2021 brought COVID-19 vaccines and with them a return to in-person schooling. This return has been challenging for the students we represent. Transportation issues, zero-tolerance discipline, increased school violence, lost learning, and a shortage of appropriate professionals, all disproportionately affect students of color and students with disabilities.
What we’re seeing this fall:
- Sharp increase in calls to our HELPLINE
- Lack of remote learning options for immunocompromised students and families
- A twofold increase in discipline referrals this fall vs 2019
- An increase in complaints about inappropriate referrals to DCF for students not returning to school due to COVID fears
- 2021 testing revealing students were 10 pts behind in math and 9 pts behind in reading, compared with matched students in prior years.
- Unfinished learning has exacerbated historical inequities---the achievement gap has widened
- An increase in bullying and school violence
- Lack of reliable transportation & trained bus monitors for students with disabilities
- Worsened mental health among our clients including increased anxiety and depression
We will be working harder than ever in 2022 to help our clients close academic gaps, access therapeutic support, dispute unequal exclusion, address bullying, and thrive in school. Frequent and disparate discipline puts kids—primarily BIPOC students and students with disabilities—on a path towards prison.
