|
|
|
The views expressed on this page are
solely
those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views of County
News Online
|
|
Getty Images
The 74 Million
As Schools Impose Mask Rules to Slow Pandemic’s Spread, Disability-Rights Advocates Caution Against Strict Enforcement
By Mark Keierleber
October 7, 2020
Long before the pandemic closed campuses, children with disabilities
were subjected to harsh school discipline far more frequently than
their peers without special needs. But now, as districts return to
in-person learning with a long list of public health rules like face
mask mandates, disability-rights advocates fear that the situation
could become worse.
“With the already existing crisis, that sets the stage for the crisis
to really explode when buildings reopen,” Wendy Tucker, senior policy
director at the National Center for Special Education in Charter
Schools, said during a webinar Tuesday. But collaboration between
parents and teachers, and less punitive approaches to enforcing school
rules, could make all the difference, she said.
Despite a push in recent years to “rethink school discipline” —
including debates about the role of campus cops following George
Floyd’s death — Tucker said districts’ punitive responses during remote
learning offer good reason to worry about what could come next. One
Louisiana student was suspended for having a BB gun in his bedroom
during remote learning, for example. Other schools have enforced dress
codes for children who are learning at home and faced criticism for
adopting remote attendance policies during a time of widespread
uncertainties. In another incident, a Michigan teenager was sent to
juvenile detention because she didn’t complete her online homework.
Such anecdotes, Tucker said, don’t offer much hope “that things are
going to be any better” when in-person learning resumes.
Even before the coronavirus outbreak, students with disabilities were
suspended from school more than twice as often as children without
special needs. They were also far more likely to be subjected to
seclusion and restraint. Though children with disabilities account for
just 12 percent of the school population, they accounted for 71 percent
of youth who were physically restrained at school and 66 percent of
those who were secluded from their peers in 2015-16, according to the
most recent federal data on the issue. Black students with disabilities
— who account for roughly a fifth of children with special needs — were
especially at risk of facing school discipline, representing more than
a third of suspensions.
“Given the disproportionate discipline of students with disabilities
pre-pandemic, raising the bar on student expectations feels like a
recipe for disaster,” Tucker wrote in a new white paper. “However,
schools can actually embrace this change as an opportunity to rethink
their approach to discipline. Schools will need to prioritize
professional development and intentional staff coaching in order to
make important shifts schoolwide.”
While dealing with the slew of new rules around masks, social
distancing and lunch protocols, the white paper urges educators to
commit to discipline approaches that address the root causes of
misbehavior, restorative justice and positive behavior strategies,
rather than punitive measures like suspensions, expulsions and
seclusion. In fact, restraining kids could put educators at risk
because of the physical contact required, Tucker said. Meanwhile,
schools should be transparent with parents about new rules and
expectations and recognize that many children will go back to the
classroom with trauma because of the pandemic, she said.
School face mask requirements have already become a sticking point as
children have returned to campuses, prompting controversy and several
lawsuits. For example, a Florida mother recently sued the school
district in Tampa over its face mask policy, citing her child’s autism
and a belief that masks are ineffective as justification to halt the
policy. Guidance from both the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that
children wear cloth face coverings at school to prevent the virus from
spreading.
However, the national center noted that face masks can be difficult for
some children, and this will require districts to balance the needs of
children against public health interests. Children with sensory needs
may struggle to wear masks on their faces, according to the group, and
others with emotional and behavioral disabilities may take their masks
off if they become upset.
Such a scenario “demands intentional planning to avoid a tidal wave of
harsh discipline in the name of preventing spread of the virus,”
according to the white paper. But there are workarounds, and teachers
should work in tandem with parents to develop solutions, Tucker said.
For example, she said schools could allow children to wear face shields
if a cloth mask isn’t feasible. However, there’s growing evidence
suggesting that face shields aren’t effective at controlling the
virus’s spread from airborne aerosol droplets.
But a mask with fun designs — such as one with a dinosaur or Star Wars
theme — could be more appealing to some children, said Nathaniel Beers,
a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Children’s National
Hospital in Washington, D.C. Some children who are averse to wearing
masks could grow accustomed if they’re allowed to wear them as
bracelets at home before moving them to their faces, he said.
“If we think creatively about how we’re using the face covering, when
we’re using the face covering, how we practice using it, and coach
students and children through that, we can help many of those kids be
able to wear face coverings for much of the school day,” Beers said.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has also raised the
tension between mask rules and children with special needs, noting in a
Q&A last week that face coverings present a hurdle for some kids.
In instances “where a child with a disability has extreme sensory
issues and cannot tolerate wearing a face covering in a school or at
all,” enforcing mask rules could violate the federal special education
law.
“School districts should therefore make reasonable modifications in
their policies, practices or procedures — including any addressing the
use of face coverings — when those modifications can be made consistent
with the health, safety and well-being of all students and staff, and
are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability,”
according to the office.
|
|
|
|
