New rules ease NCLB provisions on testing special ed students

12/16/03 -- U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige announced new rules for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Dec. 9 to provide more flexibility in the testing of students with disabilities.

Under the new final regulations, states, school districts, and schools will be allowed to count the "proficient" scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take assessments based on alternative achievement standards. This means these students can be assessed according to standards appropriate for their intellectual development -- rather than their grade level.

"The new provision will ensure that schools receive credit for the progress of all children -- including children with the most significant cognitive disabilities," the Education Department states.

"Schools around the country will not be identified by states' education authorities as 'needing improvement' if their students with the most significant cognitive disabilities are unable to achieve at the same level as their peers," the department says. "At the same time, this new provision protects children with disabilities from being excluded from accountability systems that provide valuable information to parents and educators."

NCLB states that not more than 1 percent of students with disabilities in each grade tested that are given alternative assessments can be counted as proficient for the purposes of calculating whether a district or state makes adequate yearly progress (AYP). The alternative tests must be tied to state academic content standards.

The new rules allow states and districts to exceed the 1 percent limit if they can demonstrate that they have a larger population of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

According to the Education Department, 9 percent of students are in special education, and 9 percent of that group have the most significant cognitive disabilities.

The final regulation differs significantly from the proposed rule issued in March by dropping the definition of students with significant cognitive disabilities. Instead, the department calls for the states to come up with their own definitions.

NSBA submitted comments on the proposed rules last spring objecting to the department's narrow definition of "students with the most significant cognitive disabilities."