My ds has a medical condition along with a 504 plan at school. ACT denied extra time on testing despite doctor’s note along with 504 plan documentation. They requested parent statement documenting all kinds of confidential things - emotional functioning, history of treatment etc… They now will not allow me to submit this directly to them - but it will need to be uploaded by the school. Anyone else find this unfair and a violation of confidentiality? The guidance counselor who will end up writing a letter for my ds will be able to read confidential information about him that he did not give her.
Anyone get around this? I called ACT and they said there is no other way.
@Dolomite The guidance office has to send the new documentation and then mark the submission as an “Appeal” but thanks for the suggestion.
@3SailAway - thanks for the suggestion. I think that I am going to ask the guidance counselor not to read the information and see if she will scan it in with me present and then hand it back - but how awkward is that? I told the ACT person that I spoke with that this is another way that someone with a very legitimate medical disability is disadvantaged. Yes - maybe SAT is the way to go here.
I think if you want the accommodation, the school needs to be aware of the contents of the application and agree to send it, and probably be prepared to answer questions about it if asked by the ACT folks. I don’t think you should ask someone to send something they haven’t seen.
I don’t understand why the school is involved at all. Why does the school need to be aware of the contents of the application? This may not be a school-administered test but even if it is all they would need to know is that this student was approved for accommodations.
The ACT has very high standards for accomodations and requests must come thru the school. I believe it is done in an effort to weed out fraud, which at one time was a major concern in accomodations.
@sybbie719 - Obviously I think it is quite possible that the guidance counselor could read it - that is why I want to submit it separately.
@roycroftmom The additional information that ACT requested has nothing to do with the school. They can’t answer questions about something they wouldn’t know about. ACT wanted a statement from parent’s perspective of the impact of the medical condition. I am not wanting to ask them to send it for me. I begged ACT today to be able to send my parent statement separately but they said no. Plus regarding weeding out fraud - my ds has had an accommodation plan with the school since third grade and ACT knows it. This is not some sudden attempt to gain accommodations.
@suzy100 Thank you. Yes - I don’t see why the school needs to be involved. The school sent in their own documentation that my ds receives an accommodation for a medical condition. I think ACT is trying to make it easier to keep track of the material so that it all comes from one source.
@MaterS You are not understanding. My Ds receives accommodations for a medical condition at the school and has done since third grade. I just want the same accommodation on the ACT because of his legitimate medical condition.
The school also sent a doctor’s letter that they have verifying extensively what the medical condition was.
“TAA [the interface system] can only be accessed by appointed administrators at students’ schools. This means that students cannot apply for accommodations without the assistance of their schools.”
And all this is supposed to be the easier way, than in the recent past.
Good luck.
I am confused by the parent input, but not the school input. I suppose if ACT has denied accommodations based on the school’s input (504 and dr’s note) they disagree with your position, and this is the upshot, the onus is on you to make the case but within the framework that involves educational professionals providing context. If you feel it is an invasion of privacy then I expect your forgo your accommodations. No way will a professional agree not to look at something they are signing off on.
I have a kid with a medical condition who received accommodations in the form of “extra breaks” but not “extra time” , which allowed her breaks to take care of her medical condition during testing.
This kid had a 504 and accommodations at school. As you know, the ACT and SAT have a basic requirement for a history of accommodations being provided at the school.
It is difficult to comment without knowing what the medical condition is. In our case, it was a cut and dried matter of medical documentation of diagnosis plus history of accommodations at school. Why isn’t that enough in your son’s case?
@Lookingforward Thanks for the input. I could have submitted the exact same documents as the school - the 504 plan copy and the doctor’s note along with now my parent statement but am not allowed to by ACT. I do think one should have that option since ACT would be getting the same information.
@Sybylla - There are no educational professionals providing context. They solely wanted a parent statement documenting my observations about my ds’s functioning. The school is not signing off on anything. They would just have to submit my statement via the online portal they only have access to. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act a child with a legitimate medical disability has a right to accommodations by law. So, there should not be a choice between releasing private information to the school when they have no need for it or getting necessary acccommodations.
@compmom -Thanks for the information. There is a history of the school providing accommodations since third grade and ACT already has that information. It would be too lengthy for me to go into the complicated medical condition my ds experiences and why ACT wants a parent statement.
Thanks all and best wishes,
I am going to end my posting on this subject now.