Masters Thesis

Identification of Explicit and Implicit Accommodations in Individualized Education Programs

Providing interventions in elementary schools is conducted through strategies utilized by educators through Response to Intervention (RTI), the Student Study Team (SST) process, and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Educators implement interventions with all students to ensure they are learning the academic content, but some students need additional support secured through IEPs. Accommodations are included in the IEP, thus informing educators what students need to access the curriculum. The issue is whether the accommodations are being utilized consistently. To what extent do Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), specifically Special Factors, Statewide Assessments, and Services provide explicit support for educators? The research concerning accommodations reveal this is an area within IEPs that can be strengthened. Interventions on IEPs are either not being followed regularly or they are misunderstood. The succeeding research is a qualitative case study focusing on the accommodations included on 48 IEPs in one elementary school in Southern California. Accommodations were categorized by whether or not they are written in an explicit or implicit manner. Although there were more accommodations written explicitly than anticipated, the overall number of types of interventions were low. The significance of this study is to highlight one area of IEPs in order to address how accommodations are being written. The implication of having a low number of interventions is there is a possibility students are not receiving personalized supports. Many accommodations can be utilized widely amongst all students, but educators should be developing interventions working towards dismantling the inequity existing for students who are not a part of the majority population. This research will contribute to the field of education by informing educators on how to improve the understanding of interventions included in IEPs.

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