EXTENDED STANDARDS AND ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT

§300.114 LRE requirements. (a) General. (1) Except as provided in §300.324(d)(2) (regarding children with disabilities in adult prisons), the State must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that public agencies in the State meet the LRE requirements of this section and §§300.115 through 300.120. (2) Each public agency must ensure that—(i) To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled; and (ii) Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. (34 CFR 300.115I(b)).

(1) A State (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) must develop and implement alternate assessments and guidelines for the participation of children with disabilities in alternate assessments for those children who cannot participate in regular assessments, even with accommodations, as indicated in their respective IEPs, as provided in paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) For assessing the academic progress of students with disabilities under Title I of the ESEA, the alternate assessments and guidelines in paragraph (c)(1) of this section must provide for alternate assessments that—

(i) Are aligned with the State's challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards;

(ii) If the State has adopted alternate academic achievement standards permitted in 34 CFR 200.1(d), measure the achievement of children with the most significant cognitive disabilities against those standards, and

(iii) Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, a State's alternate assessments, if any, must measure the achievement of children with disabilities against the State's grade-level academic achievement standards, consistent with 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2)(ii)(A).

(3) Consistent with 34 CFR 200.1(e), a State may not adopt modified academic achievement standards for any students with disabilities under section 602(3) of the Act. (34 CFR 300.160 (c)).

Ohio’s Learning Standards – Extended (OLS-E) also are commonly known as "the extended standards." These standards help to ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities are provided with multiple ways to learn and demonstrate knowledge. At the same time, the extended standards are designed to maintain the rigor and high expectations of Ohio’s Learning Standards.

The Ohio Department of Education developed the extensions to Ohio’s Learning Standards for English Language Arts and Math as well as the revised standards for Science and Social Studies. A committee comprised of special educators, regular educators, parents, administrators and other stakeholders in Ohio came together in the writing of these extensions to be used for students participating in the Alternate Assessment.

Each subject area has its own link below. As these are intended to be printed, there are blank pages inserted so as to keep the true design nature of this document intact. The standards are always meant to be displayed on the left page with the extensions on the right page.

DOCUMENTS AND RESOURCES FOR OHIO’S LEARNING STANDARDS – EXTENDED (OLS-E)

· English Language Arts - Ohio Academic Content Standards - Extended

· Mathematics - Ohio Academic Content Standards - Extended

· Science - Ohio Academic Content Standards - Extended

· Social Studies - Ohio Academic Content Standards - Extended

Alternate Curriculum:

Students with significant cognitive disabilities participate in an alternate curriculum through Unique Learning System®.

Unique Learning System® is an online, standards-based set of interactive tools specifically designed for students with special needs to access the general curriculum. It provides elementary through transition students with rigorous, standards-based materials specifically designed to meet their instructional needs. Unique provides instructional targets to link academic content standards to curriculum content for students with special needs. Instructional targets are aligned to Ohio’s Learning Standards – Extended (OLS-E), and is also based upon grade level content. Monthly lesson plans and materials address these critical skills in reading, writing, math, science and social studies with embedded transitional outcomes.

Alternate Assessment and Extended Standards Participation Requirements:

Prior to determining if the Alternate Assessment and Curriculum is appropriate for a student with a disability, the IEP team must understand the characteristics of the student’s disability that warrants participation in the Alternate Assessment and curriculum and the potential future implications of this decision. In order for the Alternate Assessment to be considered, the IEP team must review three questions. To be eligible to participate in the Alternate Assessment and Extended Standards, the answer to all three questions in the Alternate Assessment Decision Making Tree must be yes. If the answer to any of the questions is no, the student is not eligible to participate in the Alternate Assessment. The questions are listed below.

Alternate Assessment Questions to Consider

1. Does the student have a significant cognitive disability?

Review of student records indicates a disability or multiple disabilities that significantly impact intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. *Adaptive behavior is defined as essential for someone to live independently and to function safely in daily life.

2. Is the student’s core academic instruction linked to (derived from) Ohio’s New Learning Standards. i.e. the Ohio Academic Content Standards – Extended (OACS-E)?

Goals and instruction listed in the IEP for this student are linked to the enrolled grade level standards and address knowledge and skills that are appropriate and challenging for this student.

3. Does the student requires extensive direct individualized instruction and substantial supports to achieve measurable gains in the grade-and age-appropriate curriculum?

The student

(a) requires extensive, repeated, individualized instruction and support that is not of a temporary or transient nature and

(b) uses substantially adapted materials and individualized methods of accessing information in alternative ways to acquire, maintain, generalize, demonstrate and transfer skills across multiple settings.

FORMS

Alternate Assessment Decision Making Tree