COVID-19 and Special Education

Overview

These Exceptional Student Services Unit (ESSU) webpages are continuously expanding to support educators who serve, and families of Colorado children with disabilities through the provision of Special Education-specific information and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

State & Federal Guidance

This section organizes guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education, State Of Colorado Agencies including the CDE Exceptional Student Services Unit.

Special Education During
Covid 19

Learning Supports for Students With Disabilities

This section provides resources across a wide multitude of disability topics.

Learning Supports for
Students with Disabilities

Resources for Families of Students with Disabilities During COVID-19

This section provides access to resources for families and caregivers of children with disabilities, as they support their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Resources for Families
of Students with Disabilities

Parent/Family
Frequently Asked Questions

Disability & Topic Specific Information

Serious Emotional Disability, Social Emotional Learning, Mental Health & Behavior

Remote Learning Resources for SEL, Mental Health and Behavior

Significant Support Needs

Significant Support Needs & COVID-19

Speech & Language

Speech & Language Resources

Transition Age

Providing Secondary Transition Services During COVID-19

Visual Impairment, Including Blindness

Visual Impairment, Including Blindness COVID-19 Resources

Top of Page

Virtual Office Hours

After the time of remote instruction, the Office of Special Education has been fielding many phone and email questions regarding how best to support the accessibility, behavior, learning, social-emotional, and transition needs of learners with disabilities. In response to requests from the field, the following office hours have resumed:

Autism Spectrum Disorders
Blind/Visually Impaired (B/VI) Sound Bites
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Listen, Learn, Ask, Answer
New or Near-New Special Education Directors - Lunch Connect Meetings
School-Based Mental Health and Special Education
Secondary Transition
Serious Emotional Disability, Social Emotional Learning, Mental Health & Behavior
Significant Support Needs
Speech-Language Pathology Office Hours

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Beginning August 12, 2022, Brooke Carson and the ASD team will host office hours during the school year on the following Fridays each from 12:30 - 1:30 PM on the following Fridays:

August 12, 19, 26
September 9, 16, 23, 30
October 7, 14, 21
November 4
December 2, 16
January 6, 20
February 3, 17
March 3, 17
April 7, 21
May 5, 19

School Year ASD
Zoom Meetings

Meeting ID: 816 3285 8576

Blind/Visually Impaired (B/VI)

Tanni Anthony will be offering Sound Bite sessions, a Virtual Monthly Professional Learning /Conversations this Fall.

Sound Bites are 2022-23 opportunities for personnel trained to work with learners with visual impairment, including blindness to gather once a month for professional learning and conversations on improving educational assessment and programmatic practices. Some sessions will be restricted to teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs).

The dates are as follows from 3:30 to 5:00 PM.

October 19, 2022
November 16, 2022
January 18, 2023
February 15, 2023
March 15, 2023
April 19, 2023
May 17, 2023

Register Sound Bites/
BVI Office Hours

All participants must register no later than two weeks in advance for each session.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Listen, Learn, Ask, Answer

Join the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Leadership team as they discuss various topics around Deaf Education. Each conversation will be held from 3:30 - 5:30 on the date listed below.

Registration links by date & topic

Learn More about Listen, Learn, Ask, Answers sessions here.

New or Near-New Special Education Directors - Lunch Connect Meetings

The Director Mentors, Frances Woolery-Jones & Mary Gomez will host virtual opportunities for new or near-new directors of special education directors members to ask questions, stay up to date on various topics and network with each other.

Lunch Connect Meetings are scheduled for 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM on the following dates:

September 23, 2022
October 21, 2022
November 18, 2022
January 13, 2023
February 17, 2023
March 17, 2023
April 21, 2023
May 12, 2023

Meeting Link

This meeting is open to only new or near-new Directors of Special Education. For more information email Mary Gomez, at gomez_m@cde.state.co.us, or Frances Woolery-Jones, at woolery-jones_f@cde.state.co.us.

School-Based Mental Health and Special Education

Krista Klabo will resume office hours in fall 2022.

Office hours will be the third Tuesday each month from 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM.

The content will focus on Coaching and Consultation as a Related Service Provider.

Session dates & topics of focus are:

September 20, 2022 - Intro Coaching and Consultation as a Related Service Provider
October 18, 2022 - Coaching and Consultation with Families
November 29, 2022 - Adult Learning Principles
January 17, 2023 - Coaching and Consultation with General Education Teachers
February 21, 2023 - Implementation Science
March 21, 2023 - Coaching and Consultation with Support Professionals and Other School Staff
April 18, 2023 - Coaching and Consultation with Administrators