Baltimore City Public Schools and Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE)
Effective Supplementary Aids and Services:
Selecting, Documenting, and Implementing
A Best Practice Guide for Teachers
Supplementary Aids and Services (SAS) are an essential component of the Individualized Education Programs
(IEPs) of students with disabilities. Along with special instruction and related services, SAS allow students with
disabilities to access curriculum and progress in the general education setting and to achieve their individual
educational goals. SAS help to bridge the gap between the student’s current abilities (academic, social, behavioral,
physical, functional, etc) and the demands and expectations of the general education setting.
Creating SAS that meet these standards and, therefore, promote student achievement requires the entire IEP team,
especially general and special education teachers, to collaborate. SAS must be carefully selected and tailored to the
individual student’s needs and strengths, as well as to the demands of the environment(s) in which the student will
participate. They must also be documented in the IEP clearly and specifically enough that anyone on the student’s
team can implement them correctly.
UNDERSTANDING SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES (SAS)
1.
What is the definition of supplementary aids and services?
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Maryland Regulations,
supplementary aids and service are “aids and services and other supports that are provided in regular education
classes or other education-related settings, and extracurricular and nonacademic settings to enable a student with a
disability to be educated with students without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate.”
2.
How do they fit in to the IEP?
SAS are an essential component of a student’s IEP. The IEP contains information about the student’s current
skills (present levels of academic and functional performance), goals and objectives to be obtained over the course of a
year based on the student’s current performance level and grade-level standards, and a description of the various
supports and services that teachers, therapists, and other adults will provide. These services include:
 Specialized Instruction: adaptations to the content and method of instruction to meet the unique needs of a student
with a disability
 Related Services : transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required
to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education
 Instructional and Testing Accommodations: adjustments to presentation, response, timing, or setting to remove
the barriers posed by the student’s disability that are used both during on-going instruction and during assessments,
including state-mandated testing (MSA/HSA)
 Supplementary Aids and Services: other adaptations, modifications, supports, and services (including supports for
school personnel) that allow the student to fully participate and progress in general education – including academic
instruction, non-instructional settings (e.g., lunch, recess), and extracurricular activities (e.g., sports, plays, chess
club, etc).
Note that the IEP also contains other important components (such as special considerations for students with certain
types of disabilities and transition services).
3.
What are the types of Supplementary Aids and Services?
The Maryland Online IEP (MDOIEP) divides SAS into five broad categories: Instructional Supports;
Environmental Supports; Social and Behavioral Supports; School Personnel/Parental Supports; and Program
Modifications. Under each category, a variety of possible SAS are listed, but these are only examples. The IEP team
is not limited to the existing choices and can always select “other” and add supports that meet the needs of the
individual student. The team can design whatever supports the student needs to provide access and to progress in
general education.
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Category
Examples
School Personnel/
Parental Support
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Supports/Training for
personnel and parents
to provide services and
to promote adults
working together to
support students
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Instructional
Support
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Development and
delivery of instruction
that addresses diverse
learning needs
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Physical Support
Adaptations and
modifications to the
physical environment
Social-Behavioral
Supports and services
to increase appropriate
behavior and
developing
relationships with
peers
*Program
Modifications
adaptations to the
content and structure
of curriculum and
assessments to make it
more accessible to the
student
Scheduled time for co-planning and team meetings
Instructional arrangements that support collaboration (e.g., coteaching, paraeducator support)
Coaching and guided support for team members in the use of assistive technology for an individual
student
Scheduled opportunities for parental collaboration
Coordination of support services for crisis prevention and intervention
Extracurricular /non-academic providers support
Occupational therapist consult
Orientation and mobility consult
Parent counseling or training
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Provide alternate ways for students to demonstrate learning
Provide alternate materials and/or assistive technology (e.g., materials on tape, transcribe text in Braille,
large print, alternate computer access)
Provide instruction on functional skills in the context of the typical routines in the regular classroom
Change method of presentation
Provide instructional adaptations (e.g., pre-teaching, repeating directions, extra examples and nonexamples)
Provide assistance w/ organization
Provide home sets of textbooks, materials
Provide proofreading checklist
Provide student w/ copy of student / teacher notes
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Furniture arrangement in environments
Specific seating arrangements
Individualized desk, chair, etc.
