The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not apply to education after high school, but Section 504 (“504 plans”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) still apply. However, unlike high school, the process of getting accommodations is different, and the student (not the parent or the post-secondary program) is fully responsible for requesting them. You can find more details in this PAVE resource article: Requesting Accommodations in Post-Secondary Education or Transitioning Rights and Accommodations from IDEA to ADA and 504.
Brief Overview
- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not apply to education after high school (post-secondary education).
- All post-secondary schools which receive federal funds must provide equitable access to their educational program based on Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Since almost all post-secondary schools use federal student aid, students and their parents and guardians usually have no difficulty finding schools where these laws apply
- For secondary education that’s even more disability-friendly, they may want to find schools that use universal design to create courses and deliver instruction
- This article includes ways to check how “user-friendly” a school or program is for a student with disabilities.
This article focuses on what potential students and their parents or guardians can learn about a college or other post-secondary program, to help them find a “user-friendly” school where a student with a disability can thrive.
Good places to start looking for colleges are Think College’s College Seach, which lists postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disability, the Campus Disability Resource Database, which lists disability-related information for colleges in the US, or Collegexpress’s listing of schools that have special programs for students with learning disabilities. One thing to look for is how many amenities and accommodations they make for all types of students. Schools that pay attention to the needs of all their potential students let you focus your efforts on doing your best job.
The questions and strategies below can usually be answered with an exploration of the college’s website, or by contacting staff in Admissions, Student Services, or Disability Services departments.
How accessible is the website? If the school hasn’t bothered to make their website accessible to individuals with disability, will their campus and instruction be any better? Schools that accept federal funding (such as student financial aid) should have a website that complies with federal accessibility laws.
- If you use screen-reader technology, decide whether the website works well with your hardware and software.
- If you use the keyboard rather than a mouse, try the “tab key test” (press the tab key) to navigate through the website’s links and fields—if you do not see a visible focus ring around each element, the website is not accessible.
- You can copy the school’s URL and go to wave.webaim.org and paste the school’s URL into the box. You’ll get screenshots of the school’s website page with lots of colored icons. See how many of the items listed are ERRORS – if it’s more than 10 or 15, it’s not a good sign.
Is there a separate disability services office? How many professionals work in that office? Is the director of that office a member of AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disability)? If it’s a large school it’s not a good sign if a school assigns disability support to a single individual. If the director is a member of AHEAD, the professional organization for disability support specialists, you know that they follow the best practices in the field and have resources to influence faculty and college administrators to become more inclusive.
Does the website mention anything about students with disabilities anywhere else besides the section on Disability Support Services? Do school administrators and faculty support Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? The use of UDL means that school administration and faculty are committed to providing for the widest possible range of abilities. That means physical ease of access, alternative ways of teaching, flexibility in how student work is evaluated, and making sure that students have multiple ways to learn course materials. It’s a lot of work to implement, so if a school has this process in its programs, it’s a very good sign. UDL doesn’t entirely eliminate the need for certain accommodations, but for some issues it may mean that you won’t need accommodations in your classes.
To check a college’s commitment to universal design, search “UDL” and/or “Universal Design” on their website. Alternatively, make a phone call to Academic Affairs (in charge of faculty and instruction), Student Services, and/or Disability Services and ask if administrators and faculty at the school are familiar with UDL or have implemented it in any way.
What are the admission requirements? Are they flexible? For example, instead of an admissions essay, could you submit a video of yourself answering the questions posed in the essay requirements? Admissions flexibility that’s already in place lets you know that the school is open to alternate ways of doing things and possibly more inclusive.
What services and equipment, such as adaptive technology, does the college typically provide to students with disabilities? Who provides them? Where can services and equipment be used? Will you need to use separate equipment/software to access/research in the library? Generally, schools don’t have to provide services and/or equipment for your personal study time. Some schools do have technology that you can borrow for short periods for personal use.
What modifications have faculty and administrators made in the past for students with disabilities? Ask for some honest feedback from administration, alumni, and professors. Have some faculty not understood their obligations to provide accommodation? Are certain types of adjustments more acceptable than others?
If the school offers online courses, or is online entirely, ask to get a temporary guest log-in to try out the school’s online learning platform, student “gateway”, and other software used for online access. E-learning platforms are supposed to be accessible by law—but accessible isn’t always the same as user-friendly.
An example of a school where it’s important to be disability-and-user friendly is the University of Washington. Searching for “universal design” on their website brings up pages and page—which is not surprising because UW is one of the universities that pioneered the use of universal design in post-secondary education! There is training for faculty on how to design or re-design courses to include universal design, and on how to understand and implement accommodations needed under Section 504 and ADA.
PAVE has many other resources for high school students planning their futures. Search our website by typing “high school transition” into the search bar.