Testing Accommodations Legally Available to Children With Disabilities
Children with disabilities related to reading, writing, or math may need testing accommodations for their disabilities. Even if a child has a disability that is not technically classified as a learning disability, they may be entitled to a testing accommodation for the disability if it affects their ability to learn. These conditions may undermine a child’s ability to focus, process information, interact in a school environment, or handle certain types of tasks. Federal education laws cover children in these situations as well.
The three federal laws that protect the rights of children with disabilities are the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). IDEA provides a right to Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for children with certain qualifying disabilities that impede their educational performance. Section 504 protects children with a broader range of disabilities who are attending schools that receive federal funding. This law defines a "disability" as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a person's major life activities. Section 504 provides for plans that account for a child's disability, although these plans tend to be less detailed than IEPs.
The ADA provides protections for children with disabilities in private schools, including those that do not receive federal funding. (It does not cover religious schools.) These protections include a right to reasonable modifications for children with disabilities so that they can benefit from the school's programs and services.
Arranging a Testing Accommodation
A testing accommodation is meant to allow a child with a disability to demonstrate their actual knowledge of the material taught in school. In other words, it compensates for the effect of any disability on test results. An accommodation should not go so far that it provides an advantage to a child with a disability. Testing accommodations may be included as part of an IEP or a Section 504 plan if a child qualifies for one of these plans. If they are protected only by the ADA, parents still can ask the school to provide a reasonable modification in the form of a testing accommodation.
Testing accommodations can take various forms, affecting the place where the child takes the test, any time limits for taking the test, or ways in which the questions or answers can be provided. Sometimes a child may need breaks during a test to accommodate a disability, for example, or they may need to take the test separately from other students in a quieter environment. If their disability prevents them from writing their answers, a school staff member may need to write answers dictated by the child or provide a recorder for the child to say their answers. In other situations, a child who cannot write in a traditional way may need to be able to take the test on a computer. These accommodations may be adjusted over time as needed.
