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.
CLE report cited in Chalkbeat Colorado’s “Special ed questions on charter school apps violate federal law, complaints allege”.
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.
The Center for Learner Equity (CLE) is thrilled with Secretary Cardona’s announcement today that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will collect data via the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) from all public school districts and their schools, two years in a row, for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years.
In 2016, the federal government rescinded a 2014 disciplinary guidance package that had served as a much-needed resource to schools and districts across the country, a decision that CLE opposed.
It is now time for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to issue new comprehensive guidance that advances equity for all students, especially those with disabilities. Guidance should ensure districts and schools stop using harmful exclusionary practices, including suspensions, expulsions, and seclusions, in lieu of individualized supports and services that address and ameliorate the behavioral needs of students with disabilities.
What are the qualities of a leader who is committed to equity? How might we cultivate more equity-centered school leaders who hold a firm and pressing commitment to students with disabilities?
Over the last year, we set out to explore these questions.
If a special education director gets pushback from his superintendent about where he thinks he should spend the COVID-19 relief funding to improve equity for students with disabilities, show him the data, said Lauren Krempecki, program manager at the Center for Learner Equity in New York, N.Y.
