Sneak Preview: ED Addresses ‘Long COVID’s’ Impact on IDEA Programs
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants 360 article.) The Department of Education (ED) recently released guidance to states, school administrators and other service providers about covering students with “long COVID” symptoms under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grant program funding.
IDEA Part B ensures that a free, appropriate public education is available to all children with disabilities residing in the state between the ages of 3 through 21 years, with a few specific exceptions. Under Part C of the IDEA, infants and toddlers (birth through age 2 years) with disabilities and their families are eligible to receive early intervention services. ED’s Office of Special Education Programs administers IDEA financial assistance programs, including the Federal Special Education Grants to States under Part B, and Special Education Grants for Infants and Toddlers under Part C.
The guidance notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified “long COVID” as another term for post-COVID conditions that include “a wide range of new, returning or ongoing health problems people can experience more than four weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19,” adding that people who did not have symptoms when they were infected can have post-COVID conditions. Among the numerous symptoms of long COVID include tiredness or fatigue, difficulty thinking or concentrating, headache, changes in smell or taste, dizziness, chest or stomach pain, cough or fever, and joint or muscle pain. Long COVID now can be deemed a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Pub. L. 101-366) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-112).
“A child or student experiencing long COVID or other conditions that have arisen as a result of COVID-19 may be eligible for special education and related services under IDEA,” ED explained in the guidance. “Some children and students who were already identified as having a disability under IDEA and who have contracted COVID-19 may experience new or worsened symptoms related to their pre-existing disability, COVID-19 or both. If these symptoms persist in the form of long COVID, these children or students may need new or different related aids and services, specialized instruction or reasonable modifications.”
The guidance notes that states must determine whether a child or student with long COVID is eligible for IDEA on an individual basis. Under the “child find” regulations for IDEA Part C, states must have a system in place to identify, locate and evaluate infants and toddlers who may be eligible for early intervention services as early as possible. With parental consent, a timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation must be completed, and if the child is determined eligible, a child and family assessment must be conducted to determine the appropriate early intervention services and supports for the child and family.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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