This section of the website has information for parents of children with special needs. Below are Informational Tip Sheets on various topics that can be downloaded and printed. To the right, are sample letters for parents to be able to click on, print and use as a template for their own child's letter. Below the sample letters is a Resource section. Please scroll down to see these resources to the right.
How to Find Parent Assistance in Your Area
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Q & A on Graduation Requirements between OCECD staff and Andrew Hinkle, ODE, OEC
Q: A child with a disability could still
receive a diploma but would not be college and career ready if they were exempt
from end of course exams, am I correct?
A: If student is excused from graduation test for graduation, and
does not score proficient on those tests, or meet one of the other graduation
testing pathways, then yes, the student will receive a diploma, but may likely
not be college or career ready (as measured by the graduation testing options).
Q: Could you please explain to me what that would like look as far as
a diploma is concerned? Would it not look like every other diploma?
A: Ohio only has one diploma, so the student would have the same
diploma as other students. However, they would have received it without meeting
the same requirements as other students. It’s worth mentioning that while Ohio
recognizes that the student “graduate” with a diploma, the USDOE does not. The
USDOE does not count as graduates students who receive a diploma but do not
meet the regular requirements.
Q: There was a lot of talk around districts being ready for online
testing and the benefits of being able to take the tests online including
accommodations that were built in (universal design) and the benefit to both
students with or without disabilities.
A: Yes, the online platform does provide many more embedded
features than paper and pencil tests. This can be noted when comparing the
online universal tools and the paper universal tools, And it has been reported,
at least anecdotally, that students, including students with disabilities,
prefer the online platform over the paper test (at about 2 to 1). However, this
does not mean that we would see better performance in online testing. Consider
that, even though the online platform is inherently more accessible, there are
still ways to approximate the same features on paper.
Andrew R Hinkle
Education Program Specialist
Office for Exceptional Children