COVID-19 Information for Students
Video from the Web version of this publication:
Disability Rights at College During COVID-19 Pandemic: https://www.youtube.com/embed/OR7ZTZWWhCc
- Be sure to check out the NCCSD's information about COVID-19 that's specifically for people with disabilities (including information about social security and Medicaid).
- Mental health resources:
- For those of you in crisis or needing immediate support, check out our list of crisis resources, including the number for a SAMHSA Disaster Distress Hotline and the National Disability COVID-19 Healthcare Support and Advocacy Hotline.
- The JED Foundation created a list list of COVID-19 mental health resources .
- NAMI has also created resources about mental health during the pandemic and has some information about COVID-19 in Spanish.
- SAMHSA has also created tips for supporting your mental and behavioral health right now, including how to deal with social distancing and isolation.
- The American Psychological Association has numerous resources about COVID and stress, parenting, compassion fatigue, self-care, and post-COVID psychological effects.
- ARK Behavioral Health provides information about dealing with mental health issues related to COVID-19 and the pandemic
- Tips for prospective students choosing a college or just starting college during the pandemic, from disability services providers in the UK . Also, be sure to check our CeDaR database and resources for prospective students.
- Advice for your Financial Aid package if you need to leave campus and guidance from the US Financial Aid website about COVID-19 and issues related to financial aid (including forbearance).
- Online courses:
- Tips for online courses from the NCCSD Clearinghouse - or go to the Clearinghouse home page and type any word or phrase in the search box if you want to explore other topics.
- Help with technology , including free resources and accessibility tools in popular videoconferencing software.
- Need help figuring out online courses in general? Here are some videos on YouTube that introduce students to Blackboard and Canvas . They are captioned but don't have audio descriptions, though the Canvas narrators do a pretty good job of saying what things look like and where they are on the screen.
- The Maine Maritime Academy created a guide to adjusting your study habits
(adapted from guidance at the University of Michigan). - The College Diabetes Network has strategies for finishing your semesters at home (or continuing at home.) It provides strategies to focus on your online coursework.
- Accommodations and disability documentation during a pandemic:
- Strategies and advice from the National Deaf Center (which are great for all students), and the unique ways COVID-19 is affecting Deaf students .
- COVID-19 and college accommodations information from Accessible College .
- Some campus Disability Resource offices may want you to submit additional disability documentation related to the barriers that you might encounter in online classes. You don't have to get tested all over again. Contact your doctor or clinic and ask them to add an addendum to your disability documentation that addresses possible barriers in online classes.
- New to disability services? Use our CeDaR Database to find contact information for people who can answer your questions about disability.
- Your legal rights as a student with a disability during the pandemic:
- Guidance and information about your rights during the pandemic , from Disability Rights Texas
- If you have an emotional support animal or service animal, the CDC has information about COVID-19 and animals .
- If you are afraid your wishes will not be respected at a clinic or hospital, consider making a living will, advanced directive , or Five Wishes document. If you can't afford an attorney, write one out as best you can and discuss it with the person who will make decisions on your behalf. Be sure they have a copy. It will not be legally binding but will carry weight with health care providers in most states.
- If you have a complaint or problem, please check out NCCSD resources about how to address problems in general and how to file a grievance/complaint about disability services.
- Equity issues:
- The NCCSD has resources about food insecurity and homelessness if you need them, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition has resources specifically about being homeless during the pandemic .
- A statement by scholars in the Accessible Campus Action Alliance about equity in re-opening and defining "at-risk" students, faculty, and staff.
- Information about higher education employees , including employees with disabilities and COVID-related discrimination of Asian Americans - from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Many graduate students are also employees on their campuses.
- Also check out NCCSD information for BIPOC about COVID, our general resources about disability and race and religion, and information about disability identity and personal issues like self-care.
- Take a look at our book list of readings about disability and higher education.
- If you are living with parents:
- This will help parents understand what's happening with you.
- The College Diabetes Network also has a sample communication agreement that helps students, families, or roommates, negotiate ways they can support each other at home.
- Things to know as your campus is re-opening:
- Contact your disability services office if you have a compromised immune system or a disability that may worsen if you return to campus, to see if online accommodations or options are available. If you have family members or children and need to stay home, also talk with disability services about this. They can give you resources on campus that can address these issues. This varies by campus and sometimes by course, so check early!
- Ask your campus about policies for wearing masks and social distancing.
- Talk with Financial Aid, any organization funding grants for you, and vocational rehabilitation (if you work with them) to find out what happens if you need to take a medical leave due to illness, or if your campus opens or re-closes.
- Find out what the cleaning policies are for student spaces, residential halls, offices, and other places on campus.
- Learn about medical leaves. How do you get one and what is required for returning students?
- Be sure close relatives and/or friends know how to contact disability services and anyone else who will need notification if you get sick (like financial aid, service provider agencies, the registrar, or an adviser). Some campuses will handle that for you, but some will not.
- If you planned to study abroad or do an internship, field placement, or externship, find out if these are happening and how you will stay safe.
- If other students or professors get sick, what are your campus policies? Where/how will students quarantine so they do not have to expose roommates, be in eating areas, or share bathrooms?
- If you have an emotional support animal or service animal, plan how the animal will get care if you become sick on campus.
- Plan how you will get home or find a place to live if your campus closes again.
- If you use in-person services on campus (e.g., a PCA, scribes, interpreters, readers), then find out how they will help keep you safe (like wearing masks), and whether these will still be available. Some services may be replaced by online or digital options to protect service providers.
- If your campus can't answer any of your questions, then ask when policies will be ready.
- We are not attorneys and do not offer legal advice. If you need legal assistance, you can contact the NCCSD and we will help you find general resources if you need them.