FAQ

Any student with an IEP or 504 Plan may trial equipment from the AT Loan Library.

The AT Loan Library supports individual students.

We are happy to assist buildings in making decisions about technology supports that will reach the widest variety of student needs possible. Staff should consider reaching out to other district support professionals such as media specialists, ELL staff and other SPED professionals for assistance with building and classroom supports.

Request using the AT/AAC Consultation & Tool Request Google Form

Make sure to choose the 'I need' option at the bottom of the first page if you would like consultation or support with your decision making process.

If a student has Occupational Therapy Services on the IEP, please consult with the OT assigned to the school. If a student has Speech Language Pathology Services on the IEP, please consult with the SLP assigned to the school.

Yes, please do! We encourage teams to utilize equipment in their buildings.

If you plan to add to the IEP an AT/AAC tool that is costly and not readily available at all schools, please contact the AT Team to have a student AT/AAC folder and Long-Term Loan form shared with you.

Regardless of who currently provides the equipment, going through the Long-Term Loan process helps ensure data-driven decisions about AT/AAC tools. Also that the student will have access to the right AT/AAC tool for them from the AT Loan Library should they need it in the future.

In considering assistive technology, the team will want to determine the specific tasks that the student has difficulty with and have an understanding of what has previously been tried in addition to what is currently being used (what worked, what didn’t).

It is best practice to trial AT Tools with a student and gather supporting data before adding an AT Tool to an IEP or 504 Plan.

The AT Team provides 40-day Trial Loans of AT/AAC tools to help IEP/504 teams find the right solutions for students. During this time the school team takes data to measure how the technology is helping the student make progress toward IEP goals and to determine the efficacy.

If data suggests AT is necessary for the student, the Assistive Technology Review Committee (ATRC) will recommend approving the AT/AAC Tool for Long-Term Loan and will give suggestions for documentation in the IEP according to best practices.

A Long-Term Loan indicates that the student has completed a Trial Loan of the AT/AAC Tool and the student's IEP Team has determined that they need access to those devices in order to provide FAPE (IDEA Section 300.105(b)). This applies to 504 as access to curriculum.

Students who have LTL items will have access to their AT/AAC tool(s) throughout each school year that they are enrolled in Portland Public Schools or until their school team determines there is no longer a need for it.

Any IEP team member (including general education teachers) may collect data.

It is recommend that the team designate responsible staff to obtain data needed to determine the efficacy of the tool.

The AT Team uses Google Drive to manage student files.

When a Trial Loan is requested, an AT/AAC folder will be set up and shared with the IEP Team or 504 Coordinator. The Long-Term Loan form will be in this folder.

Use the link shared with you at the beginning of the trial, and add a shortcut to your Drive. Please upload work samples or videos to this folder as well.

The Privately Owned Equipment Form must be completed before the student can use privately owned equipment at school.

Once the form is completed, it needs to be uploaded to Synergy and uploaded to the student’s AT/AAC Google Drive folder.

Private School: PPS is not responsible for providing equipment to students when parents have opted to place their children in a private school placement. If the student is coming to their home school for sped services (speech, learning support), they can have access to equipment during those specific times.

Home School: the District is not responsible for providing equipment to students when parents have opted to home school their children.

Home Instruction: the District is responsible to provide both services and equipment to students who are receiving home instruction.

Special Programs: the District is responsible to provide both services and equipment to students placed in a special school or program.

Alternative Placement/School: MESD provides AT services to these schools and the District is responsible to provide the equipment.

If the student has a Long-Term Loan, they are allowed to take that AT/AAC device home throughout the school year once the parent/guardian has agreed to and signed the AT/AAC Tool Use at Home Form and then returned it to the AT Team.

If the student is eligible for Columbia Regional Inclusive Services (OI, VI, HI, TBI, ASD eligibility categories), equipment can be borrowed from their library.

See the Columbia Regional Inclusive Services website for more information. Consultation is still provided by the PPS AT Team.

Oregon Technology Access Program (OTAP) also has a lending library for students in Oregon.

Please check with the AT/AAC Team for other opportunities.

At the end of each school year we collect all Assistive Technology equipment for maintenance and inventorying.

Trial Loans are due back the second to last week of the student school year.

Long-Term Loans are due back when the student is finished using it for the year, or the last student day.