What are educational accommodations?
VSA offers accommodations to students with particular needs, such as learning and physical disabilities. These accommodations are limited within the online classroom, but we like to be as supportive as possible within the parameters of Schoology and the setup of our online learning environments.
Have students successfully completed the Diploma Program with Educational Accommodations (EA)s?
Yes, there are many VSA alumni who had EAs during their education with us.
What are the steps we need to take to get an EA?
An official diagnosis by a licensed professional is required. You may have your student evaluated at a private facility or through your local school system (if your school district offers this service). You might also have a conversation with your primary care physician, and they will be able to direct you to a local office for respective evaluations.
Once an official EA diagnosis is obtained, parents can upload their paperwork to Veritas with this EA form.
Do I have to have an IEP (Individual Education Plan)?
No. IEPs are just one form of documentation. Psychological evaluations or a doctor’s “notes” suffice as well. The documentation provided does need to state a diagnosis to receive an accommodation.
Is it allowable to set up an EA partway through the year if my child gets diagnosed/needs an EA mid-year? Will it affect prior grading or only grading going forward?
Yes, mid-year EAs may be established, and accommodations are not retroactive. They begin when the EA request form and setup have been completed.
How do EAs function at Veritas?
The most common accommodations are untimed quizzes, tests, and extensions on due dates without grade penalties. The EA Coordinator sets these accommodations in Schoology as they relate to respective courses. There are also accommodations for participation and use of software, such as text-to-speech. The accommodations come, for the most part, from doctor’s recommendations and are adapted to fit our online environment.
What are some nuances of EAs?
This will be individual to each student and their unique reasons for having an EA. For example, some students are very anxious about volunteering in class but are okay with participating on a webcam. We can create a participation modification to not penalize them for not volunteering. The EA coordinator asks what issues the child is having in class and offers suggestions, keeping doctor recommendations in mind.
Does it cost extra to have EAs? Why?
If indeed it is determined that special accommodations are warranted, a nominal fee of $50 per course, with a minimum charge of $150 (for the first year only), will be assessed in an effort to recuperate a portion of the costs VSA incurs to provide you with specialized workshops, web-based resources, and access to private consultations and personal follow-up sessions with our learning disabilities specialists. The setup takes multiple hours, and VSA does not receive any third-party funding.
Do I have to pay the fee every year?
Yes, new courses mean a new setup each year. The fee is reduced to $50 per course in subsequent years because the initial student documentation, folders, and admin communication have already been established.
Please Note
Accommodations are not guaranteed and are based upon supporting documentation that a parent provides from a doctor. We encourage you to ask your doctor to write a request for specific accommodations.
If you request new accommodations that your student did not have the previous year, you must submit new documentation to demonstrate the need for a change in accommodations.
