At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were able to move students with disabilities into virtual settings without holding an individualized education program meeting to change their educational placement.
Lauren Morando Rhim, co-founder and executive director of the Center for Learner Equity (“the Center”) endorses Valerie Williams as Director of the Office of Special Education.
CLE partnered with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in early December to conduct a live webisode on our 2021 report, Lighting the Path to Inclusion. As schools continue working to respond to and recover from the pandemic’s impacts, this timely conversation focused on school leaders committed to learning outcomes for students with disabilities.
The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) has conducted a secondary analysis of the 2017-2018 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) released in 2020. The CRDC is the nation’s leading data set on civil rights indicators related to access and barriers to educational opportunities.
CLE applauds Federal District Court Judge Yeakel’s ruling striking down Texas’ Executive Order prohibiting mask mandates in schools. We are thrilled that these Texas students will now be able to safely access their education, and we hope this court decision is a wake-up call to the other states that have implemented similar discriminatory prohibitions.
CLE’s latest brief, How Has the Pandemic Affected Students with Disabilities? A Review of the Evidence to Date, examines the impacts of COVID-19 on students with disabilities based on a review of hundreds of studies. In particular, the report highlights widespread disruptions to student’s Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 plans. It also examines significant disparities in access to specialized services and draws attention to areas of further inquiry.
In this recorded webinar, Wendy Tucker, CLE’s Senior Director of Policy, discusses new US Department of Education guidance for upholding IDEA during COVID-19 and explores critical issues facing schools 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to state mandates prohibiting local school districts from implementing mask requirements in public K-12 schools, The Center for Learner Equity calls upon state leaders to reverse those decisions and allow districts and local authorities to implement policies that will afford safer, equal access to school for all students, including those with disabilities.
On July 2, 2021, EdDive published an article highlighting key takeaways from the 2021 ISTE conference, quoting Program Manager Lauren Krempecki.
On July 2, Edsource published an article about a massive increase in special education funding in California, quoting Executive Director Lauren Morando Rhim.