Dear Inclusive Education Initiative (IEI) Disability-Inclusive Education Community of Practice Members,
We hope this second issue of our newsletter finds you healthy and well during this extraordinary time. The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide-reaching impacts across the globe, and perhaps one of the most significant has been the school closures that have affected 92% of the world’s student population out of school for an undetermined amount of time. Children with disabilities are at more of a risk to getting left behind during this crisis as the mainstream solutions to distance learning often neglect their needs.
This issue, as well as much of the content we are currently posting on our LinkedIn page, focuses on COVID-19 resources on how best to respond to COVID-19 as it impacts learners with disabilities around the world.
The IEI is working hard to address the educational impacts of COVID-19 on children with disabilities in a variety of ways including:
- An experts' meeting to understand the emerging needs and issues of children with disabilities at regional and global levels and to discuss emerging practices in mainstream education, as well as solutions and accommodations for children with disabilities.
- A working paper on the disability inclusive education COVID-19 response. The paper will outline specific COVID-19 related barriers for education of children with disabilities and offer a solutions menu. It will also offer guidance on mainstreaming disability inclusion within additional financing modalities.
- A survey for caregivers of children with disabilities, teachers for children with disabilities, and persons with disabilities to understand if learners with disabilities are accessing the supports they need to continue their education while schools are closed. We invite you to share it widely with your networks.
As always, we want to hear from you! Please share papers, project news, blogs, and any relevant information and materials that you feel would benefit our community and stay in touch.
You can either email us at iei@worldbank.org or join our LinkedIn Group and post there.
Especially during a time like this, community is key. We each have access to resources that others don’t and sharing these around will help us to respond more efficiently and effectively to the situation at hand.
If you missed our first issue of our newsletter, you can read it here.
We are excited to see this community continue to grow and we know that it will add value to our work, only with your active participation. We welcome your feedback, questions, and own work that will encourage further discussion.
With best wishes,
The Inclusive Education Initiative Team
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