General Education Non-Technical Teacher

Job Summary

General education teachers in non-technical subject areas provide instruction in disciplines such as English language arts, social studies, world languages, and the arts. They apply accessibility practices when creating, adapting, and independently selecting supplemental digital instructional materials so students with disabilities can access and use them. They also use accessibility features available in school- or district-provided digital materials and technologies, implement required accessibility-related supports and accommodations for individual students, and collaborate with appropriate personnel to identify accessibility barriers affecting access to instruction.

Job Essential Accessibility Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities related to accessibility.

• Create accessible supplemental digital instructional materials and assignments using school- or district-provided accessibility guidance, tools, templates, and resources.
• Conduct basic accessibility checks when independently selecting supplemental digital resources and choose accessible options using school- or district-provided guidance, tools, and resources.
• Preserve accessibility when adapting, converting, sharing, or posting digital instructional materials.
• Use available accessibility features and supports within school- or district-provided digital materials and technologies as appropriate for instruction and individual student needs.
• Identify and report accessibility barriers encountered in digital materials or technologies and follow established procedures to obtain assistance or escalate barriers that cannot be resolved within the teacher’s role or expertise.
• Collaborate with special education, assistive technology, information technology, educational technology, and other relevant personnel to address accessibility barriers affecting student access to instruction.
• Seek and respond to feedback from students with disabilities and, as appropriate, their families about accessibility barriers affecting access to instruction.

Required Qualifications

Minimum requirements to perform the job:

• Foundational knowledge of digital accessibility requirements applicable to K-12 education.
• Foundational knowledge of accessibility-related student supports under IDEA and Section 504, including accessible formats, accommodations, and assistive technology.
• Demonstrated preparation or experience creating digital instructional materials using basic accessibility practices.
• Demonstrated preparation or experience considering accessibility when independently selecting supplemental digital instructional resources.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with students, families, and school personnel to support student access and address instructional barriers.

Preferred Qualifications

Nice-to-have skills or experience:

• Additional professional learning or demonstrated experience in digital accessibility and accessible instructional practices in K–12 settings.
• Experience using or supporting the use of assistive technology and accessibility features in instructional activities.
• Experience routinely applying accessibility practices when creating, adapting, or independently selecting supplemental digital instructional materials.
• Experience using feedback from students with disabilities to identify and address accessibility barriers affecting instruction.

Success Signals

In this role, success looks like:

• Makes accessibility the default when creating, independently selecting, adapting, and sharing supplemental digital instructional materials and assignments.
• Proactively considers accessibility when designing activities so students with disabilities have usable ways to engage in learning activities and demonstration of knowledge.
• Uses available accessibility features and supports within school- or district-provided digital materials and technologies.
• Appropriately implements required accessibility-related supports and accommodations for individual students.
• Identifies accessibility barriers early and takes appropriate action by correcting teacher-created or independently selected materials, providing an accessible alternative, or seeking assistance when a barrier is outside the teacher’s role or expertise.
• Collaborates with students, families, and relevant school personnel to identify and address accessibility barriers affecting instruction.
• Seeks and responds to feedback from students with disabilities about accessibility barriers and adjusts materials or practices within the teacher’s responsibility as appropriate.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Accessibility Knowledge (WHAT / WHY)

• Knowledge of common digital accessibility barriers and how they may affect access to instruction for students with disabilities.
• Knowledge of foundational digital accessibility practices and how they apply to commonly used instructional materials, including documents, presentations, web content, images, and multimedia.
• Knowledge of common types of assistive technology and accessibility features and how students may use them to access digital instructional materials and technologies.
• Understanding of the distinction between proactively accessible digital materials and individualized accessibility supports, including accessible formats, assistive technology, and accommodations, and how these approaches can work together to support student access.
• Understanding of teacher and school/district responsibilities for digital accessibility, including when teachers should address a barrier directly and when they should report it or seek additional assistance.

Applied Skills (HOW)

• Skill in identifying common accessibility barriers in digital instructional materials.
• Skill in performing basic accessibility checks of teacher-created and independently selected supplemental digital materials using available tools and guidance.
• Skill in applying foundational accessibility practices when creating or adapting supplemental digital instructional materials.
• Skill in using accessibility features and tools available in commonly used instructional technologies and authoring applications.
• Skill in preserving accessibility when adapting, converting, sharing, or posting digital instructional materials.
• Skill in recognizing when a student’s difficulty may result from an accessibility barrier rather than the academic content itself.
• Skill in determining an appropriate response to an identified accessibility barrier, such as correcting a teacher-created or independently selected resource, providing an accessible alternative, or seeking assistance.
• Skill in recognizing when an accessibility barrier or digital resource requires additional evaluation, technical assistance, or specialized expertise.
• Skill in recognizing when an accessibility barrier or digital resource requires additional evaluation, technical assistance, or specialized expertise.

Collaboration & Communication

• Competence in collaborating with students, families, and relevant school personnel to identify and address accessibility barriers affecting instruction.
• Competence in communicating identified accessibility barriers and seeking assistance when resolution falls outside the teacher’s role or expertise.
• Competence in engaging students in conversations about their experiences accessing digital materials and technologies in ways that support agency and self-advocacy.
• Competence in seeking, listening to, and responding constructively to feedback from students with disabilities and, as appropriate, their families about accessibility barriers.

Interview Questions

Behavioral Questions

• Give an example of a digital instructional material you created or adapted. What specific accessibility practices did you apply? How did they improve access?
• Describe a time when accessibility influenced how you created, adapted, or independently selected supplemental instructional material. What did you consider? What did you do?
• Describe a time when feedback from a student with a disability, family member, or colleague led you to improve the accessibility of an instructional material or activity. What did you learn from the experience?
• Share an example of collaborating with others to address an accessibility barrier affecting a student’s access to instruction. What was your role? What was the outcome?
• Tell us about a time you encountered an accessibility issue that you could not resolve yourself. How did you determine that additional support was needed, and what did you do?

Technical Questions

• What accessibility considerations would you apply when creating digital instructional materials? How would those considerations inform your selection of a supplemental digital resource created by someone else?
• What basic accessibility checks would you use to evaluate a digital instructional material you create or independently select? How would you determine if additional evaluation or expertise is needed?
• What accessibility features or alternatives would you consider when providing multimedia content to students?
• What accessibility concerns would you consider before independently selecting a new digital tool for instruction?
• How would you distinguish between an accessibility barrier in an instructional activity and a student’s difficulty understanding the academic content itself? Why does that distinction matter?
• What is the difference between proactively accessible digital instructional materials and individualized supports such as accessible formats, assistive technology, and accommodations? How might both be needed to support a student’s access to instruction?

Learning and Development

To prepare for this role, individuals should:

• Build practical skills for creating, adapting, and independently selecting accessible supplemental digital instructional materials. Enroll in NCADEMI’s Accessibility Fundamentals Course on Canvas.
• Develop a foundational understanding of the legal issues related to the accessibility of educational materials in K–12 education. Refer to NCADEMI’s Legal Foundations page.
• Build practical skills using accessibility features and basic evaluation tools available in commonly used instructional technologies and authoring tools.
• Develop an understanding of how students with disabilities experience and interact with digital instructional materials and technologies. Refer to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Video Series covering a variety of topics on digital access in education, including how people with disabilities use technology, applicable federal regulations, and identifying and remediating barriers to access.

Reminder

Use this toolkit to incorporate accessibility-focused knowledge, skills, and sample pre-screening and interview questions into your job descriptions and hiring process.