Handling Secure Printed Materials

For those students whose IEP or Section 504 plan expresses a need for a paper copy of passages or items, the LEA ELPAC coordinator must contact the assigned LEA Success Agent at least two weeks prior to testing to request permission for the students to receive this designated support.

The print-on-demand non-embedded designated support is provided at the test site level and must be coordinated and delivered by an ELPAC TE.

Note the following about print-on-demand:

  • Print requests must be approved and processed by the TEs during test administration.
  • The decision to allow students to use print-on-demand must be made on an individual student basis.
  • Because items are printed individually, utilizing the print-on-demand functionality does not allow a printed version of the online test to be created prior to testing.
  • A very small percentage of students should need this designated support.
  • The use of this designated support may result in the student needing additional time to complete the assessment.

Once a student is approved to receive the printing of test items or passages for the Initial ELPAC, that student may send a print request to the TE during testing by selecting the [Print] icon on the screen. This request needs to be made for each individual item.

Follow these guidelines when using the print-on-demand designated support:

  1. Before the TE approves the student’s request to print a test item or passage, the TE must ensure that the printer is on and is monitored by staff who have been trained and have signed the ELPAC Test Security Affidavit.
  2. Immediately after printing a print-on-demand request, the file should be securely deleted from the TE’s device in such a way that the file does not remain in temporary storage where it can be undeleted. Refer to the Destroying Electronic Files subsection for additional instructions.
  3. The TE must collect the previously printed item from the student after the next item’s print request. Printed items must be securely stored and then securely destroyed after the test session.

Refer to the How to Approve Print Requests subsection for more information on print-on-demand.

Destroying Secure Printed Materials

Printed materials from the print-on-demand designated support, DFAs, and scratch paper must be kept in a securely locked room or locked cabinet that can be opened only with a key or keycard by staff responsible for test administration who have signed an ELPAC Test Security Affidavit. All test materials must remain secure at all times.

Printed test items or passages, including embossed braille printouts and scratch paper, must be collected and inventoried at the end of each test session and then immediately destroyed securely according to LEA and ELPAC policies or procedures.

DFAs that were printed for TEs after being downloaded from the password-protected TOMS must be kept in a securely locked room or locked cabinet when not in use. Once testing is completed, these must be immediately securely destroyed according to LEA policies and procedures, ELPAC policies and procedures, or policies and procedures from both sources.

Destroying Electronic Files

Immediately after printing a print-on-demand request or making a printed copy of a DFA, the file produced by the process should be securely deleted from the location on which it was stored. If stored on a device, the device on which the files are stored must be kept in a securely locked room or locked cabinet while the secure files exist.

A file(s) must be deleted in such a way that the file does not remain in a temporary storage location such as Windows’ Recycle Bin, where it can be undeleted. TEs and site ELPAC coordinators should use the school’s or LEA’s preferred method of secure file deletion.

While there are many ways to permanently delete a file, including using a “shredding” tool that might be part of a virus scanning tool, what follows are basic ways to remove a file from a Windows or Macintosh system:

  • Windows— Hold the [Shift] key when deleting the file or empty the Recycle Bin after deleting.
  • Macintosh and Macintosh equivalent devices using OS X—Press the [Command] + [Delete] keys with any file or folder selected to send a file to the Trash and then press the [Shift] + [Command] + [Delete] keys or open the Finder menu and then select Secure Empty Trash to immediately empty the Trash.

Securely Destroying Scratch Paper and Logon Tickets

  • Students may use scratch paper to make notes or develop draft responses. Collect and inventory the scratch paper at the end of each test session, as well as upon completion of the test.
  • Do not keep printed test items or passages or scratch paper for future test sessions.
  • At the end of the test session for the day or completion of the test, TEs should collect the logon tickets issued to students and securely destroy them.