Resources
Module Content
You can download a document that includes all content from the module, with the exception of videos. This resource can support your learning while completing the module or be saved for future reference.
Additional Documents
Administrator's Planner for Effective Technology Supervision and Leadership
Categories of Disability Under IDEA
OCALI Consideration for AT Checklist - blank
QIAT Guiding Document: Administrative Support of AT Services
QIAT Quality Indicators for Administrative Support of AT Services
QIAT Quality Indicators for Consideration of AT Needs
QIAT Self-Evaluation Matrix for Administrative Support of AT
Tiered Levels of Instruction and Intervention
WATI Resource Guide for Teachers and Administrators About AT
Reflection Questions
The Reflection Questions document can be downloaded at any time and used in a variety of ways. You can view it before starting your work so that you know which questions will be asked in the videos and/or on the webpages. You can also access it at the end of your work so that you can see all your responses to the questions. This tool can be helpful for documenting your learning and referring to later or for sharing it with others in group discussions or as demonstration of your online progress.
Discussion Questions
The Discussion Questions provided below can supplement and extend your individual learning and be used by facilitators or coaches to prompt meaningful discussions.
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Why is it important for IEP teams to consider a student's assistive technology needs at every IEP meeting?
A correct answer will include the following:
- IDEA mandates AT consideration as part of the IEP's special factors.
- The team must determine if the current accommodations are meeting the current needs.
- The team must determine if current assistive technologies continue to meet the student's educational needs.
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Use the Quality Indicators for Administrative Support document to guide your answers to the following questions related to your school district:
- Does the school district have written procedural guidelines with regard to the provision of assistive technology for students with disabilities?
- Are general and special educators aware of the district's procedures related to assistive technology?
- Does the district have staff members who are knowledgeable about a variety of assistive technologies?
A correct answer will include specific indicators of compliance in these areas or a discussion on how to incorporate this into the district's policies and procedures.
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A school district is responsible for providing assistive technology (AT) that the IEP team determines is necessary. However, the school district may utilize alternative funding sources. Use the Funding at a Glance and the Local Funding Worksheet forms from the AT Resource Guide to consider ways the district may be able to provide assistive technology when local funds are limited.
A correct answer will include the following:
- A district may rent or borrow equipment.
- School districts may utilize alternative funding sources as long as the use of such funds does not result in a reduction of medical or other types of assistance to the student or the family.
- If parents provide the assistive technology, the district is still responsible for repair and maintenance.
- Alternate funding sources may include private insurance, Medicaid, BCMH, and MRDD services, and local service organizations.
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The IDEA definition of assistive technology includes devices and services. What are assistive technology services?
A correct answer will include the following:
- Assessing the student's need for assistive technology
- Providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices that are deemed necessary
- Fitting, adapting, maintaining, and repairing the assistive technology as needed
- Training the student to use the assistive technology, and training the school staff, and, if necessary, the family to use it
Activities on this page are provided at both the introductory and advanced level and can be copied and used within existing professional development or university coursework.
Introductory Activities
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Who Will Pay?
The school district is responsible for "providing" assistive technology that the IEP team determines is necessary for the student to receive FAPE. However, the district may access alternative funding sources. Using the case examples in this module, a scenario will be presented with funding options. Read each scenario and discuss the funding options that may or may not be applicable.
Scenario #1: Colin
Colin is in first grade. He seems to have good learning potential. However, he has a degenerative muscle disorder that affects his ability to use his hands and arms. He can hold a pencil when placed in his hand but is unable to use it to make any purposeful markings. At this time, a personal aide assists him in all writing tasks when he tells her what answer to write. She also helps him turn pages of a book and gets out his school supplies. Colin has trouble maintaining an upright position in a regular chair, so the school has borrowed an adapted chair that offers him better support at his desk.
With the help of the occupational therapist, it was found that Colin could not access a standard mouse or keyboard. He is able to use a trackball to select letters with an onscreen keyboard. When the onscreen keyboard is combined with word prediction, Colin is able to type at a rate that is similar to his peers'. This solution enables Colin to perform many first grade-writing tasks independently; however, the only computer in the classroom is situated in the back or the room. His team feels that a laptop computer would let him stay at his desk with the rest of the class when participating in writing activities with the computer.
Who will pay for a laptop computer?
- Personal health insurance
- Local school district
- Parents
Scenario #1: Discussion
Personal Health Insurance: Although Colin's condition is related to a medical problem, personal health insurance does not pay for assistive technology that is primarily an "educational need."
Local School District: Colin's need for assistive technology is related to an educational task, which is writing. Since he is being served on an IEP, the school district is responsible for obtaining the laptop computer based on the recommendations of the IEP team. The school district may consider contacting local service groups to help pay for this.
Parents:IDEA states that Colin is entitled to a "free and appropriate public education," including necessary assistive technology, at no cost to the parents.
Scenario #2: Sandy
Sandy has a severe hearing loss and wears bilateral hearing aids that her parents purchased. Because her school has sound field amplification in all first-, second-, and third-grade classrooms, she has done well academically. Now in fourth grade, Sandy is going to different classrooms and finds it difficult to hear homework assignments, follow classroom discussions, and take notes during classroom lectures.
The educational audiologist who consults with Sandy's school has recommended a personal FM system that will attach directly to her hearing aids and let her hear speech through a directional microphone.
