Students with mild to moderate learning disabilities across the nation continue to show significant gaps in English Language Arts (ELA) across the country (Gilmour et al., 2019; Schulte et al., 2016). Data from multiple sources confirm ongoing performance discrepancies on statewide assessments when comparing the performance of students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers. At an elementary school in rural Florida, students have recently performed poorly on State ELA exams. This qualitative case study at Ruth Elementary (a pseudonym for a rural K-6 elementary school in northern Florida) involved research of teacher perceptions about the impact of Students with Disabilities (SWD) performance on state ELA assessments and implementations that could serve as change agents for the school. Four teachers were involved in the semi-structured interview after the approval of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). They complete the transcription of each interview to analyze information, including memos and journals, using inductive reasoning to set forth findings for this study. Identified themes for each question connected to practical efforts of school reform and culturally responsive teaching. The themes connected to the first research question included rapport, accommodations, classroom structure, and mindset. The second question relates to actions to support better SWD performance, including intervention, engagement, and use of allocations. Research has shown that factors do impact student performance. My research has identified that regardless of the social factors that can impede learning for the SWD population, the school and teacher response can set an experience to foster higher SWD performance in ELA. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]