A Comprehensive Accommodations Model in the Catholic School Inclusive Context - Article 1

Oct 15, 2026

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While Catholic schools advance a mission of inclusivity, they frequently face obstacles in supporting students with disabilities because they lack a specialized education infrastructure. Classroom accommodations function as the main mechanism for enabling students who struggle in general classrooms to access learning. Through collaborative action research, Catholic high school educators and special education researchers developed and validated an accommodations model for Catholic secondary schools. The model includes three phases—Preparation, Provision, and Evaluation—plus features such as redundant services, a dedicated learning specialist, and collaboration, and it discusses implications for Catholic mission and transferability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Instructional Accommodations

Catholic School Inclusivity

Inclusion and Special Education Infrastructure

Research Method and Model Phases

Implications and Applicability

Journal of Catholic Education | Volume 28 Issue 2 | Article 1 | | --- | --- | | 2025
A Comprehensive Accommodations Model in the Catholic School Inclusive Context
David Scanlon Boston College
Drina Kei Yatsu Boston College
Follow this and additional works at: [https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce](https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce)
Part of the Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons, and the Special Education and Teaching Commons | | Recommended Citation Scanlon, D. & Yatsu, D. K. (2025) . A comprehensive accommodation model In the Catholic school inclusive context. Journal of Catholic Education, 28(2), 1–27 . [https://doi.org/10.15365/joce.2802012025](https://doi.org/10.15365/joce.2802012025) This Article is brought to you for free with open access by the School of Education at Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for publication in Journal of Catholic Education by the journal's editorial board and has been published on the web by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information about Digital Commons, [please contact](please contact digitalcommons@lmu.edu. To contact)[ digitalcommons@lmu.edu](please contact digitalcommons@lmu.edu. To contact)[. To contact](please contact digitalcommons@lmu.edu. To contact) the editorial board of Journal of Catholic Education, please email [JCE@nd.edu](JCE@nd.edu). A Comprehensive Accommodations Model in the Catholic School Inclusive Context Cover Page Footnote This research was supported by a grant from the Warmenhoven Family Endowed Fund. This article is available in Journal of Catholic Education: [https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce/vol28/iss2/1](https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce/vol28/iss2/1) Journal of Catholic Education Fall 2025, Volume 28, Issue 2, 1–27 This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. [https://doi.org/10.15365/joce.2802012025](https://doi.org/10.15365/joce.2802012025) A Comprehensive Accommodations Model in the Catholic School Inclusive Context David Scanlon 1 and Drina Kei Yatsu 1 Abstract: While Catholic schools have a mission ofinclusivity, they are often challenged to support students who may have disabilities. A significant cause of their challenge is lacking a special education infrastructure. Classroom accommodations area primary form of supporting students with disabilities, and others, who struggle in the classroom. Catholic high school educators collaborated with special education researchers in a research project involving collaborative action research to identify and validate an accommodations model specific to the Catholic secondary school context. The model includes three phases—Preparation, Provision, and Evaluation—as well as features such as redundant services, a dedicated learning specialist, and collaboration. Implications for the Catholic mission and the applicability of the model to other Catholic schools are discussed. Keywords: Catholic school, accommodation, disability, special education, secondary school Inclusivity is integral to the identity of Catholic schools, and while this extends to students with disabilities (Scanlan, 2008; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB], 2005), the support available for other traditionally marginalized students, such as low-income, immigrant, and English language learners (Miller et al., 2023) is more established. The primary challenge to the effective inclusion of students with disabilities in Catholic schools is limited infrastructure, particularly in terms of special education systems and supports (Bello, 2006; Boyle & Bernards, 2017; Burke & Griffin, 2016). Additionally, Catholic school educators express apprehension around their ability to support students with disabilities (Bullock & O’Linn, 2020), a problem compounded by limited research on the topic (Faggella-Luby & Engel, 2020). 1 Boston College

FAQs

Why do Catholic schools face challenges supporting students with disabilities?

A key challenge is limited special education infrastructure, which constrains available systems and supports. Educators also report apprehension about their capacity to provide needed support.

What is the core purpose of the accommodations model in the Catholic school context?

The model aims to identify and validate an accommodations approach tailored to Catholic secondary schools, enabling classroom support through structured planning and collaboration.

What are the three phases included in the model?

The model includes Preparation, Provision, and Evaluation. It also incorporates features such as redundant services, a dedicated learning specialist, and collaboration.

Oct 15, 2026

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