In today’s classrooms, many educators may have more students with IEP and 504 plans. This is something we must pay extra attention to and provide these students with differentiated instruction to promote student success. We can no longer lecture at the front board while students take notes. Much more is required if we are to ever reach the proper student success level.

First off, it is very crucial that educators read and respond to the full IEP and 504 plans as each student may require a different form of accommodational instruction. Accommodations include, but are not limited to, preferential seating, test-read aloud, extra time on assessments, word banks provided for assessments, digital or paper copy instructional notes, reduced number of test questions, constant check-ins for understanding, organizational assistance, etc. Although each plan requires different needs, it is vital as educators to take it seriously. The limitation of these accommodations is that it ends in grade 12.

Image from (Lightner, 2022)

According to research, colleges and universities face an extreme issue: ignoring the accommodations and preferences their students have (Khozaei et al., 2011). The study found that if higher education students preferred their studying areas, they could cope in stressful environments to focus on their learning (Khozaei et al., 2011). Of course, I cannot speak for all colleges and universities, but adding more instructional coaches and case managers in this setting could guide students in their success. Of course, this is a place where students are aiming towards a more independent lifestyle, but a guide to better help them lead towards their independent and educational process may be necessary.

References

Khozaei, F., Hassan, A. S., & Razak, N. A. (2011, January). Development and validation of the student accommodation preferences instrument (SAPI). Journal of Building Appraisal, 6(3–4), 299–313. https://doi.org/10.1057/jba.2011.7

Lightner, L. (2022, September 15). What's the Difference Between an IEP and a 504 Plan? A Day in Our Shoes. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://adayinourshoes.com/difference-504-iep/