Every classroom includes students who need something different to learn effectively. Some students have documented disabilities requiring formal accommodations. Others struggle for reasons not captured in diagnostic categories. Still others could thrive if teaching simply varied more from conventional approaches. How schools identify, provide, and think about accommodations and supports shapes educational outcomes for a significant portion of students—and raises fundamental questions about what it means to create schools that work for everyone.
Understanding Accommodations
What Accommodations Are
Educational accommodations are changes to how students access curriculum, demonstrate learning, or participate in school that don't alter the fundamental expectations or standards. A student with a reading disability might receive audio versions of textbooks. A student with ADHD might have extended time on tests. A student with anxiety might be allowed to present work in written rather than oral form. The accommodation addresses the barrier without lowering the academic bar.
Accommodations differ from modifications, which do change curricular expectations—simplifying content, reducing requirements, or teaching different material. The distinction matters legally and educationally, though in practice the line can blur. Some students need accommodations; others need modified programs; many need both at different times and in different subjects.
Legal Frameworks
Human rights law requires schools to accommodate students with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. This duty to accommodate means schools must make adjustments that enable students to participate equally in education. Provincial education legislation establishes frameworks for identifying students with special needs and developing individual education plans. The specifics vary across provinces, but the underlying principle—that students with disabilities deserve equal educational opportunity—is consistent.
Identifying Needs
Assessment and Diagnosis
Formal accommodations typically require documentation of disability, often through psychoeducational assessment. These assessments, conducted by psychologists, identify learning disabilities, ADHD, and other conditions that affect learning. But assessments are expensive when not covered by health insurance, have lengthy wait times when publicly funded, and may not be available in all communities. Students whose families can afford private assessment gain access faster than those who cannot.
The assessment gatekeeping system creates inequities. Students with undiagnosed conditions may struggle for years without support. Racialized students and Indigenous students may be under-identified for learning disabilities while over-identified for behavioural concerns. Students from families unfamiliar with the system may not know to request assessment. The students who most need accommodation may be least likely to receive it.
Beyond Formal Diagnosis
Not all students who need support fit neatly into diagnostic categories. Some struggle due to circumstances—trauma, family crisis, mental health challenges, language barriers—rather than permanent disabilities. Some have difficulties that don't quite meet diagnostic thresholds but still impair learning. Some simply learn differently in ways that don't constitute disability but don't match conventional instruction. Limiting support to formally diagnosed students leaves many without help they need.
Providing Accommodations
Individual Education Plans
Students with identified special needs typically receive Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or equivalent documents that specify accommodations and supports. These plans are developed collaboratively—ideally involving educators, specialists, parents, and when appropriate, students themselves. Good IEPs are specific, practical, and regularly reviewed. Poor IEPs may be vague, ignored in practice, or developed without meaningful input from those most affected.
Teacher Implementation
Accommodations only work if implemented in classrooms. Teachers must know what accommodations each student needs, have the resources to provide them, and consistently follow through. In practice, implementation varies. Some teachers implement accommodations seamlessly; others resist or forget. Large class sizes, inadequate support, and heavy workloads can make consistent accommodation challenging. Students may receive different treatment from different teachers despite having the same documented needs.
Educational Assistants
Many students with significant needs are supported by educational assistants (EAs) who provide one-on-one or small group assistance. EAs can be invaluable, enabling students to access education they couldn't otherwise. But EA support raises questions. Over-reliance on EAs can isolate students from peers and reduce teacher responsibility. EA training and supervision vary. When EAs are absent, students may lack support entirely. Some jurisdictions are rethinking how EA resources are deployed to maximize benefit.
Universal Design for Learning
The UDL Framework
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers an alternative to individualized accommodation by building flexibility into instruction from the start. Rather than designing for a "typical" student and retrofitting accommodations for others, UDL provides multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression for all students. Students can access material in various formats, demonstrate learning in various ways, and engage through various entry points.
UDL benefits students with disabilities but also helps students without diagnosed conditions who simply learn differently. It reduces the need for individual accommodations by making instruction more flexible for everyone. It shifts focus from what's wrong with students to what can be changed about instruction.
Implementation Challenges
Implementing UDL requires significant changes to how teachers plan and teach. It requires resources—varied materials, technology, time for planning. Teachers need training and ongoing support. Assessment practices may need to change to allow multiple ways of demonstrating learning. Standardized testing may conflict with UDL principles. Moving from individual accommodation to universal design is a substantial undertaking that schools can't accomplish overnight.
Tensions and Debates
Fairness Concerns
Accommodations sometimes generate complaints about fairness. If one student gets extended time on tests, is that unfair to students who don't? These concerns reflect misunderstanding of accommodation's purpose—to level the playing field, not to provide advantage. An accommodation that enables a student with disability to demonstrate their actual learning isn't unfair to students who can demonstrate learning without that accommodation. But these perceptions can create social difficulties and stigma for students receiving accommodations.
Student Agency and Privacy
Students may have complicated feelings about accommodations. Some appreciate the support; others feel singled out or stigmatized. Older students may decline accommodations to avoid being seen as different. Privacy concerns arise when accommodations make disability visible to peers. Involving students in decisions about their own supports—respecting their agency while ensuring they understand options—requires sensitivity and developmentally appropriate approaches.
Resource Constraints
Schools face real resource constraints. Not every accommodation is feasible in every context. Small schools may lack specialist staff. Budget limitations restrict EA availability. Technology costs money. Teachers with thirty students may struggle to implement individualized accommodations for multiple students. These constraints don't eliminate the duty to accommodate, but they shape what's possible and create difficult trade-offs.
High-Stakes Assessment
Standardized testing creates particular tensions around accommodation. Some testing contexts limit available accommodations. Students may face different rules for classroom assessment than for provincial exams or university entrance tests. The emphasis on standardized measures may conflict with the flexibility that genuine accommodation requires. How to maintain meaningful assessment while accommodating diverse needs remains contested.
Moving Forward
Building Capacity
Improving accommodation requires building capacity across the system. This includes teacher preparation that addresses diverse learners, ongoing professional development, adequate specialist staffing, and resources for implementation. It includes addressing the assessment bottleneck so students don't wait years for diagnosis and support.
Shifting Mindsets
Perhaps most fundamentally, improvement requires shifting how we think about difference in schools. When we assume that students should fit schools rather than schools fitting students, accommodation becomes an exception, a burden, a special treatment requiring justification. When we assume that schools should work for all students, flexibility becomes the norm and rigid standardization the aberration requiring justification.
Questions for Further Discussion
- How can assessment systems be reformed to ensure students receive timely identification and support regardless of family resources?
- What supports do teachers need to effectively implement accommodations for diverse learners?
- How can Universal Design for Learning principles be implemented at scale without overwhelming teachers or sacrificing academic rigour?
- How should student voice be incorporated into decisions about their own accommodations and supports?
- What changes to standardized testing would better serve students who require accommodations while maintaining meaningful assessment?