Transition Programs for Students with Disabilities: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

A successful transition from high school to postsecondary education and employment is a critical step for students with disabilities. Accurate knowledge about their civil rights and available resources is a big factor in this transition. This guide provides high school educators, students, and families with answers to frequently asked questions and highlights resources to facilitate a smooth and successful transition to postsecondary life. It aims to empower students with disabilities as they pursue higher education, meaningful employment, and independent living.

Understanding Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Several federal laws protect the rights of students with disabilities and ensure their access to equal opportunities. These laws include Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Section 504 and Title II: These laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Every school district and nearly every college and university in the United States is subject to one or both of these laws, which have similar requirements.
IDEA: This act provides funds to states to assist in making a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available to eligible children with disabilities. IDEA requirements apply to state education agencies, school districts, and other public agencies that serve IDEA-eligible children. Institutions of postsecondary education have no legal obligations under the IDEA.
State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program: This program, authorized by the Rehabilitation Act, provides funds to state VR agencies to assist eligible individuals with disabilities in obtaining employment. State VR agencies provide a wide range of employment-related services, including services designed to facilitate the transition of eligible students with disabilities from school to post-school activities.

It is important to note the significant differences between the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities in the high school setting and those in postsecondary education.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Admissions Process

Standardized Testing Conditions

Students with disabilities may be entitled to changes in standardized testing conditions on entrance exams for institutions of postsecondary education. Tests may not be selected or administered in a way that tests the disability rather than the achievement or aptitude of the individual. Federal law requires changes to the testing conditions that are necessary to allow a student with a disability to participate as long as the changes do not fundamentally alter the examination or create undue financial or administrative burdens.

To request changes in standardized testing conditions, the student will need to contact the institution of postsecondary education or the entity that administers the exam and provide documentation of a disability and the need for a change in testing conditions. Examples of changes in testing conditions that may be available include Braille, large print, fewer items on each page, tape-recorded responses, responses on the test booklet, frequent breaks, extended testing time, testing over several sessions, small group setting, private room, preferential seating, and the use of a sign language interpreter for spoken directions.

Preadmission Inquiries

Institutions of postsecondary education are generally not permitted to make preadmission inquiries about an applicant's disability status. Preadmission inquiries are permitted only if the institution of postsecondary education is taking remedial action to correct the effects of past discrimination or taking voluntary action to overcome the effects of conditions that limited the participation of individuals with disabilities. Examples of impermissible preadmission inquiries include: "Are you in good health?" and "Have you been hospitalized for a medical condition in the past five years?".

Institutions of postsecondary education may inquire about an applicant's ability to meet essential program requirements provided that such inquiries are not designed to reveal disability status.

Admission Denial

If an applicant meets the essential requirements for admission, an institution may not deny that applicant admission simply because he or she has a disability, nor may an institution categorically exclude an applicant with a particular disability as not being qualified for its program. An institution may, however, require an applicant to meet any essential technical or academic standards for admission to, or participation in, the institution and its program. An institution may deny admission to any student, disabled or not, who does not meet essential requirements for admission or participation.

Obligation to Identify Students

Institutions do not have a duty to identify students with disabilities. Students in institutions of postsecondary education are responsible for notifying institution staff of their disability should they need academic adjustments.

Student's Obligation to Inform

A student has no obligation to inform an institution of postsecondary education that he or she has a disability; however, if the student wants an institution to provide an academic adjustment or assign the student to accessible housing or other facilities, or if a student wants other disability-related services, the student must identify himself or herself as having a disability. The disclosure of a disability is always voluntary.

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Post-Admission: Documentation of a Disability

Academic Adjustments and Auxiliary Aids and Services

Academic adjustments are modifications to academic requirements necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified applicant or student with a disability. Modifications may include changes in the length of time permitted for the completion of degree requirements, substitution of specific courses required for the completion of degree requirements, and adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted. Academic adjustments also may include a reduced course load, extended time on tests, and the provision of auxiliary aids and services.

