If you're trying to find out what your child's educational rights are under the law, you're likely to be frustrated. I've read through reams of legalese to discover direct contradictions between No Child Left Behind and the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act). One requires all children to perform at grade level on standardized tests; the other requires that children with disabilities receive individualized instruction regardless of grade level.

How can any school do both at the same time?

While no one can actually bridge the gap between these obvious discrepencies, there are tools to make the leap a little easier. The National Center for Learning Disabilities website contains some of the best materials I've seen explaining how the law relates to standardized testing -- and how children with disabilities can be accomodated to take those tests.

For example...my autistic son loses focus easily when he's doing schoolwork or being tested. We've been told that he can't be "prompted" (that is, called back to the task) when being tested for IEP goals, IQ testing, or standardized tests.

Well guess what? According to No Child Left Behind, an appropriate accomodation for standardized testing includes having questions read aloud -- multiple times! In other words, "prompting" is permitted. If it's ok for the feds, I should hope it would be acceptable in the classroom!

These publications are coming with me to my son's next IEP meeting!