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Policies on Inclusion of Special Populations in the State-Required
Assessment and Accountability Systems
Summary
of the Standards for Inclusion of Special Populations in Kentucky's
State-Required Assessment and Accountability Systems
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All
students with disabilities shall participate in the state-required
Assessment and Accountability Programs.
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A small percentage of students with disabilities shall participate
in the Alternate Portfolio Assessment Program. These students are generally those who have moderate to severe
cognitive disabilities and represent one (1) to two (2) percent of the
total student population. (The
Alternate Portfolio Assessment Program was implemented in the 1992-1993
school year.)
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Students whose
primary language is not English may be considered for an exemption from
the state-required Assessment and Accountability Programs if they have
been in an English-speaking school for less than two (2) full years
preceding the year of the assessment in question. After having been in an English-speaking instructional setting for
two (2) full years or more preceding the year of the assessment in
question, it may be necessary to permit instructionally consistent
accommodations or modifications or both to the assessment administration.
These accommodations shall be consistent with the normal on-going
delivery of instructional services and stated in the student’s Program
Plan. (Further details are
described in Section 3.)
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Students
receiving instruction in home/hospital settings shall participate in the
state-required Assessment and Accountability Programs unless a school or
district has obtained a signed Physician’s
Certificate of Student Exemption from the state-required Assessment and
Accountability Programs describing the medical condition that warrants
exempting a student from all or portions of the assessments.
Three Options for Inclusion
A student’s
Individual Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan should be written for a
calendar year with the Admissions and Release Committee (ARC) or 504
Committee considering adjustment periods for adding or deleting
accommodations or modifications. For students with disabilities, the ARC or 504 Committee shall
determine on an individual basis how the student will be included in the
state-required Assessment and Accountability Programs. The decision of the Committee shall be stated in the student’s
IEP or 504 Plan. The three options for inclusion shall include:
1. Participation with no accommodations or modifications.
Students
with disabilities who participate fully in the state-required Assessment
and Accountability Program with no accommodations or modifications
shall include:
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students who
have a Remedial Plan but have not been identified as having a disability
under KRS 157.200 and the Kentucky Administrative Regulations Relating to
Exceptional Children (707 KAR Chapter 1) or under Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act;
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students who
have been referred to an Admissions and Release Committee or a 504
Committee and the evaluation process and eligibility determination have
not been completed; or
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students with
disabilities not receiving special education and related services or
accommodations and interventions under Section 504.
2. Participation with accommodations or modifications or both. Students who:
- meet the eligibility criteria for one of the disability categories
under the Kentucky Administrative Regulations Related to Exceptional
Children;
- have a current Individual Education Program (IEP); and
- are receiving specially designed instruction and related services
may use accommodations for the state-required Assessment under the
following three conditions:
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- Accommodations or modifications or both shall be
a part of the student’s regular instructional routine and are
not used or introduced just for the purpose of the state-required
Assessment;
- Accommodations or modifications shall be related
to the individual student’s needs and the impact of the
disability on specific areas of learning. Decisions concerning the
use of accommodations or modifications or both shall be supported
by evaluation information and the IEP (the student’s present
level of performance, specific goals and objectives, specially
designed instruction, related services or supplementary aids and
services) as necessary for the student to access the general
education curriculum; and
- Accommodations or modifications or both are
specified in the student’s IEP.
- Students who meet the eligibility criteria in Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for having a physical or mental disability
which substantially limits one or more major life activities (i.e.,
learning) and have a current 504 Plan may use accommodations for the
state-required Assessment under the following three conditions:
- accommodations
or modifications or both are part of the student’s regular instructional
routine and are not used or introduced just for the purpose of the
state-required Assessment;
- accommodations
or modifications or both are related to the individual student’s needs
and the impact of the disability on specific areas of learning. The decision to allow these accommodations or modifications or both
shall be supported by evaluation information and instructional planning
for the targeted areas of need as necessary for the student to access the
general education curriculum; and
- accommodations
or modifications or both are specified in the student’s 504 Plan as part
of interventions and modifications.
Physical or mental impairments are defined in Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 implementing regulations (104.3(h)) as:
(a) “any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement,
or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems:
neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory,
including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary;
hemic and lumphatic; skin; and endocrine; or
(b)
any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation,
organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning
disabilities.”
Examples
of conditions that meet this definition are orthopedic, visual, speech,
and hearing impairments; cerebral palsy; epilepsy; muscular dystrophy;
multiple sclerosis; cancer; heart disease; diabetes; mental retardation;
emotional illness; specific learning disabilities; and kidney and liver
disease.
Staff
in each school district shall refer to the local district’s policies and
procedures for implementing the requirements under Section 504 related to
evaluation, determination of eligibility, and provision of services.
3. Participation in the Alternate Portfolio Assessment Program.
To participate in the
Alternate Portfolio Assessment Program, a student shall meet all the criteria for the certificate program as stated in 707 KAR Chapter 1
related to Exceptional Children and the Program of Studies (704 KAR
3:303).
The Admissions and Release Committee for the student with
disabilities shall:
- determine and verify in the student's Individual Education Program
(IEP) that the student meets all of the criteria for the certificate program in order to participate in the
Alternate Portfolio Assessment Program;
- document in writing in the student's record the basis for the
decision, using current and longitudinal data such as the following:
- performance
data across multiple settings;
- behavior
observations in multiple settings;
- adaptive
behavior; and
- continuous
assessment of progress on IEP goals/objectives; and
- review annually this decision in accordance with 707 KAR Chapter 1
The results of each
student’s Alternate Portfolio Assessment shall count in the
accountability calculations and be equivalent to the impact of a student
participating in the regular state-required Assessment and Accountability
Programs process.
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