An accommodation is a change in the way content is taught that makes it more accessible to a student. Accommodations do not alter the content of assignments, give students an unfair advantage or, in the case of assessments, change what the test measures. Accommodations do make it possible for students with disabilities to show what they know without being impeded by their disability.

On Wednesday, March 22nd the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a student with disabilities in one of the most important special education cases to reach the court in years. The question before the Supreme Court involved the amount of “educational benefit” a student with disabilities received in order to ensure that he/she has been provided “FAPE”, or Free Appropriate Public Education, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). Here are some facts in the case:

This morning I was going through my routine of reading the newspaper and checking the internet when I came across an article on Reddit! from NPR’s senior education editor Steve Drummond on How the Language of Special Education is Evolving. One of the things I found most was his reference to a web-based style guide for journalists from the National Center on Disability and Journalism (NCDJ), based at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, for “journalists, communication professionals, and members of the general public who are seeking appropriate and accurate language to use when writing or talking about people living with disabilities.” . The overall recommendation in this guide is a principle we should all live by: “Always use people first language”.