ARD Roles, Accommodations, and Behavioral Supports

The Texas ARD (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) Committee

Texas calls the IEP team the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee. Its required roles ordinarily include the parent; at least one regular education teacher if the child participates or may participate in the regular education environment; at least one special education teacher or provider; a qualified LEA representative; and someone who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results. A person may fill more than one role when qualified. The LEA representative need not be the principal; the evaluation interpreter need not be a separate psychologist at every meeting. Membership and excusal procedures have legal conditions.

For an emergent bilingual student, include the required LPAC representation. Include other conditionally required Texas members and specialists as applicable. Invite the student when transition planning is addressed and take steps to include the student's preferences if they do not attend. Texas transition requirements begin by age 14; invitation does not mean every student must attend every ARD meeting.

The committee reviews evaluation information, present levels, goals, services, placement, accommodations, modifications, and progress reporting. Review the IEP at least annually; reevaluation ordinarily occurs at least every three years unless the parent and agency agree it is unnecessary, and not more than once a year unless agreed otherwise. Teachers contribute current work, objective observations, and evidence about supports. They receive and implement the IEP responsibilities relevant to their instruction. An IEP is a legally required educational plan, not an ordinary private contract. A teacher cannot unilaterally remove a required support. Bring concerns to the appropriate team and keep implementing the plan while lawful changes are considered.

Sources: IDEA team membership, §300.321, TEA IEP development guidance.

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Accommodations vs. Modifications: The Vital Distinction

One of the most frequently tested concepts on the TExES PPR exam is the distinct difference between an accommodation and a modification:

1. Accommodations (Change How the Student Learns)

Accommodations are alterations in the learning environment, instructional format, or response modality that remove physical or cognitive barriers without altering the grade-level TEKS content, rigor, or expectations. The student is expected to master the exact same standards as peers.

• Presentation Accommodations: Text-to-speech software, large print, visual graphic organizers, audio recordings of textbooks, oral administration of directions.
• Response Accommodations: Speech-to-text dictation, using a word processor, calculating tools for non-computational objectives, pointing to answers.
• Setting Accommodations: Preferential seating near the instructor, small-group testing, quiet testing room, sensory seating.
• Timing/Scheduling Accommodations: Extended time (e.g., time-and-a-half), frequent sensory breaks, chunking long tests across multiple sessions.

2. Modifications (Change What the Student Learns)

Modifications are fundamental changes to the curriculum expectations, instructional content, or grading criteria. Modifications alter the standard by lowering conceptual complexity or eliminating core objectives.

• Curricular Modifications: A 7th-grade student completing 3rd-grade math TEKS; reducing multi-step problem solving to single-digit basic addition; testing over 5 modified vocabulary terms instead of the 20 grade-level concepts required of peers.

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Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) and Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA)

A functional behavioral assessment examines evidence about the conditions and possible purposes of a behavior. Record antecedents, observable behavior, and consequences without treating one incident as proof of function. A behavior plan can specify prevention, replacement skills, appropriate reinforcement, responsible personnel, and review measures. Teach and monitor the replacement skill; a list of punishments alone does not provide that instruction.

When behavior impedes learning, the IDEA IEP team considers positive behavioral interventions, supports, and strategies. Particular disciplinary circumstances create additional FBA/BIP duties; behavior that interferes does not automatically require an identical assessment and plan for every student. Section 504 has distinct procedures. Follow the applicable team process and current individual plan, obtain qualified assistance, and do not withhold safety or legitimate help under the label of extinction.

For example, if difficult reading is followed by disruption and removal from the task, escape is a hypothesis to examine. Provide appropriate reading access, teach an acceptable request for help or a supervised break, and check whether participation improves. Do not assume a token reward will solve an unaddressed prerequisite or access barrier. Source: IDEA special factors.

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Check the Assessment Construct

In a fictional science lesson, a learner with a motor disability explains an accurate cause-and-effect relationship orally. If the target is scientific reasoning, an approved oral response can preserve the intended construct while addressing the writing barrier. If a separate assessment targets spelling or handwriting, dictating the finished response may remove the skill being assessed. Review the actual goal, required plan, and assessment rules with the appropriate team rather than assume one tool is suitable for every task. Document the evidence of reasoning separately from the response support used.