Auxiliary aids and services include note-takers, readers, recording devices, sign language interpreters, screen-readers, voice recognition and other adaptive software or hardware for computers, and other devices designed to ensure the participation of students with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills in an institution's programs and activities. Institutions are not required to provide personal devices and services such as attendants, individually prescribed devices, such as eyeglasses, readers for personal use or study, or other services of a personal nature, such as tutoring. If institutions offer tutoring to the general student population, however, they must ensure that tutoring services also are available to students with disabilities. In some instances, a state VR agency may provide auxiliary aids and services to support an individual's postsecondary education and training once that individual has been determined eligible to receive services under the VR program.

Documentation Requirements

Institutions may set their own requirements for documentation so long as they are reasonable and comply with Section 504 and Title II. It is not uncommon for documentation standards to vary from institution to institution; thus, students with disabilities should research documentation standards at those institutions that interest them. A student must provide documentation, upon request, that he or she has a disability, that is, an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity and that supports the need for an academic adjustment. The documentation should identify how a student's ability to function is limited as a result of her or his disability. The primary purpose of the documentation is to establish a disability in order to help the institution work interactively with the student to identify appropriate services. The focus should be on whether the information adequately documents the existence of a current disability and need for an academic adjustment.

Responsibility for Obtaining Testing

The student is responsible for obtaining necessary testing to document the existence of a disability. Institutions of postsecondary education are not required to conduct or pay for an evaluation to document a student's disability and need for an academic adjustment, although some institutions do so. If a student with a disability is eligible for services through the state VR Services program, he or she may qualify for an evaluation at no cost. If students with disabilities are unable to find other funding sources to pay for necessary evaluation or testing for postsecondary education, they are responsible for paying for it themselves.

IEP or Section 504 Plan Sufficiency

Generally, a student's most recent individualized education program (IEP) or Section 504 plan is not sufficient documentation to support the existence of a disability and the need for an academic adjustment in a postsecondary setting. Although an IEP or Section 504 plan may help identify services that have been used by the student in the past, they generally are not sufficient documentation to support the existence of a current disability and need for an academic adjustment from an institution of postsecondary education. Assessment information and other material used to develop an IEP or Section 504 plan may be helpful to document a current disability or the need for an academic adjustment or auxiliary aids and services. In addition, a student receiving services under Part B of the IDEA must be provided with a summary of his or her academic achievements and functional performance that includes recommendations on how to assist in meeting the student's postsecondary goals. This information may provide helpful information about disability and the need for an academic adjustment.

Assisting Students with Documentation

High school personnel can help a student with disabilities to identify and address the specific documentation requirements of the postsecondary institution that the student will be attending. This may include assisting the student to identify existing documentation in her or his education records that would satisfy the institution's criteria, such as evaluation reports and the summary of the student's academic achievement and functional performance. School personnel should be aware that institutions of postsecondary education typically do not accept brief conclusory statements for which no supporting evidence is offered as sufficient documentation of a disability and the need for an academic adjustment.

Transition Planning and Available Resources

Transition programs for students with disabilities explore all potential strengths and career fields. Starting in high school, young people begin putting thought into what comes âafterâ. At the high school level, many transition services may be available through their school LD and IEP programs.

The IDEA act outlines rights and regulations regarding transition specifically in a revision made in 1999. Under the act, students must be provided with free appropriate education that meets their designated needs to prepare them for employment and independent living. IEP must include transition services that focus on courses of study that aid them in their post-high school goals starting at age 14. Many colleges provide lists of their programs specially tailored toward students with disabilities. Trade or technical schools are another option for students with disabilities.

