Free tool

Accommodation Builder

Reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Long, Ph.D. — Director of Special Education, 32 years in public schools.

Most accommodation lists are organized around your child's problem. This one is organized around what the team needs in order to say yes — and it tells you what to do when you don't have the evidence yet. Each item comes with what supports the ask, where it goes in the IEP, what to say — and, when you don't have the evidence, exactly where to get it. That turns a request into a proposal.

There are lists with 500 accommodations on them. This one has 21, each with what you'd need to get it approved — because a list you can act on beats a list you can't. Private by design: nothing you pick leaves your browser.

First, three words schools use that aren't the same

Getting these right matters — asking in the wrong category is a reliable way to get a no.

AccommodationChanges how your child accesses the same content — extra time, read-aloud, a quiet room. What they're expected to learn doesn't change. This tool builds these.

Service (specially designed instruction)Changes what is taught or how it's taught, to build a missing skill — reading instruction, executive-function instruction. It has its own goal. When an ask is really this, the tool flags it.

ModificationChanges what your child is expected to learn — less material, or different material. It can affect grades, and in some states it can move a child off the standard-diploma track. Whether it does is a state rule — check with your state's department of education. Never accept a modification without asking that question.

Where does your child struggle?

Pick the areas that fit. You'll get accommodations for each — as proposals you can bring, not a list to hand over.

Educational information, not legal advice, and not a decision. Accommodations change how your child learns and is tested; they don't change what they're expected to learn (that's a modification) and they don't replace instruction your child needs to build a skill (that's a service). Which accommodations fit is a team decision based on your child's individual needs — bring these as a starting point and the evidence to support them. Reviewed August 2026.

Free: the IEP Meeting Prep Checklist

Walk into the meeting with your proposals and your evidence organized. Enter your email and it's yours.