The purpose of this rule amendment is to update procedures related to the administration of statewide assessments for students with disabilities, revise criteria related to participation in statewide alternate assessment, and establish procedures for exemption from participation in the statewide assessment when extraordinary circumstances occur. Consistent with current rule requirements, the proposed rule establishes that students with disabilities will participate in the statewide assessment without accommodations unless the individual educational team or team that develops the plan required under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act determines and documents that accommodations are needed for participation in the statewide assessment based on accommodations the student has received during instruction. The proposed rule deletes references to specific types of accommodations (e.g. enlarging text, Braille, use of calculators) and instead states that allowable accommodations are those included in the state test administration manuals published by the Department of Education. The proposed rule retains language permitting the use of unique accommodations not included in the statewide test administration manuals upon approval of the Commissioner of Education. The proposed rule includes new language with regard to the provision of testing accommodations for students with disabilities who participate in the statewide assessment but are not currently enrolled in public school. The proposed rule revises previously included language with regard to criteria for determining when participation in the statewide alternate assessment is appropriate for a student. The new criteria provide greater specificity than the current criteria. The proposed rule adds language permitting a special exemption from participation in the statewide assessment under extraordinary circumstances. Currently, Rule 6A-1.09431, F.A.C., permits a special exemption from the graduation test requirement in extraordinary circumstances. The proposed rule will provide for an exemption from the statewide assessment at any grade level in the event of an extraordinary circumstance. Extraordinary circumstances are defined as events or conditions that prevent the student from physically demonstrating the mastery of skills that are measured by the statewide assessment. The special exemption must be approved by the Commissioner of Education and procedures for submission of such a request are stipulated in the proposed rule. The proposed rule deletes sections of the current rule that are unnecessary as the authority is established through other statutes or rules. This includes requirements related to including test scores of students with disabilities in the state accountability system and exemptions from the assessment required for graduation. The effect of these amendments will be a rule that reflects current statutory citations, updated assessment procedures, more specific criteria for use by district staff to determine students for whom the alternate assessment is the appropriate statewide assessment, and specific procedures to exempt a student from participation in statewide assessment in the event of an extraordinary circumstance.