As August winds down, many people are heading back to school. From kindergarten to college, students and teachers are settling into classrooms that may look and feel very different due to the coronavirus: masks and extra space between desks for in-person learning, hybrid or virtual learning in some communities, and possible changes to services and supports for the 7.4 million students with disabilities in the US. We gathered a few resources from the NIDILRR grantee community and elsewhere to help students, teachers, parents, and administrators set up for a successful school year.

From the NIDILRR Grantee Community

• Southeast ADA Regional Center’s ADA Live! podcast September 1^st, 1pm ET Back to School with the ADA in a COVID-19 World.
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center COVID-19 Technology Resources can help administrators and educators ensure everyone can use remote communication technology in the classroom or in staff meetings.
• Transitions ACR extensive collection of factsheets for transition-age students with mental health conditions, from requesting accommodations to managing mental health on campus – including managing mental health in the time of COVID.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Improving Employment Outcomes for People who are Blind or Have Low Vision transition resources including an app to help students and their parents to plan for success from grade school on to the world of work.
• Cognitopia’s MyLife app, developed under several NIDILRR grants, is helping students with cognitive, intellectual, and developmental disabilities manage their education plans, even without in-person services. Here’s how one student ran their own Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting remotely using the platform.
• HYPE Project recorded webinar Are You a College Student with a Mental Health Condition? Managing the Wake of COVID: Strategies & Tools to Finish Your Semester.
• Great Lakes ADA Regional Center recorded webinar Higher Education and the ADA.

From the Wider Community

• From the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities, August 2020, designed to help students and youth with disabilities and their families to better understand how the state education agencies (SEA), the local education agencies (LEA), and the vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies work together to facilitate improved outcomes for students and youth with disabilities.
• From the Office of Civil Rights and OSERS, Long COVID under Section 504 and the IDEA: A Resource to Support Children, Students, Educators, Schools, Service Providers, and Families.
• More information and resources for special education and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including COVID-related resources from the Department of Education.
• Resources for keeping students and staff safe at school and at college from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Our information specialists are available by phone, email, and chat to connect you with these and other resources help you, your family, and your community stay safe and well as you start your school year.