Specific learning disability accommodations, one process at a time
A specific learning disability usually calls for an assignment log a teacher initials, directions one step at a time, extra time set as a ratio, a quiet testing room, and a shorter review set. The disability narrows one process rather than intelligence itself, so removing that single bottleneck lets the rest of the day run as it does for a classmate. You can check your own IEP against this list today: open its accommodations page and ask, line by line, whether it says where, how often and by whom.
By The Advocate Ally, checked against the rules it cites. Sources checked September 17, 2026.
The accommodations, line by line
A written record of every assignment
Classroom
A shared assignment notebook or portal entry gets filled in for each subject, and a teacher initials it before your child leaves the room.
IEP wording
Name the record and who checks it: “a completed assignment log, initialed by the classroom teacher at the end of each period, sent home daily.” 34 CFR 300.42
Check
Check the notebook or portal each evening and count how many periods are missing an initial.
Multi-step directions split apart
Classroom
Multi-step instructions arrive one piece at a time, and the next piece waits until your child finishes the one already given.
IEP wording
Set how it is broken apart: “multi-step directions delivered one step at a time, with the next step withheld until the current one is finished.” 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4)(ii)
Check
Watch a homework session and count how many steps arrive before the first one is done.
Extra time, set as a ratio
Classroom
A quiz that ends for the rest of the room keeps running for your child, on paper or on the screen, without anyone flagging it as late.
IEP wording
Fix the ratio and where it counts: “fifty percent beyond the printed time limit on any assessment, including state and district tests.” 34 CFR 300.320(a)(6)(i)
Check
Compare the stop time written on a recent quiz with fifty percent beyond its printed limit.
A quiet room away from the class
Classroom
A designated low-distraction room, away from the class’s noise and movement, is where your child sits for any longer assessment.
IEP wording
Describe the setting itself: “a separate, low-distraction room for any assessment over twenty minutes, proctored by staff familiar with the accommodation.” 34 CFR 300.320(a)(7)
Check
The testing notice sent home before a state assessment lists a room; see whether it is the classroom’s number.
Fewer items on a skill already learned
Classroom
Review problems covering a skill already mastered are trimmed to half the set, so review time does not turn into busywork.
IEP wording
Cut the load, and say who decides it: “half the assigned items on any review set covering a skill already demonstrated in class, chosen by the teacher.” 34 CFR 300.320(a)(4)(ii)
Check
Count the items on a returned review page against the full set posted in the class portal for that assignment.
What the rule says
“A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services … to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child”
Under this rule the log, the split directions and the quiet room are stated services, so a catch-all line promising extra support as needed covers none of them.
If it is written but not happening
Give the case manager each date this week the log stayed blank or the extra time was cut short, and keep the written reply.
Request an IEP meeting to name which staff member starts the log or sets the timer each time, so the next gap has an owner.
Each of your child’s teachers has to be told the specific accommodations the IEP requires (34 CFR 300.323(d)(2)); a refusal to fix a gap owes you prior written notice (34 CFR 300.503).
A list is a starting point: it does not replace an evaluation of your child, or advice from someone qualified to read your file.
Have the accommodations in your IEP read back to you, free.
The review reads every page you upload, names the accommodation wording that is vague or missing, and gives you its page number.
