IEP Modifications in Missouri: Accommodations vs. Modifications
What is the difference between accommodations and modifications in a Missouri IEP?
Missouri IEPs must address modifications to curriculum and instruction as part of the program modifications and support for school personnel required under 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4) and Missouri State Plan Regulation IV. Program modifications differ from accommodations in that they change what the student is expected to learn, not merely how they access or demonstrate learning. The IEP team must carefully document the rationale for modifications. Placement decisions must be based on the child's IEP, not on disability category or program availability (34 CFR 300.116). Missouri law at RSMo 162.680 reinforces the federal LRE requirement, stating that children with disabilities shall be educated along with nondisabled children and shall attend regular classes, with removal to separate settings permitted only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The school district, as the local education agency (LEA), bears responsibility for ensuring IEP modifications are implemented as written.
What Missouri Requires
The IEP must specify program modifications and support for school personnel necessary to help the child advance toward annual goals and be educated with nondisabled peers (34 CFR 300.320(a)(4)).
Children with disabilities shall be educated along with nondisabled children and shall attend regular classes; removal to separate settings is permitted only when education in regular classes with supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily (RSMo 162.680; 34 CFR 300.114).
Modifications that change grade-level expectations must be reflected in the child's alternate assessment participation documentation (34 CFR 300.320(a)(6)(ii)).
Placement must be based on the child's IEP, not solely on the category of disability, the severity of disability, or the availability of special education programs (34 CFR 300.116).
Key Timelines
Modification decisions must be revisited at each annual IEP review (34 CFR 300.324(b)).
Any amendment to modifications between annual reviews requires either an IEP meeting or a written agreement between the parent and the LEA to amend without a meeting (34 CFR 300.324(a)(4)).