La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § XLIII-160

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 4, April 20, 2024

Section XLIII-160 - Participation in Assessments

A. General. The LDE shall ensure that all students with disabilities are included in all general state and district-wide assessment programs, including assessments described under Section 1111 of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 6311, with appropriate accommodations and alternate assessments, if necessary, as indicated in their respective IEPs.

B. Accommodation Guidelines

1. The LDE's guidelines for providing appropriate accommodations are established in Bulletin 118Statewide Assessment Standards and Practices, for the provision of appropriate accommodations. In case of district-wide assessment programs, the LEA shall establish those guidelines.

2. The LDE's (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, the LEA's) guidelines shall:

a. identify only those accommodations for each assessment that do not invalidate the score; and

b. instruct IEP Teams to select, for each assessment, only those accommodations that do not invalidate the score.

C. Alternate Assessments

1. The LDE's guidelines to implement alternate assessments and guidelines for the participation of students with disabilities in alternate assessments for those students who cannot participate in regular assessments, even with accommodations, as indicated in their respective IEPs, as provided in Paragraph A of this Section, are detailed in Bulletin 1530Louisiana's IEP Handbook for Students with Exceptionalities. In case of district-wide assessment programs, the LEA shall develop and implement those guidelines.

2. For assessing the academic progress of students with disabilities under Title I of the ESEA, the alternate assessments and guidelines in Subparagraph C.1 of this Section shall provide for alternate assessments that:

a. are aligned with the state's challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards;

b. measure the achievement of students with disabilities meeting the state's criteria under Sec. 200. 1(e)(2) against those modified academic achievement standards; and

c. measure the achievement of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities against those alternate academic achievement standards.

D. Explanation to IEP Teams. The LDE (or in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) shall provide IEP Teams with a clear explanation of the differences between assessments based on grade-level academic achievement standards and those based on modified or alternate academic achievement standards, including any effects of state or local policies on the student's education resulting from taking an alternate assessment based on alternate or modified academic achievement standards (such as whether only satisfactory performance on a regular assessment would qualify a student for a regular high school diploma).

E. Inform Parents. The LDE (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) shall ensure that parents of students selected to be assessed based on alternate or modified academic achievement standards are informed that their child's achievement will be measured based on alternate or modified academic achievement standards.

F. Reports. The LDE (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) shall make available to the public, and report to the public with the same frequency and in the same detail as it reports on the assessment of non-disabled students, the following:

1. the number of students with disabilities participating in regular assessments, and the number of those students who were provided accommodations (that did not result in an invalid score) in order to participate in those assessments;

2. the number of students with disabilities, if any, participating in alternate assessments based on grade-level academic achievement standards;

3. the number of students with disabilities, if any, participating in alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards;

4. the number of students with disabilities, if any, participating in alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards;

5. compared with the achievement of all students, including students with disabilities, the performance results of students with disabilities on regular assessments, alternate assessments based on grade-level academic achievement standards, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards, and alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards if:

a. the number of students participating in those assessments is sufficient to yield statistically reliable information; and

b. reporting that information will not reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student on those assessments.

G. Universal Design. The LDE (or, in the case of a district-wide assessment, an LEA) shall, to the extent possible, use universal design principles in developing and administering any assessments under this Section.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § XLIII-160

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 34:2050 (October 2008), amended LR 36:1500 (July 2010).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S.17:1941 et seq.