Special Education Test Flexibility Detailed

Not Every State May Want to Seek Relief This Year, Spellings Says

States can start taking advantage of flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act for some of their special education students this school year, but they will have to clear several hurdles to do so, the Department of Education announced last week.

The new details about the testing flexibility that Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings first outlined in April got a mixed reaction from state education officials, with some suggesting that the requirements were too complex.

Secretary Spellings announced last month that 2 percent of students in special education who have “persistent academic disabilities” could be tested using modified assessments. The result, for some states, is that more of their students who are in special education will be deemed proficient under the No Child Left Behind law’s standards. ( "States to Get New Options on NCLB Law," ...