Who will pay for this?
- Parents
- Local service organization
- Local school district
Scenario # 2: Discussion
Parents: Although the parents provided for the personal hearing aids for Sandy, IDEA says that parents cannot be required to pay for assistive technologies, such as an FM system, which is necessary for Sandy to participate in the general education curriculum.
Local Service Organization: Some local service organizations support speech and hearing needs such as Sandy's need for an FM system. The team, with the parents' permission, or the parent will likely be required to present the student's needs at one of the organization's meetings. The organization may or may not choose to support the request. In this case, the school would be responsible for all costs not supported through the local service organization.
Local School District: Because Sandy needs the FM system in order to achieve in the general education curriculum, the school district is responsible for providing the equipment based on IDEA mandates.
Scenario #3: Erik
Erik is in the sixth grade and has a learning disability. He is not able to read grade-level text independently, but if the text is read out loud, he can understand the content. In the past, he has used an aide to provide this level of support, but the school team has recently determined that Erik can understand text-to-speech software that reads the text out loud equally as well. This provides the student with a way to independently read and reread the materials as needed. The identified software also includes writing supports that have proven useful to him. Although the text-to-speech and writing software is helpful at school, Erik is not able to finish his reading and writing assignments at home without help because his home computer does not have the software.
During a recent IEP meeting, Erik's mother asked the school to provide the software for their home computer so Erik could complete homework assignments independently. Everyone on the team agreed this would be a good idea.
Who will pay for this?
- Local School District
- Parents
- Personal Health Insurance
Scenario # 3: Discussion
Local School District: If a student requires the assistive technology both at home and at school, IDEA mandates that the school district provide it. The school district may ask the parents if they want to purchase the equipment for home, but they cannot require the parents to do so. However, if the school district purchases the AT tools, those tools ultimately belong to the school district. So, if the AT tools are no longer needed for the student's educational goals, the parents are obligated to return the AT tools to the school district.
Parents: Parents may choose to purchase the software program for their home computer, and the school district may offer them any discounts available to the school if they desire. However, since the IEP team is recommending reading and writing software for home use, the parents are not required to pay for it.
Personal Health Insurance: Personal health insurance covers "medically necessary" items, but the reading and writing software for Erik would be considered "educationally necessary" even though it would be used at home. Therefore, personal insurance would likely deny funding for this request.
Scenario #4: Amy
Amy is in the ninth grade and has cerebral palsy. She does not have functional speech. She has used a wide variety of AAC devices in the past, and they have shown great success in supporting her academic goals. Over the years, her vocabulary has continued to expand, and Amy has now outgrown her current device due to increasing vocabulary and literacy skills. It is time for her re-evaluation, and the team has suggested many high-level AAC devices with spelling capabilities and opportunities to create novel messages for trial. After extensive trials and data collection, her educational team has determined that a dynamic display device with access to an adult-level vocabulary is an appropriate AT tool that will enable her to share information and participate in activities within the classroom.
Who will pay for this?
- Parents
- Medicaid
- Local School District
Scenario # 4: Discussion
Parents: If the IEP team determines that Amy needs a personal dynamic display device to access her educational goals, then the school district is responsible to obtain the device. The district cannot require the parents to purchase the device.
Medicaid: The parents shared that Amy receives insurance through Medicaid. In her state, Medicaid will purchase "assistive communication devices" (ACDs) if they are determined to be medically necessary. Amy's physician must submit a prescription for the ACD based on a report from a speech-language pathologist with ASHA certification and experience in AAC.
Local School District: The school district is responsible for providing the communication device that has been recommended by the IEP team. However, the district can pursue funding through Medicaid with the parents' permission and as long as it does not add personal expenses for the family.
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Assistive Technology Database
Many districts find that various technologies and assistive technologies are stored in a cabinet when no longer used by a student. What assistive technologies are currently used in your district? What assistive technologies are not being used but are stored away?
In this activity, you will create a database of assistive technologies in your building/school district. Include the following information:
Device or software name
Primary use category
(e.g., reading, writing, math, communication, hearing, vision, computer access,
learning/studying
Location
(classroom/building)
Currently used by (student name) as documented in the IEP
Not used by an individual student
Advanced Activities
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District Profile and Action Plan
Supporting effective AT use within a school district requires an examination of current areas of competency and goal setting to address areas of need. The Administrators' Planner for Effective Technology Supervision and Leadership is a starting point for districts to begin this discussion.
The planner is divided into three sections, including AT leadership expectations, AT practice for teachers, and technology use by students. Several elements for each section are shown. Place a check in the box beside each descriptor for which your district exhibits competency. For any "no" answers, write action goals that will facilitate growth.
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Administrative Support for Assistive Technology
2. Administrative support is critical for the effective delivery of AT supports and services. Review the Guiding Document, "Administrative Support of Assistive Technology Services" from QIAT. This document identifies 7 key areas an administrator should address including procedural guidelines, dissemination of those procedures, written descriptions of job requirements and personnel competencies, AT in the technology planning and budgeting process, on-going AT learning opportunities and a systematic evaluation process. Using the companion document, "Quality Indicators for Administrative Support of Assistive Technology" Matrix, evaluate the administrative support available in your district in the 7 areas mentioned above. Create a written plan that would move your district towards the more "promising practices" end of the matrix.