UPDATE ON ACCOMMODATIONS

Lisa Mullins

And

Sonya Burnett

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WHAT ARE ACCOMMODATIONS? Accommodations are changes to materials or

procedures that provide effective and equitable access to grade-level curriculum during instruction/testing.

An accommodation is intended to provide access to a student who would not otherwise be able to participate in grade-level instruction.

The goal of an appropriate accommodation use is to determine which accommodations a student needs (for access) as opposed to which accommodations would merely provide a benefit (increase the passing score to a higher score)

Copyright 2010 by Region VII Education Service Center. All rights Reserved. This material may be reproduced, displayed, modified, or distributed without the express written permission of the copyright holder. For permission, contact copyright@esc7.net

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ACCOMMODATIONS

PRESENTATION – A change that allows students to access information in various formats.

RESPONSE – A change that allows students to complete activities, assignments, and assessments using various methods.

SETTING – A change in the location in which an assignment or assessment is completed or a change to the conditions of the setting.

TIMING AND SCHEDULING – A change to increase the standard length of time to complete the assignment or assessment or to alter the way the time is organized.

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WHO CAN USE ACCOMMODATIONS?

For students with special needs and disabilities

They are unique to one student (not a whole class)

Although some accommodations may be appropriate for instructional use, they may not be appropriate or allowed on state assessment.

The student should routinely receive the accommodation in instruction, assignments and testing.

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DOCUMENTAITON OF ACCOMMODATIONS

If a student receives Special Education services, all accommodations must be documented in the student’s IEP.

If a student receives 504 services, all accommodations must be documented in the student’s IAP.

Assessment accommodations for ELLs receiving Special Education services must be documented by the LPAC and kept in the student’s permanent record file.

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ACCOMMODATIONS:TEACHER TOOLS AT A GLANCE

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ACCOMMODATIONS AT A GLANCE (CONT.)

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ACCOMMODATIONS:TEACHER TOOLS AT A GLANCE

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ACCOMMODATION REQUEST PROCESS FLOWCHART

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ACCOMMODATION REQUEST FORM

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ACCOMMODATIONS REQUEST FORM REQUIREMENTS

Never include confidential student information, such as first and last name, Social Security number, or pages from an IEP.

A separate request form should be completed for each student needing an accommodation. Blanket requests for entire classrooms or disability categories will NOT be accepted. The request may list multiple testing programs, multiple accommodations, and/or multiple administrations but must address the needs of only one student per form.

The name or a description of the accommodation must be provided.

A rationale that describes why the student needs the accommodation must include objective evidence.

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WHAT IS OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE?

The information provided as the rationale on the Accommodation Request Form that

clearly indicates why the student needs the accommodation.

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EXAMPLES OF OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE

An explanation of disability and how it relates to the requested accommodations.

An observational narrative describing how the student performs with and without the accommodation.

Test scores with and without the use of the accommodation(s).

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DYSLEXIA BUNDLED ACCOMMODATIONS

May be provided to a student not receiving special education services who is identified with dyslexia

Receiving special education services who is identified with dyslexia or has documentation in the IEP that indicates that the student exhibits the characteristics of dyslexia, causing him/her to lack word-identification skills and/or have difficulty reading words in isolation.

The student must routinely receive accommodations in the classroom instruction and testing that addresses the difficulties he/she has reading words in isolation.

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WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE A DYSLEXIA BUNDLE DECISION

The placement committee as required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It must be documented in the student’s IAP.

The committee of knowledgeable persons as outlined in The Dyslexia Handbook. It must be documented in accordance with district policies and procedures.

The ARD committee. It must be documented in the student’s IEP.

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ELIGIBILITY FOR ORAL/SIGNED ADMINISTRATION

Oral administration is not allowed for the reading, writing or ELA tests (this does not apply to the dyslexia bundled accommodations or read aloud test questions and answer choices for TAKS-M reading selections).

In all cases, the student must routinely receive this type of accommodation in classroom instruction and testing.

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TESTS MAY BE READ OR SIGNED IN MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND/OR SOCIAL

STUDIES IF THE STUDENT IS:

not receiving special education or Section 504 services who is identified as dyslexic

receiving Section 504 services who is identified as dyslexic or has evidence of reading difficulties as documented in the IAP

receiving special education services who is identified as dyslexic or has evidence of reading difficulties as documented in the IEP

Receiving special education services who is deaf or hard of hearing and who has evidence of reading difficulties as documented in the IEP

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SUPPLEMENTAL AIDS

A supplemental aid is a resource that assists a student in recalling information.

The student must be able to understand the information, but simply needs assistance recalling it. If a student’s disability affects memory retrieval, a supplemental aid may be allowed on certain state assessments.

The supplemental aid must serve only as a tool and not a source of direct answers.

All supplemental aids must be documented in the student’s IEP and must be routinely used in the classroom instruction and testing.

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HELPFUL RESOURCES

ARD Committee Resourceshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3314&menu_id=793Accommodations Resourceshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3696&menu_id=793TPM – Texas Protection MeasureTAKS - http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=8351&menu_id=793TAKS-M - http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=2147483963&menu_id=793

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RESOURCES

Vertical Scalehttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3818&menu_id=793SERP – Special Education Reading Project(Instructional Decision-Making Procedures for EnsuringAppropriate Instruction for Struggling Students)http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/reading/pdf/idm.pdfStudent Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH)http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=7739&menu_id=645&menu_id2=789Special Education in Texashttp://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/

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RESOURCES

TAKS Assessment Resourceshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=948&menu_id=793 TAKS–Alt Assessment Resourceshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3638&menu_id=793TAKS –M Assessment Resourceshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3636&menu_id=793Assessment Resources from Presentations, Conferences and TETNshttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3659&menu_id=793

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