How to determine accommodations

Accommodations are tools and procedures that provide equal access to instruction and assessment for students with disabilities. Access is the opportunity and ability for an individual to participate in the instruction, discussions, activities, products, and assessments provided to all students within a public school. Accommodations are provided to “level the playing field" and not do not reduce learning expectations. Without accommodations, students with disabilities may not be able to access grade-level instruction or participate fully in assessments. They are intended to offset the effects of the disability and to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and skills.

Ideally, accommodations should be the same or similar across classroom instruction, classroom tests, and state and district tests. However, it is important to note that some accommodations are only for use during instruction and cannot be used on state and district assessments. The IEP team should clearly distinguish between instructional and testing accommodations when making these decisions. A student who is provided an accommodation during classroom instruction that is not allowed on a state test should be provided opportunities to practice without the use of that accommodation.

When determining which accommodations are needed to assist the child with access and progress in the general curriculum, the team also needs to determine the conditions by which the accommodation will be available or provided. When discussing a need for frequent breaks, the team needs to state the frequency and duration of the breaks and why the breaks are needed. For example, a child may need frequent breaks of no longer than 5 minutes every hour (or each class period or up to 5 breaks per day) to allow the child to refocus on assigned classroom tasks. The same is true for extended time. The team needs to discuss how much additional time is needed and for what (extended time up to an additional class period for all testing, or extended time of up to one day for all assigned classwork and homework).

Some questions for the team to consider when determining accommodations include:

• What are the student's learning strengths and needs?

• How do the student’s learning needs affect the achievement of the grade-level content standards?

• What are the barriers for the child to access the general curriculum?

It is important to be strategic and use data to make decisions about what accommodations will best meet a child's needs. Be aware of how a child learns best. Not all children need all accommodations. In fact, some accommodations can become a barrier to learning. For example, offering frequent breaks can disrupt learning for some children, or extended time may cause undue anxiety.

Accommodations are not the same as modifications. Accommodations are intended to lessen the effects of a student’s disability. They are not intended to reduce learning expectations. Changing, lowering, or reducing learning expectations is usually referred to as a modification. Unlike accommodations, consistent use of modifications can increase the gap between the achievement of students with disabilities and the grade-level expectations. This may have a negative impact on the student’s educational career, as the student may not continue to progress and be able to obtain a regular diploma.