Advocating for Accessible Curriculum

Tips for Parents

As a parent, you are a powerful change agent who can advocate for making the curriculum accessible for your child. As a result of your efforts, all students benefit due to minimizing barriers to learning and maximizing learning opportunities.

Take the time to learn about UDL, a framework for a fully accessible curriculum so you can advocate for its adoption in curriculum, teacher training, and district- and statewide assessments.

Learn	Become knowledgeable about what makes a curriculum accessible for students with disabilities. To learn more about UDL so you can explain and advocate for its adoption at your school, visit lessonbuilder.cast.org/learn.php to watch a short video, read about UDL, and try a UDL activity. Understanding the difference between UDL, special education, assistive technology, and accommodations will enable you to maximize your advocacy efforts.
Investigate	Does your child’s school know about UDL? Do teachers have access to training on how to incorporate a UDL approach to planning and delivering instruction? If not, direct them to the professional development information and resources available at www.cast.org. Are the assessments being used by your district following guidelines for UDA? If not, direct them to information and resources available at www.nceo.info.
Promote	Encourage your school district to adopt an approach to teaching and learning that values diversity and promotes improved learning outcomes for all students. UDL provides a framework for designing and implementing curriculum that works for all children. Ask the PTA or PTO at your school to sponsor a presentation on UDL for parents.
Inquire	When formulating annual goals for your child, ask if the proposed goals align to the content standards for the state and reflect the learning expectations for your child’s enrolled grade. Do the goals represent only the learning expectation and not the means for attaining them? If the means are embedded in the goal, inquire about how to establish clear goals that are distinct from the means for attaining them.
Expect	Don’t settle for instructional techniques, materials and assessment methods that do not engage your child and enable him to show what he knows. Expect your child’s school and teachers to use a variety of instructional approaches, provide an array of materials, and offer multiple ways to measure student learning.
Help	Assist your school, district, and state in adopting and promoting the use of UDL and UDA. Do this by volunteering at school, helping out with fundraising efforts and playing a role in the use of funds at your child’s school.

A Parent’s Guide to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) National Center for Learning Disabilities • n cld.org

For more information, review this Parent Advocacy Brief: “A Parent's Guide to Universal Design for Learning”

If you have questions or want additional information, please contact your regional PaTTAN office.