One parent took immediate action and fired off a letter to Gov. Jindal with copies going to every pertinent administrator from the district to the United States Dept. of Education, his/her state representative, state senator and their U.S. Senator. This parent wants to be very clear that they do not want the teacher held accountable. They are holding the school board and state responsible.
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january_22.pdf |
"In addition, [name] struggles with learning disabilities which necessitates [he, she] be given special assistance with math/calculations."
"[He, She] has received specialized instruction with accommodations for [his, her] [disability] impairments and has managed to reach basic or beyond basic levels on [his, her] regular and standardized testing. Accommodations are made during [his, her]regular classroom hours as well as testing and at home."
"I was informed that iLeap would no longer be the standardized test administered in Louisiana, and instead, was being replaced by the PARCC. I was told that the PARCC has different requirements for accommodations than the iLeap, and that my child was no longer eligible to receive accommodations during the Math nor the ELA (English/Language Arts/Literacy) portion of the test. I was asked to sign a form acknowledging that my child will no longer receive accommodations for [his, her] standardized testing for these portions of the test. The reason for the removal of these accommodations by [teacher’s name] was that the state law no longer supported the accommodations, not for a lack of the acknowledged disability, but because my child scored better than unsatisfactory on previous standardized tests. (Please note that previous test results were scored by [name] at the “Basic” level WITH the accommodations).
I asked [name] what my recourse was if I disagreed with this decision to remove the accommodations and was told that to [his, her] knowledge, there were none. I asked if there were ramifications to not signing the form. I was informed that signature or no signature, my child would not be receiving the necessary accommodations."
It is important to note that changes to a child's IEP (Individual Education Plan) cannot be made without the parent consenting to such changes in writing. This is supported in our own state's IEP handbook. Also, accommodations are to be made based on a child's disability rather than on whether or not those accommodations align with the capabilities or intended design of a particular assessment. Lastly, all accommodations used by a student in the classroom throughout the year (as decided on by the IEP team and approved by the parent) must be allowed on any and all assessments.
This parent expressed his/her concern and appealed, not only on behalf of his/her child; but, also on behalf of every child who could be facing the same situation:
"I’m truly at a loss for the rationale behind removing the assistance that my child requires to reach a basic level in [his, her] testing scores. I have been asking and re-asking myself what would motivate The State of Louisiana to remove accommodations during important testing for a disabled child. I have no answers. Further, my concern is for all parents and students who find themselves in this predicament. It is patently unfair to accommodate a child on a daily basis, in the class room during instruction and testing, yet remove the accommodation to test their skills. What am I missing and who is responsible?
I ask that my [son, daughter] and others in [his, her] position be granted exception to this policy before the upcoming PARCC testing and receive all previously instituted accommodations. Furthermore, I request that this discriminatory policy be revised and some common sense added to the “Common Core” in this regard."
While this parent has heard from numerous officials, we all await their remedy to this horrific situation.
If you find your child to be in this very same predicament, follow this courageous parent's lead and fight for your child and every other child in Louisiana.