Miguel A. Cardona

“ COVID-19 vaccination among all eligible students, as well as educators, staff, and their respective household members is the most critical strategy to help schools safely maintain full-time, in-person instruction for all students. Vaccination is the leading public health strategy to prevent severe disease and complications from COVID-19. People who have completed the primary series (and a booster when eligible) are at substantially reduced risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 compared with unvaccinated people. ”

“ School districts, schools, early childhood centers and homes, and classrooms may still choose to implement masking requirements at any COVID-19 Community Level depending on their community’s needs – and especially keeping in mind those for whom these prevention strategies provide critical protection for in-person learning. Implementing layered prevention strategies (using multiple prevention strategies together) in schools can protect the rights of students with disabilities by ensuring their continued access to safe in-person learning. ”

“ As the use of masks decreases, schools may want to increase their use of testing as a core safety and prevention strategy.
One approach to increased testing in school is through Test to Stay approaches. Test to Stay combines contact tracing and serial testing (i.e., testing that is repeated at least twice during a seven-day period after last close contact with a person with COVID-19) to allow some students, educators, and staff who would otherwise need to quarantine to continue in-person learning or teaching. ”

“ In addition to deciding that an individual student with specific circumstances or needs must wear a mask or a modified mask such as with a clear front, a school may determine it is also necessary for other individuals in school settings to wear masks, depending on the specific circumstances of the student with a disability and in consideration of relevant health guidance. ”

“ Schools should encourage eligible students, educators, staff, and families, including extended family members who have frequent contact with students, to get vaccinated as soon as they can. Schools should also consider partnering with state or local public health authorities to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics and work with local healthcare providers and community-based organizations, including school-based health centers. Individuals may visit vaccines.gov to find out where educators, staff, students, and their families can get vaccinated against COVID-19 in their community. ”

“ Testing: Testing identifies infected people, including those with or without symptoms (or before development of symptoms) who may be contagious, so that measures can be taken to prevent further transmission. More frequent testing can be an efficient way to promptly identify and isolate cases, initiate quarantine, and identify clusters to help reduce the risk to in-person education. ”

“ IDEA requires schools to address the school-related health needs of eligible students with disabilities who are at increased risk of severe illness from SARS-CoV-2. State or local laws, rules, regulations, or policies that have the effect of improperly limiting the ability of the IEP Team to address the school-related health needs of a student with a disability, or the ability of the placement team to appropriately place a student with a disability who has school-related health needs in the LRE, violate IDEA. [7] The same is true under Section 504. ”

“ We encourage school personnel who have questions to take advantage of the resources developed by the Department’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) -funded technical assistance centers. Additionally, parents, guardians and other caregivers may find their local parent training and information center here and reach out for direct assistance and referrals to other organizations, as well as gain skills to effectively participate in the education and development of their children. ”

“ It is important for teams to be creative and make decisions promoting maximum and appropriate inclusivity, rather than more separate or restrictive programs. In addition, where remote learning or other alternatives may still be required, schools should continue best practices to ensure all students remain engaged and connected to learning. ”

“ As we learn to safely engage with our communities and navigate the current state of the pandemic, the Department will continue to provide guidance and resources to school communities to ensure we support the ability of students with disabilities to learn in person. ”

“ The Federal government has made high-quality masks available to Americans for free, as well as provided schools with several avenues to access masks at low or no cost. We encourage schools to reach out to their state emergency management agency to receive masks or use their ARP Act funding to purchase masks from American-made manufacturers. ”

“ IEP and Section 504 Teams should be careful to consider how their decisions about services and service delivery impact placement in the LRE. It is important to keep in mind that every IDEA-eligible student’s program is the sum of their access to, and progress in, the general education curriculum along with progress on their individual functional goals. ”