The Wrightslaw Way

My son had a substitute teacher for four weeks.  She didn’t know what accommodations he required in class. She said she never saw his IEP.  Shouldn’t a substitute have access to accommodations in an IEP? Certainly teachers, substitute teachers, and many other school staff members need information about your child. It is the only way […]

Inclusive Schools Week, December 3-7, 2012. Theme: building authentic friendships for students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers. From Jim Comstock-Galagan – If you want people to understand the matter of inclusion, you make them understand it for themselves. How would inclusion relate to them? Jim understood when his mother first walked him to elementary […]

My 7th grade daughter is in an advanced academic program. The proposed IEP accommodations allow her to turn in homework late, with a penalty. We are transition planning for college now. The school says they cannot make the accommodation for late homework because this would affect Carnegie credits. Because she has so many after school […]

In my state, it is illegal to record people without their permission. Is there an exception for  students with disabilities who need to record class lectures for education purposes? Many students with disabilities have difficulty with listening, focus, processing, note-taking, etc.  Recording a class would be a reasonable accommodation for these students.

Read more as teachers debate accommodations for students.  Pete & Pam Wright and Advocate Pat Howey join the discussion. Take the poll – then click “read more” to add your comment and join the debate!

In 2009 when Stephanie Enyart, a blind law school graduate, requested assistive tech to take the bar exam, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) refused to give her the tech aids she requested. NCBE offered other accommodations that, they said, met ADA requirements. Enyart asked for a combination of visual and auditory aids because […]

My daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD but it is not included in her current IEP. The school has her diagnosis on file. The school won’t make any accommodations for her ADHD because we cannot get it into her IEP. What should I do? I also have a child with ADHD. My son has and […]

Please write a book on 504 accommodations that includes ideas specific to dyslexia with emphasis on reading, writing & spelling. I need information on 504 accommodations beyond the typical ‘extended time’ – things like the use of text to speech for high stakes tests such as PSAT, ACT/SAT, and medical school/grad school exams. – from […]

My child has an IEP for ‘learning disability’ services. The school says she no longer has a learning disability and told me her IEP would expire at the end of this month. What accommodations should I have them put in the 504 plan? A learning disability is not something a person outgrows. You need to […]

Can the school write in the IEP that the child will receive reading instruction/tutoring by a reading specialist who is not a special ed teacher? Yes. The IDEA and federal special ed regs do not require that the services listed in the IEP must be provided by a special ed teacher. (Vote in the poll […]