Imagine a teacher assigns a writing project, requiring students to write three paragraphs related to an element on the periodic table.
Imagine one student writes three paragraphs about Chlorine and turns it into the teacher.
Now, imagine the teacher returning the paper back to the student, with red marks noting points taken off and the message, “I expected five sentences per paragraph.”
What happened?
No laws or implementing regulations state accommodations must be written within a specific word count.
However, pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the unique needs of students must be addressed.
In other words: Clarity and ensuring the unique needs of the child are met is more important than word count.
Word prediction software is an assistive technology (AT) tool that suggests words as a person types them. If you want your student to use it and/or your student’s IEP or 504 Plan team suggest it, what should be included in the accommodation? How should it be written?
The following is an example of an accommodation written into one student’s IEP:
“Student will respond using word prediction software.”
Seems straightforward, but there are too many holes to allow it to stand.
A teacher asks her students to write a report about a topic of their choice. She states two requirements for the report:
1. The report must be one page in length.
2. The report must focus on a topic she taught in science within the last month.
Did she provide clearly-defined expectations?
No.
The accommodation for clearly-defined expectations should provide exactly what it sound like: clearly-defined expectations.
For the student’s IEP or 504, the accommodation must be written as clearly as it is expected to be implemented.
Accessible text is text that can accessed by the student. This might be a format such as Braille, digital text, large-format text, or audio.
If your student needs accessible text, ask the questions posed in this article as this accommodation is developed,
File this under “accommodations that shouldn’t go wrong, but end up leaving you paralyzed in jaw-dropping numbness” at the absurdness surrounding incorrect interpretations and/or implementations, or both.
What is Strategic Seating?
It is just what it sounds like—strategic seating. It is a seat in the classroom that is chosen for a specific student, to help address his or her unique needs.
Who knew such a straight forward accommodation could become a nightmare?
A parent requested the following accommodation after his teachers repeatedly mentioned his Individualized Education Program (IEP) to the class:
“Teachers should not intentionally allow other students to know that XXXXXX has an IEP and receives special education services.”
The parent didn’t understand that privacy is a right, not an accommodation, simply because the privacy violations modeled by the teacher pointed in the opposite direction.
This article is an extension to the article “Accommodation Break Down: Testing to Completion”.
It includes a few different options I wish I’d included previously, as well as a few more pits you’ll want to make sure you avoid.
This is the accommodation that warrants its own evolution chart.
In my experience, it has the dubious honor of being the most-changed, least-followed, and most misunderstood accommodation that I’ve ever seen played out.
“Copies of Teacher Notes”
This is another accommodation I thought to be straightforward.
How could it possibly be interpreted any other way than the teacher providing all teacher notes to the student in advance of the class?
But wait boys and girls, there’s more—always more to an accommodation than any of us expected.
“Testing to Completion”.
Seems like a straightforward accommodation, right?
Student is given the test.
Student is given as much time as is needed to complete the test.
How could it possibly be interpreted any other way?
What could possibly go wrong?
The flash pass accommodation is a life saver. Unfortunately, it wasn’t on my radar until middle school. It’s an accommodation I’d recommend for both older and younger ages.
What is a Flash Pass?
A Flash Pass allows a student to leave class without having to 1) ask permission or 2) provide an explanation.
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