The recommendations in this report are limited to the areas investigated in this study and researchers’ understanding of participant responses. Most of the recommendations reflect well-established and widely accepted practices that, nonetheless, have not been fully and broadly implemented, as demonstrated in this report.

Schools and Professionals

  • School staff need to be aware of their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and other civil rights laws, including the obligation to make digital tools used in the classroom accessible. With significant turnover in many schools, developing such knowledge should be a priority for personnel who are new to their position.
  • Teachers and families alike should strive to create a culture of inclusion and set high expectations for blind and low vision students’ access to and achievement in education.
  • Procurement and curriculum officials must ensure that the software and web-based platforms and curricula that are used in the classroom are fully accessible to and usable by students who are blind or have low vision. At a minimum, these tools should meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
  • When hardware is purchased, it must be accessible and meet the individualized needs of students. For example, although some students need only a Chromebook, some need laptops with large screens or a powerful enough processor to run their assistive software. School technology procurement professionals should add such systems to a pre-approved list of equipment, making procurement easier and quicker.
  • Both general education teachers and teachers of students with disabilities should provide accessible digital classroom environments. Teachers should create accessible slideshows, include image descriptions in documents, use headers, activate captions, and use good contrast, among other practices, to create accessible digital documents. Teachers should implement inclusive speaking practices, such as discouraging chat usage during a video conference and/or setting aside dedicated time to chat when the teacher is not speaking.
  • Principals and teachers must ensure that communications to families are fully accessible and that accommodations are made for parents and family members with disabilities, so that they can support their child’s education, regardless of whether their child has a disability.
  • IEP (Individualized Education Program) and Section 504 plan teams should provide intensive and/or compensatory services to those who may have dropped out of or received less effective early intervention or education services due to broadband access issues or inaccessibility and continue to set ambitious goals for children’s education. Even if students have been in the classroom for the last year, teams should continue to review progress towards goals that may have been neglected during remote schooling.
  • In an increasingly digital society, IEP and Section 504 plan teams and schools should be proactive in providing assistive technology and computer training at an earlier age. Students who are blind or have low vision should receive early instruction in using technology, especially when sighted children are learning to use computers at an early age, including access to specialized devices like braille notetakers, screen readers, and screen magnification. IEP and Section 504 teams should account for these students’ additional technology accommodations and training needs in the early years of their education.
  • Schools should be prepared to support children from bilingual families, including providing interpreters, creating communications and materials in the child’s home language, investing in bilingual staff, and offering explanations of familial and student rights in the home language.
  • Communication and collaboration between educators and families is paramount to ensuring children’s success, and in many cases, familial engagement improved during the pandemic. Such communication must continue even after students are no longer attending classes from home. Schools should continue to create opportunities for incorporating familial support and learning, including providing families with additional ways to reinforce skills development in the home.

Federal Policymakers

  • The U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Education should issue regulations and guidance that apply to schools and universities requiring websites and applications used in the school environment to be accessible.
  • The Department of Education should further invest in technical assistance and training on procuring accessible educational software and hardware.
  • The U.S. Congress should continue to increase annual funding for IDEA and other educational programs to ensure that schools and districts are able to provide additional or intensive services to children who lost quality instruction time during the pandemic, including early intervention and preschool services. Investments in personnel preparation and retention are especially important to address a shortage of professionals.

State and Local Administrators

  • School districts should plan to use American Rescue Plan, E-Rate, and Emergency Connectivity Fund Program funds to provide ongoing access to computers, Wi-Fi, and broadband connections. Information about the Affordable Connectivity Program should be made widely available in English, Spanish, and other languages, to support families in acquiring and maintaining stable Internet connections and home computing devices.
  • State education agencies should support local educational agencies in conducting additional Child Find efforts for students who have not been seen as often in person. This support could range from funding for additional evaluations to technical assistance and guidance on fast tracking services that unidentified children may have missed during the pandemic. Children with multiple disabilities should be identified by each of their disabilities.
  • Administrators should proactively plan for additional resources, including training and funding for personnel, to ensure that students have access to both braille and assistive technology instruction at an early age. Expanding assistive technology instruction should not preclude appropriate access to braille.
  • Teachers and administrators need access to professional development opportunities to learn how to make the virtual and in-person classroom accessible, especially in times of transition or crisis, such as pandemics or natural disasters.
  • State and local administrators should track changes in placement for students who are blind or have low vision and evaluate which programmatic changes, technical assistance, and resources are needed to ensure that students are receiving a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) in their local public schools. These changes should be implemented as quickly as possible. Additionally, if these students return to their original placement, those schools must be prepared to provide appropriate services that enable students to attain the highest possible achievement levels.
  • State vocational rehabilitation administrators should be prepared to conduct outreach to and support youth who may not have received sufficient transition services during the school years affected by the pandemic.