Texas Education Agency must accommodate teachers during certification tests, DOJ says
The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with the Texas Education Agency over a 2022 complaint that accused the latter of not providing appropriate accommodations to a teacher taking a reading certification exam, the federal department announced Wednesday.
The settlement requires the TEA to allow testers with dyslexia or dysgraphia to use alternative exam arrangements, such as text-to-speech technology, when taking a reading certification exam.
The Justice Department opened the case after receiving a complaint alleging that the TEA had violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act in administering a Science of Teaching Reading exam, a regular test for issuing certain teaching certifications.
The TEA didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.
A 2019 law requires all Texas teacher candidates who teach students from prekindergarten through sixth grade to demonstrate proficiency in the Science of Teaching Reading program.
In 2021, the TEA directed NCS Pearson Inc., which administers the exam, not to allow a reader for exam takers who weren’t blind on tests in which reading skills are measured, according to the settlement agreement. A reader in an exam will read out test materials for someone who needs accommodations.
The TEA determined that such an accommodation “could fundamentally alter the accurate measurement of knowledge or skills intended to be measured by that exam,” according to the settlement.
In 2022, a Science of Teaching Reading tester who had previously been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia requested extra test time, a scribe and either someone to read the test or speech-to-text technology, according to the complaint.
The TEA denied the tester’s request June 20, 2022, but the tester has received these same accommodations for at least three different teacher certification exams since then, according to the complaint.
“Preparing for professional certification examinations is a stressful time for anyone, let alone people with disabilities who may also worry that their requests for alternative testing arrangements may be rejected,” U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza said. “People with dyslexia should not be denied the testing accommodations they deserve. The ADA requires such modifications to ensure that people with disabilities are not being graded on their disabilities, and unfairly denied access to their chosen professions.”
Despite the settlement, the TEA disputed the federal department’s conclusion that it had violated disability law, and the settlement didn’t determine any liability, according to the federal department.
The TEA oversees state education policy such as certifying teachers to educate in Texas.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: TEA must accommodate teachers during certification tests, DOJ says