National Resources

Several national organizations offer tools and transition resources online that can help students with disabilities pursue higher education, meaningful employment, and independent living. These include:

Got Transition: A federally funded national resource center that focuses on health care transition â the process of moving from pediatric to adult health care. They offer tools for youth, families, and health care providers to plan health care transitions, personal health care checklists and readiness assessments, guidance on insurance, medical records, and managing chronic conditions in adulthood, and resources tailored for youth with complex health needs or disabilities.
ThinkWork! â Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston: This initiative focuses on the employment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). They offer transition-focused research, toolkits, and model programs, success stories and innovations from schools and employment programs, policy briefs and recommendations for improving employment outcomes, and support for employment-first policies that prioritize integrated work settings.
National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth): This federally funded initiative works to improve the ability of youth-serving systems (schools, workforce agencies, etc.) to support youth with disabilities in preparing for and entering the workforce. They offer research-based guides on career development, soft skills, and workplace success, materials for educators, employers, youth, and families, resources on cross-systems collaboration, youth leadership, and inclusive workforce practices, and technical assistance and policy support for improving transition systems.
Division on Career Development and Transition (DCDT): This is a subdivision of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and is committed to enhancing the quality and access of career development and transition services for individuals with disabilities across the lifespan. They offer professional development for educators, transition specialists, and rehabilitation counselors, evidence-based practices in career education, transition planning, and self-determination, conferences, policy updates, and a peer-reviewed academic journal, and advocacy for inclusive practices and high expectations.
National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative (NTACT:C): This federally funded center supports educators, service providers, families, and youth in delivering effective transition services. They offer high-quality tools and training on transition planning, work-based learning, postsecondary education, and independent living, resources aligned with IDEA, WIOA, and other federal mandates, and implementation support for state and local education agencies.

Additional Resources

Campus Disability Resource Database: This database was put together by the National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD). Students can search for disability-related information from degree-granting colleges and universities across the United States. This can give students a general sense of the types of accommodations a college might offer. They will still need to contact the Disability Support Office (DSO) directly to confirm.
Think College - Directory and College Search: The only directory of its kind, Think College Search features 310 colleges and universities that offer postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disability.
The Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center (DHRC) University Disability Inclusion Dashboard: This dashboard ranks universities on 4 criteria: accessibility of the built and virtual environment, public image of disability inclusion, accommodation request processes and procedures, and grievance policies related to disability accommodations.
Wheels on Campus: A Guide to Wheelchair Friendly Higher Education: Students who use a wheelchair, mobility device, have trouble walking long distances, or experience fatigue can use this guide as a starting point to identify colleges that may be more physically accessible for students with mobility impairments.
Spectrum Innovates Pathway Program at Vaughn College of Aeronautics & Technology: SIPP is a new transition program designed to help students on the autism spectrum enter higher education, the workforce, and achieve adult independence.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Several scholarships are available for students with disabilities pursuing postsecondary education:

Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship: This scholarship is for students with a plan to enroll in a 2-year community college, a vocational/technical training program, or a specialized program for students with LD and/or ADHD in the fall.
Organization for Autism Research - Scholarships for Autistic Students: This scholarship program provides scholarships to students across the autism spectrum pursuing full-time, post-secondary, undergraduate education or vocational-technical training.
Avonte Oquendo Memorial Scholarship for Autism: Open to high-achieving students who meet two key criteria: either you or a close family member has been diagnosed with a form of autism, including Asperger syndrome, and the applicant must be an enrolled student at an accredited college, university, or vocational school, or be accepted to begin school at an accredited college, university, or vocational school in the semester for which the application is being offered.

Practical Suggestions for High School Educators

High school personnel, such as school psychologists and counselors, transition specialists, and special education staff, can play a crucial role in assisting students with disabilities with their transition to postsecondary education. They can:

Help students understand their rights and responsibilities under Section 504, Title II, and IDEA.
Assist students in identifying and addressing the specific documentation requirements of postsecondary institutions.
Provide guidance on obtaining necessary testing and evaluations.
Facilitate the development of transition plans that align with students' postsecondary goals.
Connect students and families with relevant resources and support services.
Encourage students to develop self-advocacy skills.

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