COVID-19’s Impact on the Education of Students with Disabilities: Multiple Perspectives
JAASEP 21(2) (2026) 47-62
Abstract
This paper explores the disproportionate impact of school closures and remote learning on students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple narratives, including those of a student with a disability, a parent, a special education teacher, a student teacher, teacher educators, and disability researchers, illustrate how the pandemic disrupted the special education system. The paper delves into how the experiences of learners and teachers intersected, revealing how the pandemic complicated and interfered with the shared goal of educating students with disabilities. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and critical disability theory, the authors synthesize these perspectives to demonstrate the ripple effect of the pandemic across various educational systems—from classrooms to higher education to educational research. These narratives reflect diverse experiences across different states, towns, school districts, and universities, collectively highlighting the significant and disproportionate challenges faced by students with disabilities during this period.
Keywords: Barriers, Disabilities, Disproportionality, Education, Pandemics, Special education
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.642
