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The current COVID-19 pandemic is presenting challenges for families (Cluver et al., 2020), which may be exacerbated for caregivers of children with developmental disabilities (DDs; Center on the Developing Child, 2020). The purpose of this study was to explore caregiver burden and psychological distress among caregivers of children with DD as compared to caregivers of typically developing children across the United States as a result of COVID-19. Between 2 weeks and 1 month following COVID-19-related school closures, a total of 460 caregivers from across the U.S. completed an online survey via Qualtrics; recruitment and initial survey completion occurred simultaneously. Of the total sample of eligible participants (N = 407), 225 were the primary caregiver of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)/attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 182 were the primary caregiver of a child without ASD/ADHD. Participants across groups indicated varying levels of exposure to COVID-19 and an impact of COVID-19 at the community and individual or family levels. However, caregivers of children with ASD/ADHD reported significantly higher levels of burden, depression, anxiety, and stress. Overall, findings are consistent with anecdotal and preliminary reports that all caregivers are experiencing COVID-19-related challenges, with caregivers of children with ASD/ADHD experiencing even greater challenges, particularly with regard to burden and psychological distress. Impact and ImplicationsAlthough all family caregivers are experiencing challenges as a result of COVID-19, caregivers of children with disabilities indicated a more significant impact on themselves and their families. Schools should consider the impact of COVID-19 on all family caregivers when planning child supports and services, but caregivers of children with ASD/ADHD will likely need additional support for both their own well-being and their child's educational goals.

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Recent decades of education policy, research, and practice have brought focus on a positive education approach as applied within tiered service delivery frameworks to meet diverse needs of varied intensities. Related, the science of implementation has begun to increase understanding of supports to strengthen use of a positive education approach within tiered service delivery frameworks. To date, the body of work has fostered important shifts in how problems are viewed and addressed using a positive lens, supporting more equitable opportunity in education. To realize the full potential, however, there is a need to integrate theory and science as embedded within a whole child, school, and community lens. We propose that positive education will advance equity when grounded in integrated theory and science across developmental systems theory, prevention science, ecological systems theory, and implementation science. We first provide a brief overview of schools as a context to serve as assets or risks to equity, followed by a discussion of theory and science using a whole child, whole school, and whole community lens. We end with directions for science and practice in advancing a positive education approach.

Integration of multitiered academic, behavioral, and social-emotional efforts, such as the implementation of a Comprehensive, Integrated, Three-Tiered (Ci3T) model of prevention, is critical for supporting student development across domains of functioning. In particular, universal behavior screening has been shown to predict outcomes across these domains and as such is foundational to integrated systems. Thus, districts and schools are committed to continuing to learn how to implement behavior screening effectively and efficiently. As such, the purpose of this first qualitative study of systematic screening for behavior was to explore perspectives on benefits, challenges, and opportunities in behavior screening as gathered from members of school- and district-based leadership teams who were currently implementing Ci3T. Both individual interviews and focus groups were conducted, and thematic analysis was used to identify themes that could be used to enhance the implementation and use of behavior screening. Ci3T Leadership Team members indicated knowledge about behavior screening procedures and relayed challenges with respect to using behavior screening data. Taken together, a need emerged for broader professional learning for all school staff members around increasing knowledge and use of behavior screening data. We discuss limitations and directions for future research.