Support Services in College Differences Between Disability Support in High School and College

Laws Governing Disability Services High SchoolCollege I.D.E.A. (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) A.D.A. (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act)

Philosophy High SchoolCollege The goal of special education is the student’s success The goal of disability services is the student’s equal access to programs and services

Documentation High SchoolCollege Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.) 504 Plan School-provided evaluation Documentation requirements vary I.E.P./504 are not sufficient Current independent evaluation required

Evaluations High SchoolCollege School provides evaluation at no cost to student School conducts re-evaluations at prescribed intervals Student required to get evaluation at own expense Re-evaluation generally not required after initial documentation is approved

Identifying Students with Disabilities High SchoolCollege Schools are responsible for identifying students with disabilities The law requires schools to serve all students with known disabilities Students are responsible for self- identifying to the Disability Support Office Students are not required to self-identify unless they want to access services

Student’s Role High SchoolCollege The student’s school personnel and parents bear the primary responsibility for accessing, defining, and scheduling his/her special education services The student bears the primary responsibility for accessing, defining, and scheduling his/her disability services

Guardian’s Role High SchoolCollege Parents have access to the student’s records and regularly participate in the accommodation process Parents advocate for the student Parents do not have access to disability- related records unless the student provides written consent Students advocate for themselves

Services and Accommodations High SchoolCollege High schools provide many different instructional modifications, accommodations, and support services Examples of support services include tutors, personal care attendants, personal aids/devices, etc. Colleges are only required to provide accommodations, not instructional modifications or support services Examples of accommodations include note-taker, priority seating, extended test time, reader, scribe, use of a computer, spell-checker, calculator, etc.

Modifications High SchoolCollege May modify curriculum May use modified grading standards May alter test format (i.e., oral test instead of multiple choice) Will not make any modifications that would fundamentally alter a curriculum or class, including grade modifications and test format changes

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