IEP Accommodations in Illinois

What IEP accommodations are available in Illinois?

Illinois IEPs must document all accommodations a student needs to access the general education curriculum and to participate in state and districtwide assessments. Under 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4), the IEP must include a statement of program modifications and supports for school personnel to be provided for the child. Illinois regulation 23 IAC §226.230(a) further requires the IEP to include a statement regarding the child's ability to participate in state and districtwide assessments, with needed accommodations documented. The ISBE IEP form 34-54 includes a dedicated 'Educational Accommodations and Supports' section that must be completed for initial IEPs, annual reviews, or whenever the IEP team decides to change or add accommodations. Anyone responsible for implementing educational accommodations must be informed of their specific responsibilities. Accommodations are defined as supports that reduce or eliminate the effects of a student's disability without reducing learning expectations or changing the scope, complexity, or rigor of the curriculum or assessment. Illinois categorizes state assessment accommodations into four domains: presentation accommodations (e.g., large print, Braille, text-to-speech, screen readers), response accommodations (e.g., scribes, speech-to-text, alternate response methods), timing accommodations (e.g., extended time, flexible scheduling, breaks), and setting accommodations (e.g., separate location, small group, minimal distractions, adaptive furniture, noise buffers). For the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), which tests students in grades 3-8 and high school in English language arts and mathematics, accommodations must be documented in the IEP and be consistent with the accommodations the student regularly uses in classroom instruction (ISBE Assessment Accommodations Guidance). Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities may participate in the Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment (DLM-AA) as determined by the IEP team, but only when participation in the IAR is not appropriate even with accommodations (ISBE DLM Participation Guidelines). If a student refuses an accommodation during testing, the school must document the refusal in writing, but the accommodation must remain available throughout the test administration. The Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) has its own accessibility and accommodations guidance aligned with the IAR framework. Classroom accommodations should align with assessment accommodations so that students are familiar with the supports they receive during testing.