AT Procedure

Each school district needs to include guidelines in their Policy & Procedures Manual for providing assistive technology services and directions for accessing information and help. Wherever it is placed, there should be something that a staff member could turn to for direction if a parent requests an assessment or s specific assistive technology service. Many due process hearings or lawsuits could have been prevented if the teacher who was first asked a question by a parent had a resource to which to turn for help.

Suggested AT Procedures that may be included:

• How and when AT is considered for all students
• Referring a student for AT screening, assessment or service
• Identifying an AT device
• Trial use of a device; collecting data
• Timeline of AT assessment and device selection
• Removing AT from school property
• Inclusion of AT devices and services on the IEP

Example: Michigan's Wayne County AT Guidelines
These county guidelines are an identified and approved process for providing assistive technology for those students who are in need of such accommodations so that they may benefit from public education.

Making Assessment Accommodations

Making Assessment Accommodations: A Toolkit for Educators is a resource developed by the ASPIIRE and ILIAD IDEA Partnership Projects at CEC to help educators understand the "how-to's" and "why's" of providing accommodations for state and district-wide assessments for students with disabilities.

Using this framework of accommodations, P. Reed and P. Walser provide AT suggestions for each type of accommodation listed.