All students with disabilities are included in all general state and districtwide assessment programs with appropriate accommodations and alternate assessments where necessary and as indicated in their respective individualized education programs. MSDE has developed and implemented guidelines for the participation of students with disabilities in alternate assessments for those students who cannot participate in regular assessments with accommodations as indicated in their respective IEPs. Alternate assessments shall be aligned with the state's academic content standards as applied to all students. 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(16). The Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program is the annual statewide assessment program for Maryland students.
In Maryland, the alternative assessment is known as the Multi-state Alternate Assessment (MSAA). The IEP team must complete the MSDE Alternate Assessments Eligibility Tool in MOIEP and comply with the requirements reflected in the Maryland Guidance for IEP Teams on Participation Decisions for the Alternate Assessments which includes the following:
IEP teams must use the guidelines to determine whether a student participates in the MSAA. To participate a student must have an IEP and meet all three of the following criteria:
The student has a significant cognitive disability; AND
The student is learning content derived from the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics and the Next Generation Science Standards; AND
The student requires extensive, direct, individualized, repeated instruction, and substantial supports to achieve measurable gains in an adapted and modified curriculum.
If the IEP team determines that a student may not participate in a particular statewide or districtwide assessment, there must be documentation by the IEP team of:
Why the assessment, or part of an assessment, is not appropriate for the student; and
How the student will be assessed; and
Why a particular alternate assessment is appropriate.
Students not meeting the required criteria will participate in MCAP with or without accommodations, as appropriate, based on their IEPs, unless an alternative assessment is determined to be appropriate by the IEP team.
COMAR 13A.03.02.09.E.3 provides that “The final decision to award a student with disabilities a Maryland High School Certificate of Program Completion will not be made until after the beginning of the student's last year in high school.” For students taking any alternative or modified assessments, the IEP team must notify the parents/guardians each time that such a decision is made, and at least annually, that the student may not meet high school graduation requirements, if the student:
Participates in an Alternative Assessment based on Alternative Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS) (in MCPS, this is referred to as Alternative Learning Outcomes); and;
Continues to receive instruction based on Alternative Academic Achievement Standards through high school.
A public agency shall inform the parent of a student with disabilities of State graduation requirements and the student’s progress toward meeting the requirements.
Maryland Education Article Section 8–405 requires parental consent for instruction on alternative curriculum or administration of alternative assessments.
An IEP team shall obtain written consent from a parent/guardian if the team proposes to:
Enroll the child in an Alternative Education program that does not issue or provide credits toward a Maryland High School Diploma; or
Identify the child for the Alternative Education Assessment aligned with the state’s alternative curriculum;
Consent can be provide for either an alternative education program, alternative education assessments, or both.
If the parent does not provide written consent to one of the actions listed, the IEP team must send the parent written notice of their consent rights no later than five-business days after the IEP team meeting informing them that:
the parent has the right to either consent to or refuse to consent to the action proposed; and
if the parent does not provide written consent or a written refusal within fifteen-business days of the IEP team meeting, the IEP team may implement the proposed action.
If the parent refuses to consent to one of the actions proposed, the IEP team may file for mediation or due process against the parent to resolve the matter.
The MSDE Technical Assistance Bulletin, Parental Consent under Maryland Law provides guidance regarding the implication for parental consent or nonconsent for alternative curriculum instruction and/or administration of alternative assessments. Instruction in alternative curriculum and/or administration of alternative assessments must be reviewed and consent must be obtained at least annually.