(2013). Accommodations for students with disabilities on state English language proficiency assessments: A review of 2011 state policies. Minneapolis, The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment The Improving the Validity of Assessment Results for English Language Learners with Disabilities (IVARED) project is supported by a contract (State of Minnesota Award #B54419) based on a grant from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education (Award #S368A100011). The grant was awarded to a consortium of five state departments of education (AZ, ME, MI, MN, WA) along with the National Center on Educational Outcomes, and is led by the Minnesota Department of Education. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of either the U.S. Department of Education or the Minnesota Department of Education. Acknowledgments The authors wish to extend special thanks to Vitaliy Shyyan for his careful editing and proofreading of this report. iv v Executive Summary English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities are required to participate in all state and district assessments similar to their peers without disabilities. This includes assessments used for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I accountability purposes for demonstrating proficiency in academic content, assessments used for Title III purposes to measure yearly growth in English proficiency (in reading, writing, speaking, and listening), and other state and local assessments administered to all students. This report documents states' participation and accommodation policies for ELLs with disabilities on their English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments. The states' online policies from 2011, after state verification, showed that 49 states addressed participation criteria for ELLs with disabilities. Of these states, 36 states allowed for selective participation of students with disabilities on the ELP assessment , meaning that a student may participate in some domains but not others. Most often, ELLs who were deaf/hard of hearing or who had visual impairments or blindness were considered for selective participation. Across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, policies varied with regard to whether an IEP or 504 plan was required to receive an accommodation. A total of 37 states mentioned that an IEP or 504 plan was required. However, five states did not require an IEP or 504 plan in order for an ELL to receive an accommodation on the ELP assessment. An additional nine states provided no policy information. Specific accommodation policies also varied across states. …
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