IEP Accommodations & Modifications

1. IEPAccommodations & Modifications Developed by Contra Costa SELPA 2008

2. Facilitated by Contra Costa SELPA Staff

3. Purpose The purpose of the training is to define adaptations,accommodations and modifications, explain the requirements for using them, and provide examples for general and special education teachers responsible for teaching core curriculum.

4. Agenda • IDEA Requirements • Definitions (Adaptation, Accommodation, Modification) • How to Determine Adaptations • Types of Adaptations • Steps for Modifying the Curriculum • Guidelines for Making Decisions • Variables to Support IEP Teams • Alternative Grading Methods • Teaching Students to Use Learning Strategies • IEP Best Practices

5. Requirements in the Law I.D.E.A. Reauthorization and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require that individuals with disabilities are to receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) which must occur in the least restrictive environment (LRE), with supplemental aids and services, when necessary.

6. How Aids and Services are Provided Aids, benefits, and services must afford an eligible student equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement in the most integrated setting appropriate to the student’s needs. These aids, benefits, and services are not required to produce the identical result, or level of achievement for both students with disabilities and students without disabilities.

7. Teacher Conference and Student Study Team Opportunities Prior to referral to special education, meet with the teacher(s) individually or in a group to discuss strengths, weaknesses, modifications and accommodations • Identify concerns and needs • Implement and document accommodations • Develop accommodations and options • Review and evaluate impact of modifications and accommodations on the student’s progress

8. Day-to-Day Accommodation & Modification Needs are • Those that the child requires daily to benefit from his/her educational program • Not a wish list of things to try, but documentation of “supplemental aids and services” • Described specifically for various needs in the goals and objectives • Consistent for classwork and assessments

9. State and District-wide Assessment Programs • Children with disabilities are included in general State and district-wide assessment programs, with appropriate accommodations and modifications in administration, if necessary • For those children who cannot participate in State and district-wide assessment programs, LEAs will develop alternate assessments (i.e., results of the student’s performance on each IEP goal and objective, in each of the curricular areas) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(17)(A))

10. Special Factors to be Considered • Behavior intervention and strategies • Language needs: Limited English Proficiency (LEP) • Instruction in and the use of Braille for a visually impaired/blind student • Communication needs and opportunities for a hard of hearing/deaf student • Assistive technology needs for a student who requires assistive devices or services to benefit from education

11. More Restrictive Environment Functional Analysis Assessment & PBI Plan (Hughes Bill) Positive Behavior Support Plan Instructional Goals in Social Skills Areas Classroom Management System Classroom Instructional Adaptation of Curriculum Requirements Engaging Curriculum Presented at Instructional Level of Student Supportive School Climate and Attitude Toward Student Diversity Discipline & Behavior Strategies

12. Implementation of IEPs • The child's IEP is accessible to each regular education teacher, special education teacher, related service provider, and other service provider who is responsible for its implementation; and • Each teacher and provider is informed of: • His or her specific responsibilities related to implementing the child's IEP; and • The specific accommodations, modifications, and supports that must be provided for the child in accordance with the IEP

13. The IEP for each child with a disability must include: • A statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, including: • How the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general curriculum (i.e., the same curriculum as for non-disabled children); or • For preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child's participation in appropriate activities

14. Present Levels of Performance Stated in narrative form, Present Levels of Performancemust include the following: Adescription of: • The strengths of the student in each area (i.e., speech and language, reading, social skills) • The educational needs of the student that result from the disability (i.e., accommodations and modifications) • How the disability affects involvement and progress in general education curriculum and/or appropriate activities

15. The IEP must include: (cont.) • A statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related to: • Meeting the child's needs that result from the child's disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum (i.e., the same curriculum as for non disabled children), or for preschool children, as appropriate, to participate in appropriate activities • Meeting each of the child's other educational needs that result from the child's disability

16. The IEP must include: (cont.) • A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child: • To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals • To be involved and progress in the general curriculum and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities • To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and non-disabled children

17. The IEP must include: (cont.) • An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with non-disabled children in the regular class and in the other activities • A statement of any individual modifications in the administration of State or district-wide assessments of student achievement that are needed in order for the child to participate in the assessment • If the IEP team determines that the child will not participate in a particular State or district-wide assessment of student achievement (or part of an assessment), a statement of: • Why that assessment is not appropriate for the child • How the child will be assessed

18. The IEP must include: (cont.) • The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications • The anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications • A statement of how the child's progress toward the annual goals will be measured • A statement of how the child's parents will be regularly informed (through such means as periodic report cards), at least as often as parents are informed of their non-disabled children's progress, of: • Their child's progress toward the annual goals; and • The extent to which that progress is sufficient to enable the child to achieve the goals by the end of the year.