Adaptive equipment
Adjustments to sensory input (e.g., light, sound)
Environmental Aids (e.g., classroom acoustics, heating, ventilation)
Structural Aids (e.g., wheelchair accessibility, trays, grab bars)
Social skills instruction
Counseling supports
Peer supports (e.g., facilitating friendships)
Individualized behavior support plans
Modification of rules and expectations
Cooperative learning strategies
Home-school communication system
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Modified content
Modified grading system
Open book exams
Reduce number of answer choices
Reduced length of exams
Revise format of tests (fewer questions, fill-in-the-blank)
Delete extraneous information on assignments and assessments
Limit amount of required reading
*IEP teams need to discuss the use of these types of modifications very carefully; if students are not taught and held
accountable for the full curriculum and do not learn to successfully complete standard assessments (with
accommodations), they will not be able to graduate with a standard diploma.
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SAS Best Practice Guide- Updated 12/2012
SELECTING SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES
Like all the components of the IEP, the SAS are designed collaboratively by the student’s team. The general
education teacher, special education teacher, related service provider(s), family, student (if appropriate), and IEP chair
all have important roles to play in the process. To select the SAS that will meet the student’s needs and support
participation and achievement, the team needs to consider:
a. the student’s current skills, abilities, and areas of difficulty, and
b. the demands of environment(s) in which the student will be participating (including non-instructional and
extracurricular activities, like lunch, recess, assemblies, and clubs).
With a thorough understanding of both of these components, the team can select and design supports to meet
the student’s needs.
1.
What key sources of information should be considered?
Present Levels of Academic and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) includes:
 Objective information (from standardized and teacher-made tests) about the student’s current skill levels in
reading/language arts, math, other subject areas if appropriate, and any additional skill areas affected by the
student’s disability
 Teachers’ qualitative descriptions of the students’ performance and information about what strategies and
supports have been effective or ineffective for the student in the past.
 Information from parents, teachers and students about the student’s strengths/needs, abilities, and interests in
a variety of settings
The family’s and student’s input is an extremely important to the discussion. They provide insight into what
works and doesn’t work for the student in a variety of settings. It is also an opportunity to identify student preferences
and interests, and to discuss the supports and services that they should receive. Since students with disabilities need to
learn self-advocacy skills, gaining their contribution at the IEP meeting and explaining how they can identify situations
where they need the supplementary aids and services will help in this process.
Impact of Disability includes:
 Information about how the student’s disability affects his/her involvement in the general education curriculum
 Barriers related to the student’s disability
 Barriers that may limit student progress
The discussion of the impact of the disability on the student’s performance may yield additional information that is
useful in selecting SAS. The goal of the SAS is to reduce, as much as possible, the barriers posed by the environment
due to the disability. By understanding how the disability affects the student’s communication, anxiety, response to
environmental stimuli, vision, hearing, reading, etc., teachers will be better able to identify the supplementary aids and
services that will lead to learning the curriculum. For example, students with learning disabilities often have
organizational issues that can be addressed through SAS that will reduce as much as possible the barrier to learning
that disorganization creates for the student.
2.
How are supports chosen for an individual student?
All team members play an important role in the identification of SAS to meet the individual needs of the
students as outlined in the IEP. While each person brings a different set of experiences, concerns, and skills to the
table, they all share a common goal; enabling the student to succeed in school and in life. Listed below are a few of the
responsibilities and contributions each team member may bring to the IEP team process in determining appropriate
SAS for students.
