Other Health Impaired (OHI)

Definition: Other Health Impaired (OHI) means having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment due to a chronic or acute health problem, including but not limited to asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, leukemia, kidney disease, sickle cell anemia or Tourette syndrome.
These conditions alone do not qualify a child under the eligibility category of Other Health Impaired. There must be evidence of adverse educational impact because of the chronic or acute health problem that cannot be addressed by general education alone and, as such, requires specially designed instruction by a special educator.

CDE Guidance

Guidance for Determining Eligibility for Special Education Students with Other Health Impairment (PDF)

National Resources

Related Disorders

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)

Long COVID

Definition: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines long COVID (also referred to as post-COVID conditions, long-haul COVID, post-acute COVID-19, or chronic COVID) as "a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even people who did not have COVID-19 symptoms in the days or weeks after they were infected can have post-COVID conditions. These conditions can present as different types and combinations of health problems for different lengths of time."

National Resources

Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability Under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557 : The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice jointly published a guidance document on “long COVID” as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
Long COVID under Section 504 and the IDEA: A Resource to Support Children, Students, Educators, Schools, Service Providers, and Families (July 26, 2021) – U.S. Department of Education Fact Sheet
CDC Post-COVID Conditions
Kennedy Krieger Institute – Supporting a Student with Long-COVID

For more information about Other Health Impaired, contact:

Jody Dickerson MN, BSN
Phone: 720.795.2273
dickerson_j@cde.state.co.us
Exceptional Student Services Unit
   OR
   Sarah Blumenthal
Phone: 303.866.6779
blumenthal_s@cde.state.co us
Health & Wellness Unit

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