IEP Accommodations
Changing how students access learning — not what they learn.
Accommodations change how a student accesses instruction or demonstrates learning, without changing the standard. They're decided by the IEP team and legally required when written into the plan — so teachers need a working knowledge of what's available and how to implement each one.
Common accommodation categories
- Presentation: audiobooks, large print, instructions read aloud, visual supports, simplified language on the same content
- Response: speech-to-text, typing instead of handwriting, oral responses, extra space to write
- Setting: separate room for tests, preferential seating, small group for instruction
- Timing and scheduling: extended time, breaks, chunked assignments, reduced-length tasks that keep the standard
Making accommodations real
An accommodation only works when every adult implements it consistently. That means the accommodation list has to live somewhere visible and current — Spark's student profiles hold each learner's accommodations alongside the other context (triggers, communication style) that makes implementation consistent.
Accommodations vs. modifications
The line matters: accommodations keep the expectation, modifications change it. A student using text-to-speech on the same test as peers is accommodated; a student answering fewer, simpler questions is working on a modified task. See the modifications guide for that distinction in depth.
Related resources
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