Suit Says Ore. Test Unfair to Learning-Disabled

By Jessica L. Sandham

A group of Oregon parents and students claims in a federal lawsuit filed last week that a new state test discriminates against students with learning disabilities.

The suit, filed Feb. 22 in the U.S. District Court in Portland, contends that in administering the Certificate of Initial Mastery test to 10th graders, state education officials did not make the types of accommodations for learning-disabled students that are required by federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The suit also claims that the test's heavy emphasis on spelling and punctuation--skills that can be particularly difficult for students with conditions such as dyslexia to master--makes...