Students with disabilities (SWDs) continue to experience rates of high school dropout greater than students not receiving special education services. Furthermore, there is a persistent gap in the rates of high school completion among students with and without disabilities. While criticized for lowering standards and learning, online learning represents a plausible mechanism to both decrease dropout and increase high school completion among SWDs. Drawing on theoretical frameworks advanced by Dynarski et al. and Cavanaugh et al., the current study uses a nationally representative data panel to investigate the association between online coursetaking among SWDs and two dependent variables: high school dropout and completion. Results indicated that online coursetaking was associated with increased probabilities of high school completion among SWDs. Implications and policy recommendations are discussed.
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