Accommodations

Adult education and literacy programs must understand the difference between accommodations and interventions as part of establishing a foundation for ADA/Section 504 compliance. An intervention is a strategy or technique that can enhance a student's learning process, such as color coding, card markers, colored overlays, etc. An accommodation changes or augments the environment to enable individuals to compete or perform at an equal level. Accommodations approved for the GED are: extended time (amount of time must be specified); audio cassette version; private room for testing; supervised frequent breaks (time must be specified); calculator; scribe; and "other" (this category is used when there may be an extreme disability where motor functions are limited). According to the ADA and Section 504, adult education/literacy providers must provide logical and reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities.

1. Accommodations should be provided to students when:
   1. They have disclosed that they have a disability that has been documented by a qualified professional and are eligible for accommodations under the provisions of the ADA/Section 504.
   2. Informal assessment has been administered (see "Enrollment" section for guidelines on when to administer an informal assessment screening), and it is determined that accommodations are warranted.
2. The process of choosing accommodations will be conducted by the accommodation team, which must include the student, the student's immediate instructor(s), and the person who administered the informal assessment if that person is not the student's instructor. Any professional that has formally evaluated the student may be included in the accommodation process. If there is a confidential issue (see "Confidentiality" section), staff members must be granted permission by the student's signature on a signed release form (see Appendix C) before they can assist with the accommodation process.
3. Documentation of a learning disability from a qualified professional must be submitted before accommodations can be applied to the official GED examination.
4. All accommodations implemented must be documented, including the subsequent success or failure of the accommodations. The accommodations must be applied in the instructional setting as well as in any testing situation.
5. If a student declares ADA/Section 504 eligibility, it is the program's responsibility to cover costs associated with requested accommodations.
6. It is the program's responsibility to determine if a requested accommodation is reasonable. Accommodations are determined by examining:
   1. the barriers resulting from the interaction between the documented disability and the program environment;
   2. the possible accommodations that might remove the barriers but do not negate safety standards;
   3. whether or not the student has access to the program, service, activity, or facility without accommodations; and
   4. whether or not essential elements of the program, service, activity, or facility are compromised by the accommodations.
7. If the request is denied, the student has the right to file a complaint following the guidelines set forth in that program's grievance policy. If the student is simultaneously involved in two programs, the federal program's grievance policy takes precedence.
8. If a state-mandated assessment is administered as part of a program's enrollment process, then that program must administer an alternative test which allows for the requested accommodations and assesses for the same or similar data. The selected alternative test would be used as a substitute with students who declare ADA/Section 504 eligibility (see "Resources" in Appendix F).
9. It is the responsibility of each adult education program to have an audiocassette version of the General Educational Development (GED) Practice Tests.
10. All forms, letters, brochures, publicity, etc. produced for the program must include a statement that the program is ADA accessible, EEOC compliant, and disability accommodations are available upon request. (See Appendix D for sample statements.)
11. Interventions allowed during GED testing without a request for accommodation are:
    1. use of large-print version of the test;
    2. use of a straight-edge (no markings) or guide to facilitate the reading of the text;
    3. use of colored overlays for reading;
    4. request to sit near a window, away from flourescent lights, etc. when possible;
    5. use of graph paper for working out math problems;
    6. taking individual tests on different days (at the discretion of the center and available personnel);
    7. use of clear, transparent overlays with highlighers;
    8. earplugs;
    9. magnifying device;
    10. priority seating.

• Previous Page
• Next Page