Accommodations versus Modifications
Accommodation are changes which do NOT fundamentally alter or lower the standard or expectations of the course. For example, moving an English class from the third floor to a classroom on the first floor so a student who uses a wheelchair can be in the class is an accommodation.
Types of accommodations. Remember, an accommodation does not change the nature or requirements of a course. There are two types of accommodations. There are accommodations that have nothing to do with the course or what is actually taught. For example, a student has difficulty walking. An accommodation in a 504 plan might require that all of the student’s classes be held on the first floor of the building. This accommodation does not change the student’s classes in any way. He still has the same assignments, same tests, same expectations. Making this accommodation is required by law. Providing an interpreter for a student who has a hearing impairment or providing books on tape for a student who has learing disabilities are other modifications. These do change the way the course is taught but the student is still required to meet the same standards, know the same material as all of the other students. These accommodations are required also.
On the other hand, modifications are changes to a course that allow one student to not meet requirements that are held for other students.
Some people think schools are required to make only accomodations and not modifications.
Those people are wrong.
Why would a school change a course for a student with a disability to have different requirements? The reason it is required is for the student's benefit. Physically, the student benefits from receiving physical activity that meets his needs. Educationally, he learns skills he can use throughout life. Socially, he has the chance to be with other kids from his town who are his own age.
Schools are not allowed to use cost or convenience of the school as the reason for denying a needed modification. However, the fact is that allowing modifications is often easier for the school. A school in a small town is not going to have several children who use wheelchairs, are visually impaired or have any of the less common disabilities. (Disabilities that do not occur often are called low incidence disabilities.) For these low incidence disabilities, it is much more trouble for the student to be educated alone in a separate class than with the rest of his classmates. Sending the student away to a special school is very expensive, and this cost must be paid by the school district. Modifying the course to be different or easier for the student with a disability, is a change that is both better for the student and better for the school.
While schools are required to make modifications and accommodations, they are not required to do exactly what the student or parent wants. For example, a parent may want a new computer for her child to use in the classroom to do his math assignments. The school may provide the child a calculator instead, arguing that this is a cheaper solution. If the student can complete his assignments using the calculator and does not need a computer, then that modification is perfectly legal and acceptable.
Modifications in classrooms to help students with disabilities succeed are covered in detail our workshops on special education. There is also a discussion of classroom modifications in the workshop on early childhood.
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