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Education Dept. Proposes Rule on '2 Percent' Flexibility for Testing Students With Disabilities
Secretary Spellings had announced the 2 percent flexibility measure last spring, and states were given an opportunity to use interim measures to adjust their test scores for the 2004-05 school year. The result, for some states, is that more schools made adequate yearly progress, or AYP--a key standard of performance under the 4-year-old law--because their passing rates for the students-with-disabilities subgroup improved. The Education Department plans to extend the interim policy for the 2005-06 school year to allow public comment on the proposed regulation, which was scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Dec. 15. It would take at least several months for the proposed rule to become final.
"At its heart, this policy is all about improving the way we educate and assess children with disabilities. It's a smarter, more sophisticated way of serving their needs," Ms. Spellings told the group of local and state education officials gathered at Guilford Elementary School, which has 412 students, 9 percent of whom have disabilities.
An earlier Education Department flexibility policy, which is intended for 1 percent of all students, remains in place. It is intended to provide flexibility to schools for students who have severe cognitive disabilities. The new proposed rule is for students who can achieve at higher levels than the students in that 1 percent group, which accounts for about 10 percent of students with disabilities.
— Christina A. Samuels
Education Week (web only)
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