Accommodations & Modifications

The Bottom Line

The IEP must:

Clearly describe what the district is providing in absolute terms, including describing when the supports are only provided under certain circumstances/specific conditions.
Include what, when, where, and who is responsible for each accommodation or modification.

For students with behavior needs, behavior accommodations are moved into a Behavior Support Plan.

Go-To Tools

The handy tools that help you get the job done efficiently.

Accommodations & Modifications Dropdown Menu Items in SpEd Forms - Master Copy

The templates included in this document are exactly the same as the options included in the dropdown menu in SpEd Forms.

This document simply exists to make them easier to browse.

IEP TV

What does it look like to discuss this topic during an IEP team meeting?

Check out these IEP meeting demo video(s) that model how to facilitate the conversation.

Explanation

Watch Video (1:37)

Accommodations change HOW a student learns the material, modifications change WHAT a student is taught or expected to learn. Both fall under the umbrella of supplementary aids and services, which allow students with disabilities to access and participate in more activities and environments by compensating for their educational needs.

Accommodations

Support participation without modifying the curriculum. Students complete the same classwork and assessments as their peers without disabilities.

For example:

Changing PRESENTATION — a student might need to:

Work with fewer items per page or line
Have a designated reader
Have another student share class notes
Use word webs and visual organizers
Be given a written list of instructions

Changing TIMING — a student might need to:

Take more time to complete a task or a test
Have extra time to process directions
Take frequent breaks, such as after completing a task

Changing RESPONSE — a student might need to:

Give responses in another form (e.g., oral or written)
Dictate answers to a scribe
Use a standard calculator or table of math facts

Changing SCHEDULE — a student might need to:

Take more time to complete a project
Take a test over several days
Take a test at a specific time of day

Changing SETTING — a student might need to:

Work or take a test in a quiet room with few distractions
Sit in a specific location (for example, near the teacher)
Use special lighting or acoustics

Modifications

Support participation by changing or lowering expectations or standards. The goal is to gear the curriculum to the student’s capability. In some cases, a skill that would normally be taught at a certain grade level is changed, eliminated, or postponed.

For example:

Changing ASSIGNMENTS — a student might need to:

Complete fewer or different homework problems than peers
Write shorter papers
Complete alternate assignments and projects
Complete problems where aspects of the problem have already been completed

Changing HOW MATERIALS ARE PRESENTED — a student might need to:

Receive more prompting and cueing to help the student determine the right answers
Read class material written at an easier level of understanding

Changing CURRICULUM — a student might need to:

Learn different material (such as continuing to work on multiplication while classmates move on to fractions)
Get graded or assessed using a different standard than the one for classmates (e.g., pass/fail grading)
Be excused from particular projects

Changing ASSESSMENT — a student might need to:

Take a practice version of a test prior to the real assessment
Select from two rather than four answer choices on a multiple-choice test
Answer fewer or different test questions

Documentation

Each statement must include:

WHAT: the specific adaptation needed
WHERE: the environment(s) in which the adaptation is needed
WHEN: the condition that trigger the adaptation
WHO is responsible for implementing the adaptation

Avoid ambiguity:

Phrases which introduce ambiguity, such as, “as needed,” “may,” and “and/or” are not compliant. Accommodations and modifications need to be phrased as “student will.”

Helpful formula:

"In [WHERE], [WHEN] the student will be provided with [WHAT] by [WHO]."

For example:

WHERE: "In all school settings..."
WHEN: "...when unexpected behavior is observed..."
WHAT: "...reality statements..."
WHO: "will be utilized by all staff working with Beth to recover instructional control and prevent escalation."

Modifications — A Range of Restrictiveness

Modifications can look very different. Some will be small tweaks to the expectations placed on a student, while others will alter their learning experiences in very significant ways.

The categories and examples below are here simply to illustrate how big that range of restrictiveness can be. When you write IEPs, think about how restrictive you need to be in order to sufficiently support each student's needs.

Parallel Participation

Students do something similar to what everyone else is doing. Performance expectations are adjusted through the provision of additional cues or through minor adjustments to the format of a task. For example:

When fill-in-the-blank worksheets are assigned, the student's worksheet is pre-modified with page numbers added to make it easier to find each answer.
The student's worksheet is pre-modified to include all multiple choice items.

Partial Participation

Students do some of what everyone else is doing; parts of the task or performance expectation are eliminated. For example:

The student's assignment expectations are modified to only involve ideas/content rather than length, writing mechanics, etc.
Math items are pre-modified to remain at the core concept or parent function level with guided notes and examples being provided as well. For example, if an item asks students to graph y = 2x^2 + 3, the student will be asked to graph y = x^2.
The student's materials are pre-modified with simplified vocabulary, shortened text that focuses on key concepts, and multiple choice items are limited to two choice options.

Alternative Participation

Students do something different. The student is able to access a setting (e.g., a general education classroom) and participate in routines with the whole group; however, when task and performance expectations exceed the student's capability, they are provided with task materials and expectations that are fundamentally different from those given to the rest of the class. For example:

The student is provided with texts modified to a lower grade level and only literal comprehension questions.
The student is provided with alternative tasks with outcome expectations that pertain to their IEP goal in the area of functional academic skills rather than grade-level learning targets. For example, while other students learn to locate each state and name the capital, the student locates the colors of the states on a map.

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