Special Education Accessibility, Accommodations, and Assessment
Overview
The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Special Education Services (SES) is required under many federal and state laws to provide support and oversight to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Individual Education Program (IEP) teams to implement appropriate accessibility, accommodations, and participation in grade-level instruction and statewide assessments for all students across Utah. This webpage provides policies, guidance documents, and other resources to assist IEP, 504, and English Learner teams with selecting, administering, and evaluating accessibility and assistive technology needs, accommodations, and assessment participation.
Contacts
Accessibility
Federal Laws
34 CFR § 300.172: Access to Instructional Materials
United States Government Publishing Office (GPO)
National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC)
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
Utah State Instructional Materials Access Center (USIMAC)
NIMAS and Accessible Instruction Material (AIM) in Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA)
National Center on Accessible Educational Materials
Utah State Instructional Materials Access Center (USIMAC)
State Laws
R277-800: Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind (USDB)
Utah Office of Administrative Rules
Utah State Instructional Materials Access Center (USIMAC)
Page 181: National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC)
Page 196: National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC)
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
National Center on Accessible Educational Materials
Utah State Instructional Materials Access Center (USIMAC)
Resources
Accessible Materials and Assistive Technology Resources
Explanation of State and Local Education Agency Participation in NIMAS
Contact
Tracy Gooley
Special Education Assessments
Phone: (801) 538-7887 | E-mail
Assistive Technology (AT)
Utah Assistive Technology Teams (UATT)
Assistive Technology (AT) Referral Form
Utah Assistive Technology Teams (UATT)
Department Workforce Services (DWS) Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT)
Quality Indicators for Administrative Support of Assistive Technology Services
Quality Indicators for Assessment of Assistive Technology Needs
Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Implementation
Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Transition
Quality Indicators for Consideration of Assistive Technology Needs
Quality Indicators for Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Assistive Technology
Quality Indicators for Including Assistive Technology in the Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Quality Indicators for Professional Development and Training in Assistive Technology
Resources
Assistive Technology Guidance and Considerations
Assistive Technology Flow Chart
Contacts
Accommodations
Utah Participation and Accommodations Policy 2024-2025
Testing
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Requirements Testing Accommodations
United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
Interpreter Guidelines for State Standardized Assessment (SSA)
Assessment Accommodations Request Forms
USBE Assistive Technology Accommodation Request Form for Assessment
USBE Braille Accommodation Request Form
USBE Exceptional Accommodation Request Form for Assessment
USBE RISE Remote Proctoring Accommodation Request Form for Assessment
USBE Scribe Accommodation Request Form for Assessment Instructions
Scribe Accommodation Guidelines
Test Administration - Special Accommodations
Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Career and Technical Education (CTE) Skill Certificate
Program accommodations guidance and request form.
Contacts
Assessments
Accountability and Resources
Assessment Director Resources
Utah State Board of Education Assessment and Accountability
Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Elementary Mathematics Calculator Usage
Resources
Academic Progress Monitoring Tools Chart
Academic Screening Tools Chart
National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII)
Contacts
Alternate Assessment
Alternate assessments are for students with significant cognitive disabilities whose disability significantly impacts their intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. Participation in alternate assessments is determined by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team as the appropriate assessments for the student to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
Alternate Assessment Participation Guidelines
Utah’s Alternate Assessments Chart
1.0 Percent Alternate Assessment Participation Threshold
The Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), limits the total number of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are assessed statewide in a subject using an alternate assessment (i.e., Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) to 1.0 percent of the total number of all students in the State who are assessed in such subject.
Public Law 114-95 as amended § 1111(b)(2)(D)(i)(I)
United States Department of Education
A State may not prohibit a Local Education Agency (LEA) from assessing more than 1.0 percent of its assessed students with the alternate assessment DLM. However, a State must require an LEA that assesses more than 1.0 percent of its assessed students in any subject with the alternate assessment DLM to submit information to the State justifying the need to exceed the 1.0 percent threshold. States must provide appropriate oversight of each LEA that is required to submit such a justification letter and must make the justification publicly available, provided that it does not reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student. A justification letter template is provided to LEAs.
LEA 1% Justification Letter Template School Year (SY) 2023-2024
The 1.0 percent participation rates for the State and the status of LEAs exceeding the 1.0 percent threshold are available below.
One Percent Alternate Assessment Participation Threshold Report
To request a justification letter submitted by a district or charter school, please contact Tracy Gooley.
United States Department of Education memos to states outlining requirements under ESSA for 1.0 percent participation in the year-end alternate assessment:
- Requirements for the Cap on the Percentage of Students who may be Assessed with an Alternate Assessment Aligned with Alternate Academic Achievement Standards
- Additional Information Regarding the Requirements to Request a Waiver from the One Percent Cap on the Percentage of Students Who May Be Assessed with an Alternate Assessment Aligned with Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AA-AAAS)
- Information Regarding Consequences for States Not Meeting the Requirement to Assess Not More than 1.0 Percent of Students on the Alternate Assessment
Civics Exam
Civics Test Requirements and Options for Students with Disabilities
Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM)
Test Administration Manual 2023-2024
Dynamic Learning Maps
Creating DLM User Accounts, Student Enrollment, and Rosters
Acadience Reading and Math Alternate Assessments
Acadience Reading
Utah State Board of Education Assessment and Accountability
Acadience Reading and Math Accommodations Alternative and Alternate Assessment Options
Enroll in Administering the Early Literacy and Math Alternate Assessments
USBE Canvas
This canvas training course combines both Acadience Literacy and Math Alternate Assessment.
Early Literacy Alternate Assessment (ELAA)
Early Literacy Alternate Assessment Rubric Kindergarten
Early Literacy Alternate Assessment Rubric Grade 1
Early Literacy Alternate Assessment Rubric Grade 2
Early Literacy Alternate Assessment Rubric Grade 3
Early Math Alternate Assessment (EMAA)
Early Math Alternative Assessment Kindergarten
Early Math Alternate Assessment Grade 1
Early Math Alternate Assessment Grade 2
Early Math Alternate Assessment Grade 3
Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten Alternate Assessment
Pre-Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Utah State Board of Education Assessment and Accountability
Contact
Tracy Gooley
Special Education Assessments
Phone: (801) 538-7887 | E-mail