19. Definitions • Learning: • The process of acquiring and retaining knowledge so it may be applied in life situations • Involves a complex interaction between the learner and the material being learned • When the learner has opportunities to practice new information, receive feedback, and apply the knowledge or skill in familiar and unfamiliar situations, with less and less assistance Neil Sturomski

20. Definitions (cont.) • Adaptations: Permissible changes in curriculum (accommodations and modifications) which allow the student equal opportunity to obtain access, results and benefits. • Accommodations: Adaptations which do not fundamentally alter or lower standards or expectations in either the instructional or assessment phases of a course of study and provide access to participate in the LRE and an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of performance standards.

21. Definitions (cont.) • Modifications: Adaptations which do alter or lower standards or expectations although by providing access, will necessitate an alternate assessment or modified grade to achieve accountability performance. Note: This must be individually selected by the IEP team to measure performance on a specific test/course/activity for which the standard or typical expectation would be deemed inappropriate.

22. Strategies and Interventions • The tools and techniques we use to help ourselves understand and learn new material or skills, integrate this new information with what we already know in a way that makes sense, and recall the information or skill later, even in a different situation or place (generalization) • What we think about (e.g., planning before writing) and what we physically do (e.g., taking notes, re-reading to clear up confusion, making a chart, table, or story map to capture the important information) Definition from: NICHCY

23. Differentiated Instruction Instruction in which students have multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas and expressing what they learn. Differentiated instruction “provides different avenues to acquiring content, to processing or making sense of ideas, and to developing products.” (Tomlinson, 1995)

24. Accommodations Changes in course content, teaching strategies, standards, test presentation, location, timing, scheduling, expectations, student responses, environmental structuring and/or other attributes which provide access for a student with a disability to participate in a course, standard, or test, which DO NOT fundamentally alter or lower the standard or expectations of the course/standard/test. Grading is the same.

25. Modifications Changes in course content, teaching strategies, standards, test presentation, location, timing, scheduling, expectations, student responses, environmental structuring and/or other attributes which provide access for a student with a disability to participate in a course, standard, or test, which DO fundamentally alter or lower the standard or expectations of the course/standard/test. Grading is different.

26. Child with a Disability Means a child evaluated in accordance with §§300.530-300.536 as having mental retardation, a hearing impairment including deafness, a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment including blindness, emotional disturbance, an orthopedic impairment, autism, traumatic brain injury, an other health impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.

27. Specific Learning Disability • A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia • The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage

28. Supplementary Aids and Services Aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings to enable children with disabilities to be educated with non-disabled children to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with §§300.550-300.556. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(29))

29. Specially-Designed Instruction Means adapting, as appropriate to the needs of an eligible child, the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction: • To address the unique needs of the child that result from the child's disability • To ensure access of the child to the general curriculum, so that he or she can meet the educational standards that apply to all children

30. How to Determine Adaptations • The student’s teachers work together to identify the adaptations that are needed in four areas: • Instructional arrangement • Lesson format • Specific learning strategies • Curricular goals • In each of the four areas, the teachers may: • Adapt the environment (i.e., proximity control and incorporating movement into lessons) • Modify materials (i.e., developing graphic organizers, making copies of overheads and board notes, and chunking assignments) • Select supports

31. Types of Adaptations Accommodations: These adaptations do not always alter a performance standard Modifications: Often these adaptations fundamentally alter a performance standard • Input • Output • Size/Quantity • Time • Level of Support • Degree of Participation • Difficulty • Alternate Goals • Substitute Curriculum

32. Types of Adaptations(cont.)Description & Examples • Input: Adapt the way instruction is delivered to the student (i.e., lectures, videos, computer, or field trips) • Output: Adapt how the student can respond to instruction and demonstrate understanding (e.g., drawing a picture or role playing a scenario) • Size/Quantity: Adapt the length of the assignment students will be expected to complete (e.g., reduce the number of math problems to solve for mastery)

33. Types of Adaptations (cont.)Description & Examples • Time: Adapt the amount of time students will have to complete the assignments or tests (e.g., allow more time for completing a task) • Level of Support: Increase the level of assistance provided to the student (e.g., assign peer buddies, peer tutors, cross-age tutors or teaching assistants) • Degree of Participation: Adapt the extent to which the student will be actively involved in the task (e.g., in geology, have a student hold the globe, while others point out locations)

34. Types of Adaptations (cont.)Description & Examples • Difficulty: Adapt the skill level, problem type, or the rules on how the student may approach the work (e.g., allow the use of a calculator to figure math problems) • Alternate Goals: Adapt the goals or outcome expectations while using the same materials (e.g., in social studies, expect the student to be able to locate just the states, while others learn to locate the capitals as well) • Substitute Curriculum: Provide different instruction and materials to meet the student’s individual goals (e.g., during a spelling test, one student is learning self-help skills)

35. Steps for Modifying the Curriculum • Can the student do the same activity at the same level as peers? (e.g., spelling) If not…. • Can the student do the same activity but with adapted expectations? (e.g., less words) If not…. • Can the student do the same activity but with adapted expectations and materials? (e.g., matching the words to pictures) If not…. • Can the student do a similar activity but with adapted expectations? (e.g., words that are functional and in the student’s daily environment) If not…. • Can the student do a similar activity but with adapted material? (e.g., computer spelling program) If not….

