Adapted Curriculum

Adapted Curriculum, PreK-12


Supporting school teams working with students with disabilities who are accessing an adapted curriculum based on the aligned standards of learning (ASOLs).


The adapted curriculum provides direct and indirect instruction of students who are accessing a modified curriculum due to the nature and severity of the disability in which they were found eligible for special education services. The adapted curriculum is designed for students with "low incidence disabilities" who exhibit moderate to significant delays in the areas of language, communication, cognition, socialization, and adaptive functioning that impact his/her ability to demonstrate progress in the general curriculum.


Students served in a Functional Classroom or Multiple Disabilities Classroom setting (PreK-12) in HCS are provided services and support in a Special Education classroom setting according to the continuum of special education services with a highly qualified special education teacher and Instructional Assistant (IA). Ratios of the classrooms depend on the nature and severity of the students' disabilities.



What does the curriculum look like?

Curriculum and daily instruction may include:

  • Instruction on IEP goals and objectives

  • Behavior supports/interventions

  • Instruction on daily living skills

  • Community-Based Instruction (CBI)

  • Content area instruction according to the ASOLs

  • Career and work/transition skills

  • Communication and language skills

  • Social/emotional skill instruction, including self-regulation

  • Visual strategies/supports


What specific curriculum is utilized?

    • IEP goals and objectives

        • Individualized curriculum and materials based on student-specific goals and objectives

    • Unique Curriculum

    • STAR Curriculum

    • Edmark Reading Curriculum

    • Merrill Reading Curriculum

    • Community-Based Instruction (CBI)



How are students assessed?

Students are assessed using formal and informal assessment measures. Students are instructed on IEP goals/objectives which are measured by data collection, work samples, and other means of evidence collection. Students that are in testing grades may also take the VAAP assessment (see next bullet) to assess ASOL content knowledge. Students must meet the criteria for VAAP within their IEP.


Do students receiving the adapted curriculum in Functional/MD settings take the SOL Assessment?

If students meet the criteria as determined in his/her IEP, they will be administered the VAAP Assessment.


What is the Virginia Alternative Assessment Program (VAAP)?

The Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) is designed to evaluate the performance of students with significant cognitive disabilities who are working on academic standards that have been reduced in complexity and depth. This content is derived from the Standards of Learning (SOL) and is referred to as the Aligned Standards of Learning (ASOL). Students in grades 3-8 who are participating in the VAAP are required to submit evidence in the same subject areas as required of their non-disabled peers in the same grade level. High School students participating in the VAAP are required to submit evidence in reading, writing, mathematics, science, history/social sciences by the end of their completion of grade 11 or on a schedule identified by the local school division.