La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § XI-8305

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XI-8305 - Students with One or More Disabilities According to Section 504 [Formerly LAC 28:CXI.3305]

A. All students with one or more disabilities according to Section 504 are to be tested. Test accommodations are permitted for these students provided they are used in the students' regular classroom instruction and assessment and provided the other conditions specified in the Administrative Guidelines for Students with Disabilities According to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are met. An IAP must not be developed solely for the provision of accommodations on statewide assessments.

1. The LDE defines a student with one or more disabilities according to Section 504 as derived from the regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

B. Conditions for Eligibility for Test Accommodations as a Section 504 Student

1. The student has a disability that has been identified by a group of knowledgeable individuals whose credentials are appropriate to the disability and the disability is recognized by the Section 504 committee as being consistent with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

2. The student must undergo an annual review by the Section 504 Committee and an Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP) must be completed for each newly identified student or for each student whose accommodations have changed since his or her last test administration.

a. The IAP identifies students with disabilities as defined by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA. The form also must be used to document accommodations for qualified Section 504 students. School districts are responsible for completing the form once a student's eligibility has been determined.

b. Signatures. Duplicate signatures are not acceptable on the IAP. The parent and student signatures are optional, but it is considered best practice to obtain these.

c. The completed form must be submitted with a copy of the student's IAP to the district Section 504 coordinator by the date designated by the district.

3. The student has had accommodations routinely provided as part of his or her ongoing classroom instruction and assessment, as recommended by the Section 504 Committee and as documented on the student's IAP.

4. New accommodations or changes to an accommodation for a statewide assessment should be on the student IAP form 30 days prior to the start of testing.

5. Documentation for how the student meets the definition of substantially limited in Section 1630.2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 must be on file at the school.

C. Documentation. Documentation with evaluation results from the School Building Level Committee (SBLC) and/or the Section 504 team must be kept on file and be available to the LEAP Data Validation Committee upon request. Documentation/evaluation samples may include:

1. a summary of the doctor's report or diagnosis;

2. informal assessments and teacher observations;

3. curriculum-based assessments;

4. formal assessments approved by the school district.

D. Individualized Healthcare Plans. If a Section 504 student requires medical procedures that will prevent him or her from participating in a statewide assessment, individualized healthcare plans must be attached to the IAP.

E. Forms Management

1. Submission. A LEAP Data Validation form must be completed and submitted, along with a copy of the student's IAP, to the district Section 504 coordinator by the district-designated date. The district Section 504 coordinator should establish the deadline for collection of the forms early enough to ensure time for review before submitting them to the LDE. School districts should contact the district Section 504 coordinator regarding the deadline. The LEAP Data Validation forms should be submitted to the LDE annually.

2. Review. The IAPs will be reviewed by a committee of LDE employees and Section 504 Statewide Task Force members for any possible testing irregularities, including potential violations of test security; appropriateness; and required information that substantiates the accommodations provided during assessment. Reviews will be scheduled throughout the month of January, to be completed by January 30. district Section 504 coordinators will be notified concerning the place and time of review for their districts.

3. Extenuating Circumstances. The extenuating circumstances that will be considered for reviewing an IAP submitted after the deadline and/or after the established review period are:

a. a student is in the process of transferring from state to state or parish to parish;

b. a student has a temporary illness or injury that is substantially limiting and will prevent him or her from having an equal opportunity on and access to statewide assessments.

F. Gifted or Talented Students with a Qualified Disability. For students who are classified as gifted or talented students and who have a qualified disability under Section 504, a Section 504 IAP must be attached to the student's IEP.

G. Test Accommodations for both Section 504 and Special Education

1. Definition

Accommodation-a change in the test administration environment, timing, scheduling, presentation format, and/or method of response to the assessment.

2. Purpose of Accommodations. Test accommodations are provided to minimize the effects of a disability to ensure that a student can demonstrate the degree of achievement he or she actually possesses. Not all students with disabilities will need test accommodations, but many will need them to provide a valid and accurate measure of their abilities. The goal in using accommodations is to give students with disabilities an equal opportunity in assessment, not to give students with disabilities an unfair advantage over other students or to subvert or invalidate the purpose of the tests. The accommodation should allow the test score to reflect the student's proficiency in the area tested without the interference of his or her disability.

3. General Guidelines

a. Test accommodations should not be different from, or in addition to, the accommodations provided in the classroom during instruction and assessment and as indicated on the student's IEP or section 504 IAP. According to the 1997 amendments to IDEA, accommodations for administration of general statewide and districtwide assessments must be based on each student's needs, as documented in the student's IEP. If an accommodation, even an accommodation listed on a student's IEP or IAP, is not provided in classroom instruction or assessment, it is inappropriate to provide that accommodation during testing.

b. Selection of appropriate test accommodations should be based on a review of a student's current instructional and classroom assessment accommodations and a clear understanding of the test format and what it measures. This information should determine which accommodations enable the student to demonstrate best what he or she knows and can do.

c. The accommodations must never compromise the purpose of the test. For example, a test that measures reading comprehension cannot be read aloud to a student. To do so would destroy the purpose of the test, which is to measure reading comprehension.

d. Individual or small group administration must be used if the accommodations will interfere with the testing of other students, e.g., tests read aloud.

e. Provided accommodations must be indicated in the required locations as instructed in the appropriate test manual.

f. Accommodations must not compromise test security or confidentiality. Any assistance in test administration must not give away the answers. All conditions that pertain to test security and return of test materials after the test is administered apply to tests that are administered with accommodations. All test manual instructions relating to handling nontraditional secure materials for accommodations must be followed precisely.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § XI-8305

Promulgated by the Department of Education, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 31:1560 (July 2005), amended LR 32:239 (February 2006), LR 33:262 (February 2007), LR 38:37 (January 2012), Amended by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 44477 (3/1/2018).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:7, R.S. 17:24 et seq., R.S. 17:391-400, R.S. 17:1941 et seq., R.S. 17:397, R.S. 17:1946, and R.S. 17:1947.1.