UCLA’s Civil Rights Project Publishes Report on Students with Disabilities
UCLA’s Civil Rights Project has published a report chronicling the need to fulfill the promise of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. The three-part report focuses on the lack of mental health services, behavior supports, and educationally sound interventions for students with disabilities.
Specifically, part one describes students who qualify for educational support under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires schools receiving federal funding to identify such students. The second section explains the experiences of students with disabilities with regards to disciplinary exclusion, referral to law enforcement, and chronic absenteeism—highlighting the racial disparities in each outcome area. Lastly, section three explores the ways in which the pandemic has exacerbated inequities for students with disabilities and provides federal policy recommendations to better support students with disabilities and eliminate racial inequities.