Understanding Dyslexia: A Guide for Tennessee Parents and Educators

Understanding Dyslexia: A Guide for Tennessee Parents and Educators The department frequently receives questions from parents and educators regarding dyslexia and its relationship to specific learning disabilities. Additionally, several recent policy changes have precipitated a need to provide further guidance around this issue. In particular, school districts recently began implementation of the Response to Instruction…

Supports, Modifications, and Accommodations for Students

“For many students with disabilities—and for many without—the key to success in the classroom lies in having appropriate adaptations, accommodations, and modifications made to the instruction and other classroom activities.” “Adaptations, accommodations, and modifications need to be individualized for students, based upon their needs and their personal learning styles and interests.  It is not always…

New Georgia Testing Accommodations Manual

The Accommodations Manual: A guide to Selecting, Administering, and Evaluating the Use of Test Administration Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (updated December 2014) is now available on the Assessment & Accountability website under the link “For Educators”.   In addition, IEP and IEP/504 teams should always consider the purpose of the assessment and consult Georgia’s Student…

8 Tips to Boost Your Child’s Working Memory

Does your child have a hard time remembering directions or math facts? Does he often forget what he wants to say? If so, he might have working memory issues. Working memory is also known as short-term memory. It’s a skill kids use to learn. You can help your child improve his recall by building some…

New Guidance: When Parents Request Evaluation Regardless of Where in the RTI Process

Update from TN Department of Education with OSEP Memo Clarification As LEAs begin implementation of Tennessee’s RTI² Framework, the department would like to remind districts of the procedures required when a parent requests an evaluation. As referenced in this memorandum issued through the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), a Response to Intervention (RTI) process…