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ROLE
IEP Chair/Administrator
RESPONSIBILITIES/CONTRIBUTIONS
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General Educator
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Special Educator/ Service Providers
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Parent
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Facilitates the meeting
Makes sure team members are given the opportunity to participate as full
members of the team
Provides information about the services available in the school
Ensures that services in the IEP will be provided as agreed upon by the
team
Has knowledge of IDEA/COMAR regulations regarding the IEP team
process., least restrictive environment and timelines
Shares expertise and knowledge of curriculum and content
Communicates what students should be able to know and do in order to
demonstrate key concepts
Provides information about student’s participation, performance , progress
and interactions with peers in the classroom
Identifies training, materials, or other classroom supports, teachers may
need in order to help the student benefit from classroom instruction
Identifies areas of concern and determines appropriate instructional and
behavioral intervention and supports and other strategies for the student to
be meaningfully included in the classroom
Shares expertise and knowledge of how a student’s disability impacts the
way he/she accesses information, learns key concepts , and demonstrates
their learning
Provides current information, research, student assessment, and progress
reporting data to guide the team in making IEP decisions
Helps general educators adapt their teaching techniques and individualize
or modify the curriculum to create classroom goals, flexible methods,
materials, and assessment to meet the challenge of learner variability
Locates alternate teaching materials, assistive technology devices, and
other needed resources
Assists the team in finding ways to include the student in all aspects of the
regular school program, including extra curricular activities
Provides critical information about their child’s abilities, interests,
preferences and history
S hares information about what has worked for their child over time
Participates in the discussion about their child’s need for special education
services, activities and supports
Knows the child better than any other member of the team
The team reflects collaboratively on all of the information gathered. Based on what they now know about the
student and his or her needs and challenges and the curriculum and classroom demands, they identify the skills,
settings, and/or activities where the student will need assistance to be successful. Every area of difficulty noted in the
PFLAAP, the impact of the disability statement, or the team discussion, should result in the identification of an
instructional goal, accommodation, specialized instruction, related service, and/or SAS to address the student’s needs.
Table 1 at the end of this guide provides some examples of student needs and how they might be addressed through
Instructional and Testing Accommodations, Supplementary Aids and Services, and Goals.
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DESCRIBING THE SUPPLEMENTARY AID AND SERVICES
Having selected SAS to meet the areas of need identified in the PFLAAP, the team needs to record them in the
IEP in a way that allows them to be implemented effectively. This means that another teacher who does not know the
student can understand HOW to provide the service. Simply choosing the right support from the drop-down menu (or
adding one of your own using the “other” tab) is not enough; the team also needs to describe HOW, WHEN, and BY
WHOM it will be implemented. The place to do this is in the box on the MDOIEP after each SAS with the instruction
to “clarify location and manner.” This step is easy to overlook if the teachers know the student well and have been
part of the conversation; they understand what was intended by the selection. However, the IEP may be implemented
by someone who is not familiar with the student (the next year’s teacher, or teachers at a new school should the student
transfer). The SAS section, like all parts of the IEP, should pass the “Stranger Test;” someone who doesn’t know the
student at all should be able to pick it up, read it, and effectively implement it.
1.
Clarifying “How”
The team needs to make explicit what each support will look like when implemented for each individual
student. If the student needs “preferential seating,” the team should clarify what that means: seating near teacher, to
allow for proximity control; seating away from distractions or from certain peers; seating in an area that allows for
frequent movement without disrupting the class; or something else entirely?
If the team has indicated that the student should have “altered or modified assignments,” they should describe
in what ways the work should be adjusted (the amount of work reduced by approximately how much? Or the difficulty
reduced to approximately what level?). The goal of the description is to make it clear to anyone reading the IEP,
without being so prescriptive as to not allow for changes in the environment or the students’ performance.
Example: “Provide student with organizational supports (e.g., main idea-supporting detail graphic organizers,
skeleton outlines with the main points filled in, story webs, and composition checklists) to help her collect and
structure her ideas before beginning writing assignments and when editing her drafts.” This makes it clear to anyone
reviewing the IEP what kinds of assistance the student needs, but also allows the flexibility to try new strategies to fit
new situations.
2.
Clarifying “When”
Another important component of the description of the SAS is an explanation of under what circumstances the
supports are to be provided. Does the student need this adaptation across the day, in all academic and non-academic
classes, or only for certain subjects, and/or lunch, recess, etc.? Is it needed for all assignments, or only certain types of
activities?
Example: A student who has strong math skills but struggles to read and to produce written output may need
“reduced workload” in English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Biology, where large amounts of text and writing
are involved, but not in Math or Physics, where most of the work is computation.
3.
Clarifying “By Whom”
The team should also discuss who will implement the supports. While ultimately all of the student’s teachers
are responsible, it is helpful to talk about, and document, who will be involved in the provision of each support.
Example: If materials are to be modified, work load reduced, etc., will the special educator be involved in creating
instructional materials and assignments, or will the general educator make those decisions, or will they do it together?
Adding consultation between the teachers or collaborative planning time as an SAS under “Supports to School
Personnel” may be appropriate to allow the teachers to work together to plan for needed modifications. If other school
personnel are involved (e.g., the psychologist or social worker will help design a point system or the SLP will target
vocabulary for a word bank), that should be indicated as well.
