Republicans call for investigation into impact of school closures on children with disabilities

A group of Republican lawmakers on Monday called for a bipartisan investigation into the impact that school closures during the coronavirus pandemic have had on children with disabilities as well as “state and local compliance with federal special education requirements.”

GOP Reps. Steve Scalise (La.), James Comer (Ky.), Virginia Foxx (N.C.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) signed a letter addressed to Democratic House leaders including Reps. James Clyburn (S.C.) and Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) outlining their request.

“Students with disabilities are falling behind. States and localities are not meeting even the minimal requirements. We are hearing from parents across the U.S. whose children with disabilities are bearing the greatest burden as schools remain closed,” the Republican lawmakers said in the letter.

The lawmakers shared stories sent to them by their constituents detailing how school closures have negatively impacted students with disabilities. One mother with a daughter who has Down Syndrome said her child became frustrated with at-home learning and will have to be held back one year. Another family said they had drained their savings to send their autistic daughter to private school.

School districts have observed a marked drop in academic performance among students this year. In Virginia’s largest school district, Fairfax County, the number of F’s earned by middle school and high schools students nearly doubled. Students with disabilities were found to be particularly affected, with F’s accounting for about a fifth of their grades since the pandemic started.

“We urge a bipartisan oversight request to CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide data related to experiences of special education schools that have reopened or special education students that are attending school in person. Further, the CDC and the NIH should provide studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with disabilities in the U.S. and other countries,” the representatives continued in their letter.

They also said they were “particularly disappointed” that the Biden administration has not “more forcefully” pushed for schools to reopen. President Biden has voiced his support for reopening schools, making a return to in-person learning one of the main goals of his first 100 days in office.

The nation’s leading infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has also advocated for returning to in-person learning once it is safe to do so, pointing to data that indicates schools can reopen safely when COVID-19 guidelines such as masks and social distancing are followed.

Biden said last week that he was calling on states to prioritize teachers for the coronavirus vaccine so that all teachers who want a shot will have at least one dose by the end of March.

“The science is clear—it is safe to reopen schools,” the GOP representatives said in their letter. “Getting all children back to full time, in-person instruction, especially those with special needs and disabilities, must be a bipartisan priority. If states or localities are violating federal civil rights laws to the detriment of students, they must be investigated, and their actions corrected.”