Revised March 2020
Some students with disabilities may require testing procedure accommodations. Students with
disabilities should have every opportunity to discuss such needs with appropriate staff early,
during the counseling process, when the student participates in planning his or her program.
However, adult students are not required to reveal his or her disability and may elect to
participate in the program without special assistance. Students must self-identify, provide
documentation and request accommodation services if they wish to receive testing
accommodations. Documentation of the need for specific testing procedure accommodations
should be maintained in the student's confidential records and revealed only on a “need to
know” basis. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which is incorporated
into state law under s. 1002.221 and s.1002.225, F.S., is designed to protect the privacy of a
student’s education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable
program from the U.S. Department of Education. Generally, schools must have written
permission from the parent or guardian or eligible student in order to release any information
from a student's education record.
Rule 6A-1.0943, F.A.C., Statewide Assessment for Students with Disabilities, provides the basis
for accommodations to Florida's statewide assessment system for students with disabilities and
provides examples of allowable testing accommodations. Consideration must be given to
providing accommodations that will allow the student with a disability to demonstrate the skills
and knowledge the test is designed to measure, rather than a score that reflects the student’s
disability. Accommodations are not to provide the student with an unfair advantage or interfere
with the validity of the test; they are required to allow the student an equal opportunity to
demonstrate the underlying skills that are being measured by the test. Students are unique and
may require different accommodations, even if they have the same disability. When specifying
test accommodations for an individual student, consideration should be given to the option
requested by the student. Test accommodations are based on accommodations used by the
student during classroom instruction. All accommodations should be documented on the
student’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP), Adult Individual Educational Plan (AIEP), 504 Plan
or other educational plan.
Students with documented disabilities, who self-identify, must be provided with
accommodations in the testing procedure as needed on an individual basis. Rule 6A-1.0943,
F.A.C., Statewide Assessment for Students with Disabilities, provides examples of allowable
testing procedure accommodations.
Testing accommodations may include, but are not limited to:
• Flexible scheduling: The student may be administered a test during several brief sessions
allowing frequent breaks during the testing sessions, within specifications of the test
administration manual. Students may be provided additional time for the administration
of the test;
• Flexible setting: The student may be administered a test individually or in a small group
setting. The student may be provided with adaptive or special furniture and special
lighting or acoustics;
• Flexible responding: The student may use varied methods to respond to the test, including
written, signed and verbal response. Written responses may include the use of mechanical
and electronic devices. A test administrator or proctor may transcribe student responses