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USBE clarifies RISE accommodations workflow: TIDE forms, timelines and approvals
Summary
USBE staff explained how schools must submit requests for assistive technology and other state‑approved accommodations through TIDE forms, recommended lead times, and the role of Jessica Wilhelm in approvals.
During a RISE administration training, Jessica Wilhelm, USBE special education specialist, and Elise Fry explained the process schools must follow to request state‑approved accommodations for summative testing.
Wilhelm described the TIDE forms workflow: schools submit an accommodation request using the forms feature in TIDE, completing all required fields and agreeing that the accommodation is documented and used regularly in classroom instruction. After submission the form provides a tracking identifier and cannot be edited; USBE staff then review and enable approved accommodations in TIDE.
Wilhelm urged LEAs to provide three to four weeks' notice for non‑routine requests. "Your emergency is not my priority," she said, recounting many last‑minute requests from the previous year and asking districts to plan ahead. She said requests submitted shortly before testing may not be processed in time and recommended emailing her when last‑minute requests arise so staff can prioritize them.
Fry clarified technical limits: some accommodations (for example, assistive technologies and scribe requests) require TIDE form submission and state approval and cannot be applied by uploading test‑setting exports. The CAI export that pulls current test tool settings into Excel can speed edits of settings that are editable directly in TIDE, but it does not replace the formal forms workflow for state‑controlled accommodations.
The training also covered Spanish adaptive functionality: it is available for math and science and must be enabled in TIDE; it is not available for ELA reading or writing. Fry said LEAs' language services teams, with parent and student preference, should determine eligibility for the Spanish adaptive option and follow TAM guidance when setting it.
Additional operational details: approved accommodations can be viewed in TIDE; the status of submitted forms is accessible through the view/edit forms menu; and once USBE approves an accommodation, staff will enable it in TIDE so the student receives the resource during testing.
