The U.S. Department of Justice has released final regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act that focus on improving conditions, achievement for students with dyslexia and other learning disorders.

"The new regulation guide and letter to school districts address problematic policies which have required students and their families to undergo repeated costly testing for documentation of dyslexia, dysgraphia,dyscalculia, and other LDs,” says DyslexicAdvantage.org.

The guide also attempts to fix the problem of students with learning disabilities not being supported until they repeatedly fail; test accommodations should be made to reflect aptitude and achievement levels.

This covers high school equivalency exams, high school and college entrance exams, graduate school admissions exams, and licensing exams for trade purposes/ professional purposes.

The new guidelines also help students with disabilities circumvent the difficult process of being asked to provide extensive documentation for testing accommodations by defining limits.

If a candidate requests the same testing accommodations he or she previously received on a similar standardized exam or high-stakes test, provides proof of having received the previous testing accommodations, and certifies his or her current need for the testing accommodations due to disability, then a testing entity should generally grant the same testing accommodations for the current standardized exam or high-stakes test without requesting further documentation from the candidate. So, for example, a person with a disability who receives a testing accommodation to sit for the SAT should generally get the same testing accommodation to take the GRE, LSAC, or MCAT.

Read more about the new guidelines here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

1/22/2016