Equity in the Online World

Unfortunately, these systemic issues are still present in our current COVID-given online education system. And unfortunately, low-income Students of Color are bearing the brunt of its negative effects. It is hard enough learning on a computer with learning differences, but add faulty internet services, parents with busy schedules, and stress from the uncertainty of what is going to happen next, school becomes a whole nother whirlwind of chaos (Samuels, 2020).

There are students with special needs who are able to navigate online school and have at-home support when it becomes too much, but for those with fewer resources to supplement online learning’s shortcomings, there needs to be additional services going forward. With a lack of internet and/or a caregiver to help them out, students need a place to come so that they can get their work done. Even with COVID restrictions, there needs to be an allocation of services for special education students.

One teaching method that has gained traction in the last year has been the adaption of “learning pods,” small 2-10 student groups who learn under the instruction of one instructor who is paid out-of-pocket by the students’ families; these “pods” are expensive and require a lot of coordination between families (Green, 2020). Similarly to how learning pods have been developed, students without the means for such pods need to be allocated the same kind of opportunity to get the most out of online education (Green, 2020). If their home environments are not adequate for home-school, small groups of select students could return to school in a socially distant manner with their teachers present. This way they will be able to learn in a small, in-person pod and receive the same opportunity as those who can do it privately. Even though we’d all like to come back to school (parents and students alike), there needs to be an understanding that certain groups need to come back more than others. COVID has affected us all, but special education students, whose makeup is largely BIPOC, need extra support. They cannot help their circumstances and special needs, and they do not deserve to be punished because of them. It is vital that equity be upheld so that students can stay on track, especially if they are at a higher risk of falling behind.

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References

Green, C. T. (2020, July 22). Opinion | The Latest in School Segregation: Private Pandemic ‘Pods.’ The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/opinion/pandemic-pods-schools.html.

Samuels, Christina A. Closing COVID-19 Equity Gaps in Schools. (2020, September 16). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/closing-covid-19-equity-gaps-in-schools/2020/09.