for teaching exceptional learners, among other foundational topics. In as little as one year, teachers can graduate from our program with the knowledge and skills needed to help students with special needs catch up to their non-disabled peers.
We also offer an educational diagnostician track and an autism spectrum disorders track if you’re interested in gaining specialized knowledge in these areas. All three of our MA in special education programs are online, allowing you to complete assignments and explore course topics on your schedule. Plus, you could qualify for a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant, which awards up to $4,000 per year to students completing coursework needed to begin a teaching career.
As a classroom teacher, you already have a profound impact on your students’ lives. By pursuing a career in special education, you can address the needs of students who are at the greatest risk of falling behind. We encourage you to explore our MA in special education programs and apply to your program of choice. At UT Permian Basin, you’ll learn how to help all your students achieve their full potential—even those who’ve fallen behind during the pandemic.
Sources:
https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/what-covid-19-taught-us-about-special-education
https://ncld.org/reports-studies/evaluating-children-for-special-education-during-covid-19-and-beyond/