36. Steps for Modifying the Curriculum (cont.) • Can the student do a different, parallel activity? (e.g., learn a computer typing program, write or put pictures in a journal?) If not…. • Can the student do a different activity in a different section of the room? (e.g., water the plants, file for the teacher) If not…. • Can the student do a functional activity in another part of the school? (e.g., help the librarian, office staff, coach, or kitchen staff to perform various duties) David Gaston

37. Curriculum Modification Planning • What is everyone else doing? • Can participate just like everyone else? If yes, go for it! • If no, what can we do to include ? • Can we give some help from friends? From who ? • Can an adult help ? Who? • Can use different materials? What materials? How will they be used? • What else can do that is related to what the class is doing?

38. Guidelines for Making Accommodation Decisions • Accommodations should facilitate an accurate demonstration of what the student knows or can do • Accommodations should not provide the student with unfair advantage or interfere with the validity of a test • Accommodations must be the same (or nearly the same) as adaptations used by the student in completing classroom assignments and classroom assessment activities • Accommodations must be necessary for enabling the student to demonstrate knowledge, ability, skill or mastery • Accommodations must be familiar to the student and must not be used for the first time on state assessments California Department of Education Special Education Division

39. Variables to Support IEP Team Derived Accommodations • Clear step by step communication procedures are in place, demonstrating district general education support for using accommodations • A systematic on-going inservice program, with specifically designated personnel, to provide continuing education about appropriate accommodations for individuals with exceptional needs • Methods to address teacher concerns about the effects of accommodations on standards and course competencies are in place, including alternative grading methods • Involvement of both site-based and district-wide administration Diana Browning Wright

40. Alternative Grading Methods • Individualized Education Program (IEP) grading • Student self-comparison • Contract grading • Pass/Fail • Mastery level/criterion systems • Checklists • Multiple grading • Level grading • Shared grading • Descriptive grading

41. Teaching Students to Use Learning Strategies • Pretest students and get them interested in learning the strategy • Describe the strategy • Model the strategy • Practice the strategy • Provide feedback • Promote generalization Neil Sturomski

42. Upland Unified School District; SN 1653-99Placement: Offer, Appropriateness, Reimbursement for Unilateral Placement • The district lost the case and was ordered to pay for a unilateral placement made outside the district by the parents. • …..the IEP listed no modifications other than “teacher modified lessons as needed.” The Hearing Officer ruled that the IEP was deficient in that it did not list the support services and modifications which the student needed to benefit from the general education program.

43. REMEMBER:The child is not static, but a dynamic being that is living, breathing, and changing ….. …..therefore, the IEP must change with the child!

44. IEP Best Practices • Do not simply collect information, consider where it fits in the puzzle. • Do not lose the forest for the trees in assessing the child’s progress. Keep the big picture in mind! • Make sure the goals and objectives match the child’s skill level and abilities. • Be wary of too many goals and objectives.

45. IEP Best Practices (cont.) • Make sure the goals and objectives are not too general. • Describe skills to be achieved instead of promising levels of achievement. • Make sure each service provider has a copy of at least that portion of the IEP he or she is responsible for implementing.

46. IEP Best Practices (cont.) • Make sure each service provider knows the evaluation schedule for assessing student progress on goals and objectives. • Make sure the child’s progress toward the goals and objectives is reported to the parents as agreed in the IEP. • Be mindful of the student’s privacy.

47. IEP Best Practices (cont.) • Listen to the parents’ concerns and expectations. • Communicate with the parents and keep them informed. • DOCUMENT! • DOCUMENT! • DOCUMENT!

48. Thank you for your attendance and interest in IEP Accommodations and Modifications!

49. Appendix • Guiding Principles of IDEA • FAPE & LRE • IEP Meeting Members • Parent Rights • Alternative Dispute Resolution

50. Guiding Principles of IDEA • High Expectations and Agency Accountability • Improving Results through the General Curriculum • Education with Nondisabled Peers • Parental Involvement and Partnerships • Increased Efficiency and Flexibility