Access and Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Virtual Learning Environments: Implications for Post-Pandemic Teaching

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the extant literature showing impacts of theCOVID-19 pandemic on access to inclusive education for students with disabilities. It also explores the disproportionate impacts of distance learning and school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic on the legal rights, social emotional supports, and quality of instruction for special education students and their families. Early data show that educational impacts of COVID-19 have exacerbated long-standing issues of inequity;these impacts may have long-term repercussions for this underserved group of students. The authors introduce frameworks that may inform future instructional practices to successfully teach students with disabilities in virtual learning environments.