To All,
I was having a conversation with a parent whose child has a seizure disorder and is on medication. The epilepsy and the meds result both in a slower processing time and retrieval time. She had been told that the child was ‘covered’ by the Persons with Disabilities Act and that the school , even though private, would have to accomodate her when it came to standardized testing which is usually always timed, i.e. she would have to be given more time to finish or have an attachment added to the timed test indicating that it was not a true representation of her abilities( this seems rather ridiculous - why bother then with the test). However, she could not find such a clause in the information she had on the Act. She commented that if her child used a wheelchair, the school, having accepted her as a student , would have to accomodate her with ramps, etc.,although not with a private aide to push the wheelchair. My child, in the same grade at the same private school, also has a diagnosed learning disability - retrieval impairment and poor performance on timed tests due to it. To our know, there is no neurological reason for this and testing did not reveal a processing defect. We both have asked the teachers (there are two 3rd grds) how our children will be accomodated when this these tests (Standford achievemnent) are given next week and so far have received no acceptable answer. The teachers claim it has never come up before (hard to believe) and it will be up to the head of the lower school to determine. She has been unavailable so far (apparently away last week). This came up rather suddenly. Parents received a monthly newsletter on the 1st of March and the admin. of this test was an “oh, by the way….” last paragraph of a page long letter. Does anyone have any insight into this? We think that our children do have some rights but we’re not sure what they are and exactly how to insure them. We are not even sure what the exact purpose is of the tests or how the school plans to use the results but we do know it goes into the ominous “permanent file”. We keep being reminded that this is “not a public school so special services do not , by law, have to be provided.” HELP!
Re: Good Link for testing accommodations
Thanks - I ‘ll be checking that site. I know our school accepts no STATE funding but I’m not sure about federal.
Re: LD's/Disabilities Act - HELP!
Hi Susan, BB is correct, the school doesn’t have to give accommodations for your child or any others for that matter. They go on the premise that you have chose the school and they don’t receive any federal funds. This is the same for private colleges and universities. Some do honor 504 plans. You can ask.
Re: LD's/Disabilities Act - HELP!
Thanks to all. The school has responded in a positive way. Apparently all children who need it will be given additional time to complete the testing process. They are, at this time, interested only in what the student knows, not in the speed of their responses and also in getting them used to taking a tested presented in this format. Susan
Re: LD's/Disabilities Act - HELP!
Not sure. Schools don’t have to abide by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) if they don’t receive federal funds. But all citizens are covered under (Americans with Disabilities Act), and they are covered for life. It’s a civil rights law.
Try this link: http://education.umn.edu/NCEO However, I think that if your school does not receive ANY federal dollars, they do not have to provide any accomodations under ADA or Section 504 of the Rehab. Act.