STAAR Accommodations for Texas Students with IEPs: The Complete List

The STAAR test is high stakes. For a student with an IEP, it can also feel like a moving target — accommodations that show up in daily instruction sometimes disappear on test day, and the rules around what is and isn't allowed are more specific than most ARD documents make clear.

Texas has a detailed accommodation framework for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Getting it right requires understanding which accommodations are available, how they must be documented in the IEP, and what the separate eligibility rules are for STAAR Alternate 2.

The Difference Between Accommodations and Modifications on STAAR

Before listing what is available, it helps to understand Texas's distinction between designated supports, accommodations, and modifications — because they have different eligibility criteria and different implications for how scores are reported.

Designated supports are available to any student when the school determines they are needed. They do not require an IEP or 504 plan — just a documented decision by the student's teacher or campus. Examples include scratch paper, bilingual glossaries, and breaks during testing.

Accommodations require documentation in an IEP or 504 plan and must reflect how the student is routinely supported during classroom instruction and testing. These include extended time, read-aloud, and calculator use. A student cannot receive an accommodation on STAAR if it is not already documented in their IEP and used during regular classroom assessments.

Embedded accommodations are digital tools within the online STAAR system, such as text-to-speech, zoom tools, and color contrast. These must also be documented in the IEP if required by the student's disability.

One important rule: accommodations must be routinely used. If a student's IEP documents extended time but the general education teacher never provides it during classroom tests, the accommodation cannot be applied on STAAR. This is why IEP implementation monitoring matters beyond just the document itself.

STAAR Accommodations Available to Students with IEPs

The following accommodations require documentation in an IEP or 504 plan. The ARD committee must determine which are appropriate based on the student's disability and how it affects standardized testing.

Timing and scheduling:

• Extended time (time and a half, double time, or unlimited — varies by situation)
• Multiple test sessions across days
• Frequent breaks

Setting:

• Individual or small-group administration
• Separate room with reduced distractions
• Preferential seating

Presentation:

• Human reader (oral administration of test questions) — this is not permitted for the reading passages themselves on STAAR Reading, but applies to other subject tests
• Text-to-speech via embedded accommodation or external device
• Braille or large-print editions
• Signed interpretation (ASL or other signed system)

Response:

• Dictation (student dictates answers to a scribe)
• Speech-to-text software
• Pointing or other physical response alternatives

Calculator:

• Calculator use on math portions that do not otherwise permit it — permitted for students whose IEP documents the need for this accommodation in alignment with their disability

Linguistic:

• Bilingual glossary or dictionary (available as a designated support without IEP documentation, but must be used routinely)

The key phrase throughout: the accommodation must be documented in the IEP and used routinely during classroom instruction and assessment. An ARD committee that adds an accommodation to the STAAR section of the IEP without ensuring it is implemented year-round is setting up a situation where the accommodation may be challenged or inconsistently applied.

How the ARD Committee Documents STAAR Accommodations

STAAR accommodations must appear in a specific section of the IEP — typically within the supplementary aids and services or assessment documentation section. The ARD committee is responsible for:

1. Reviewing the student's evaluation data and current performance to determine which accommodations are needed for state testing
2. Documenting each accommodation by name in the IEP
3. Confirming that each accommodation is already being used during classroom instruction and assessment (not introduced solely for STAAR)
4. Specifying whether the student will take the standard STAAR, STAAR Spanish, or STAAR Alternate 2

If you receive a draft IEP and the assessment section simply says "student will take STAAR with appropriate accommodations" without naming them, that is insufficient. Request specifics at the ARD meeting — which accommodations, and are they the same ones used daily in the classroom?

STAAR Alternate 2: Who Qualifies and What the Process Requires

STAAR Alternate 2 is a separate assessment designed for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. It measures the same content as the standard STAAR but uses tasks aligned to prerequisite skills rather than grade-level TEKS.

Eligibility for STAAR Alternate 2 is highly restricted. The TEA requires the ARD committee to answer "yes" to five specific criteria before designating a student for this assessment:

1. The student has a significant cognitive disability (not simply a severe learning disability or a behavioral diagnosis)
2. The student's disability requires specially designed instruction in multiple academic areas
3. The student requires instruction in foundational, prerequisite skills rather than grade-level TEKS, even with significant instructional support
4. The student requires extensive, direct, and frequent support throughout the school day to access the curriculum
5. The student's disability profile cannot be adequately measured on the standard STAAR, even with all available accommodations

The TEA has consistently emphasized that STAAR Alternate 2 is not appropriate for students who score low on standard assessments but are nonetheless working toward grade-level content — or for students whose struggles are primarily behavioral or related to a specific learning disability without a significant cognitive component.

Districts sometimes place students on STAAR Alternate 2 to protect the campus from low STAAR scores. This is an accountability manipulation and a potential denial of appropriate education — if a student is placed on STAAR Alternate 2 when they could access grade-level content with accommodations, they are likely receiving instruction that is less rigorous than they need.

If your child has been designated for STAAR Alternate 2 and you are uncertain whether they meet the five criteria above, ask the ARD committee to walk through each criterion explicitly and document their reasoning. You can also request the IEP goal data that shows the student is working on prerequisite rather than grade-level skills — that data should support the eligibility decision.

STAAR Accommodations and the Texas Diploma

One area parents often overlook: STAAR accommodations can affect high school graduation under the Foundation High School Program (FHSP) only in limited circumstances. Accommodations — changes to how a student accesses material, not to what they are expected to learn — do not prevent a student from earning endorsements or graduating on the standard diploma track.

What does affect graduation pathways are modifications — changes to the content itself, where the student is assessed on reduced or modified TEKS rather than grade-level standards. If a student's IEP includes instructional modifications, the ARD committee must document whether the modified curriculum still meets the rigor threshold for endorsements.

This is an important distinction for any ARD conversation about high school testing. Extended time on STAAR is an accommodation. Reducing the number of math problems a student is responsible for mastering is a modification. They are not the same thing.

For a full breakdown of how STAAR accommodations connect to the IEP, how the ARD committee documents testing decisions, and what the complete Texas graduation framework looks like for students with disabilities, the Texas IEP & 504 Blueprint lays it out step by step, including what to ask if you believe your child's accommodations are not being applied consistently.

What to Do If STAAR Accommodations Are Denied

If you believe your child needs a specific accommodation on STAAR that the ARD committee has refused to document, request a Prior Written Notice. The district must document why the accommodation was denied and what data supported that decision. A denial without written justification citing specific evaluation data is a procedural violation.

You can also request to see the routine classroom assessment data showing how the student currently performs with and without the accommodation in question. If the teacher has never provided extended time during classroom tests, the absence of evidence for the accommodation is partly an implementation problem — which is a different conversation than whether the accommodation is appropriate.

STAAR testing is one day. But the accommodations that support it — extended time, text-to-speech, small-group settings — are things your child needs every day in the classroom. The IEP should document both, and the ARD committee should be ensuring they are actually delivered.

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