Accommodations

Where Accommodations shows up in your IEP

Accommodations usually get a boxed list of their own, sometimes split into classroom and testing columns. The testing column carries extra weight, because the IEP has to state the individual accommodations needed to measure your child's achievement on state and districtwide assessments. Check that each entry says where it applies and who provides it.

What to ask at the meeting

1. Which of these does my child actually use, and which have quietly stopped?
2. Do these same supports apply on state testing days, and are they listed there?
3. How does a teacher joining in October find out this list exists?

Red flags

• The list is identical to the one from two years ago despite a changed schedule.
• A support appears in the classroom column and is missing from the assessment column.
• An entry depends on equipment the classroom does not have and nobody has ordered.

Example

Kai's IEP allowed extra time and a separate room for tests. In March his mother learned that his science teacher had never seen the list, so Kai had sat four unit tests with the class and the clock. The team added a start-of-term email to every teacher and let him retake the two lowest tests under the supports he was owed.

Common questions