Table 2 shows examples of unclear SAS descriptions and ways to clarify and improve them.
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IMPLEMENTING SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES
By clearly and thoroughly describing the SAS in the IEP, the team lays the foundation for effective
implementation in the classroom. With an understanding of what is needed and when, teachers are better equipped to
develop a plan for putting them in place. The keys to successful implementation are communication and preparation
and organization, especially when there are several students in a class receiving supports.
1.
Communication to all stakeholders
Every staff member (resource/special area teachers, general education teachers, related services
providers, etc.) who works with the student needs a copy of the IEP. The staff members need to:
 Review the individual SAS/PMS for each student in Section III: Special Considerations and
Accommodations of the IEP to identify the supports that need to be provided for the student
 Review “how”, “when, and by “whom" the SAS/PMS is implemented
 Ask the IEP team for clarification regarding SAS/PMS identified on the IEP regarding type as
well as, location and manner of implementation if needed.
Older students (middle and high) should also understand what supports are included in their IEPs so that they can ask
for and/or remind teachers when they need support and what type of support they need.
2.
Planning for implementation
After becoming familiar with their students and their support needs, teachers need to develop a plan that
allows them to consistently implement supports, including SAS and Instructional and Testing Accommodations. . A
variety of tools exist to help teachers plan for and implement those supports. Some teachers like to note in their lesson
plans which accommodations and SAS apply to particular activities. Others use a matrix with students listed down one
side and accommodations and supports on the other, checking the boxes that apply for each child; some teachers also
use the matrix for record-keeping, documenting the dates when particular supports were provided. Many teachers find
it useful to put all their supplementary aids and services in one matrix so they can see at a glance when planning
instruction what kinds of supports will be needed. If you teach multiple groups of students over the course of the day,
you may want to develop a matrix for each class (e.g., Period 1 Algebra; Period 2 Statistics, etc). Using initials instead
of full names protects students’ privacy if others have access to your plan book.
Table 3 and 4 provide some examples of tools.
Planning Examples:
T. R.
L.
W.
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
behavior contract
X
oral exams
X
X
chunking of text
copy of student/
teacher notes
X
X
word processor
X
spell checker
alternative ways to
demonstrate
learning
peer buddy or
partner work
X
word banks
X
reminders to stay
on task
J. S.
have student
paraphrase
information
frequent and
immediate
feedback
check for
understanding
allow use of
manipulatives
graphic/
organizational aids
Supplementary Aids and Services Matrix
X
In some cases supports that are identified for students on their IEP are supports that a teacher may already be
planning to provide for the entire class. For example, when the teacher gives a writing assignment, he/she may give the
entire class access to graphic organizers and a computer (word processor) to complete the assignment. These are
supports already built into the lesson and will benefit all students. When planning any lesson these overall strategies
and supports should be identified as well as additional supports that may be needed to eliminate barriers that some
students with IEPs may still encounter.
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When:
Students are expected to:
We will provide these supports:
The teacher is
talking
Remain seated at desks
Orient towards front of the room
Look at board
Take notes
Seat near front (JZ, AX)
Seat near back (RQ)
Own copy of slides/overhead (JZ)
Cloze notes (AX, RQ, LM)
Teacher guided
whole class
discussion
Remain seated
Remain quiet when others are
speaking
Raise hand to be acknowledged
Answer questions
Contribute to discussion
Cooperative group
or pair activities
Take turns
Complete assigned role/task
Interact politely with peers
Assigned role that doesn’t require writing (AX,
LM)
Written copy of the directions (RQ, JZ)
Behavioral feedback (JZ)
Teacher-directed
small
groups/guided
reading
Participate actively during group
Work quietly and independently on
anchor activities when not in group
Ask peers for assistance if needed
when not in group
Task schedule and timer for independent time
(RQ)
“3-before-me” visual reminder (RQ, AX)
Anchor activities at independent/practice level
of difficulty (all students)
Individual
seatwork
Remain seated and quiet
Complete written task
Ask for help if needed
Reduced writing requirement and/or scribe
(AX, LM)
Chunking (AX, RQ, JZ)
Reduced complexity (AX)
Breaks (RQ)
Visual cue for hand raising (RQ)
Preplanned question to answer (AX)
Behavioral feedback (JZ)
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