COVID-19 Guidance for IDEA Programs: A Self-Assessment Checklist for Local Education Agencies (LEAs)

State education agencies across the country must ensure that their guidance on service provision during the pandemic is consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and may be engaging with local educational agencies (LEAs) to determine how these requirements are being met at the local level. The following checklist is recommended for use by LEAs (e.g., school districts, charter schools) to self-assess existing local policies and guidance provided to staff regarding federal requirements for special education programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirements enumerated in this tool have been derived from federal statute and regulation, along with policy guidance from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Citations to sources are included below. Summaries of federal policy guidance, statutes, and regulations are included below for quick and easy reference, and should be supplemented by a close reading of the cited full resource. Finally, note that state policymakers may have established additional requirements for LEAs that are not included below, so check the relevant state’s website(s) and/or engage your state education agency contacts if you have specific questions relative to your context.

April 2021