Transitioning out of IDEA and into ADA
Part 2 of a 5-part series
Co-authored by Adam Wouk, Jake Weld, and Joanna Lilley
In our previous article we briefly touched on the challenge that high school students and their parents have when they are evaluating a college’s support system. In their defense, this is a landscape littered with homonyms (and if you have not taken the SAT lately: homonyms are “words that have the same pronunciation and spelling, but different meanings”). We are all familiar with the obvious homonyms (is band a ring or a musical group? does right mean correct or just the opposite of left?), and we rely on context and situational meaning to differentiate between the possibilities. In fact, we navigate these linguistic riddles so seamlessly that we barely recognize their existence.
The challenge is that college websites and view books are littered with homonyms that high school students and parents might not yet know how to recognize:
Small
Student centered
Nurturing
Accommodating
Designed for students who learn differently
Flexible
Responsive
Personalized
These are just a few words or expressions one might hear that are inviting to potential students.
These are great words, and the colleges are being completely honest and totally accurate when they describe themselves with these, among other descriptors. But beware: they are homonyms. Even though they are spelled and pronounced on a college campus in the exact same manner as the way they are spelled and pronounced on your high school campus, the context of college fundamentally changes their definitions and they mean completely different things in each place. This is not fair , but understanding this reality is vitally important to successfully navigating the college search.
First, let’s give some background on how we got to where we are now.
On November 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142), now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This measure allowed Congress to “open public school doors for millions of children with disabilities and laid the foundation of the country’s commitment to ensuring that children with disabilities have opportunities to develop their talents, share their gifts, and contribute to their communities.” To date, IDEA is what ensures students with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities their right to an education.
On March 12th 1990, a group of disability activists took to the capitol. More than 60 activists abandoned their crutches and chairs to climb the 80 stone steps of the capitol. This act of courage was a major turning point in accessibility for Americans with disabilities. Can you imagine seeing this display of solidarity with your own two eyes? As captivating as the visual of the capitol crawl may be, almost 30 years later, the visual of Americans with disabilities struggling up an inaccessible set of stairs continues to exist in the barriers that students with disabilities face in both K-12 and higher education.
The capital crawl was paramount for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. While ADA law had a great effect on accessibility in many facets of public life, the transformation of accessibility in higher education challenged professors and universities to close the gap between their curriculum and the students with disabilities.
That event helped create a world where equal access became a reality. However, this law was written during a time when college was optional in order to participate in the economy. Today, our economy has shifted and now demands a degree in higher education in order to get good paying work. As it stands now, our laws for people with disabilities do not extend far enough to support them as students beyond the K-12 system.
What separates how these laws affect our education systems is that ADA is a right and IDEA is an entitlement. A rights law allows fair and equal access to something in our society. An entitlement law goes further and provides funding and programming to ensure those rights are protected. What this means in higher education is that the college is responsible to ensure equal access to education. While in K-12, the entitlement provides resources to help bolster, not just access, success.
Entitlement laws typically come from rigorous data reporting to hold institutions accountable for student success. In higher education, colleges only have to show that they are providing platforms to level the playing field. They are not held responsible for a student's success. College accommodations are set up to provide pathways to information which is very different from helping students effectively learn. To put it simply, this means there are even less accommodations available to college students. Students are expected to meet all benchmarks of a class and there cannot be an accommodation that fundamentally alters those benchmarks. This difference in the laws creates two completely different cultures for students with disabilities. And as long as a college is meeting the bare minimum of the law by providing access, they are not responsible for providing resources to create success.
The information below expands on other specific differences in the educational environment set by these laws. (It can also be seen as a table via the link below.)
High School & IDEA
In K-12 education, it is a reasonable expectation that the adults are there to educate and watch over the students, including taking an active interest to intervene should a student not be meeting minimum expectations.
Adults identify those in need and bring services to them.
Student learning is generally expected to happen in the classroom and under the direction of a teacher.
Work and progress is graded often and regularly, with lots of time to adjust study practices
Teachers are trained in curriculum design and delivery, which means they know how to effectively teach
IDEA states that every student is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the "least restrictive environment" possible.
Requires the school to initiate and provide an annual meeting of general education teachers, special education teachers, and ancillary service personnel to set goals and discuss progress (i.e. 504 or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings).
College & ADA
In post-secondary education the responsibility of the institution is to provide access to learning, but successful engagement with those opportunities, and any ongoing progress monitoring is the sole responsibility of the student.
Students independently identify their own needs and seek out services as needed.
Student learning is generally expected to be self-directed and happen outside the classroom. It’s recommended to plan for 2 hours of studying per 1 hour spent in a classroom.
Grading greatly varies from class to class. Some courses may have as few as three tests for an entire semester
Professors rarely have any curriculum design or delivery training. Their expertise is in subject matter, not content delivery or assessment.
College students compete for admission and must be "otherwise qualified" to enter college, without consideration of their disability and if admitted, students participate in the standard curriculum of the college.
The student is responsible for initiating any meeting with on-campus disability services and/or with instructors to discuss needs and concerns.
When we understand how these laws differ, we can begin to understand the importance of finding a college that is a good match for a student with disabilities. In truth, there are some colleges that are only seeking to simply meet the requirements of ADA law. However, there are others who understand the importance of additional programming to support these students beyond accommodations. This is exactly why we opened the article about the danger of homonyms. There is a difference between how a college describes itself on paper and what they actually do on campus to support students with disabilities. When students are visiting potential colleges, they should set up a meeting with the disability office. It is imperative to know what they offer. The student should feel comfortable working with the case managers and feel as if they are providing resources beyond accommodations to help them find success. This is a chance for families to know the details of what a disability office does for students.
To help you with this process, we have provided you with some questions to ask disability offices during your visits.
What accommodations does your university offer?
What is the role of the case manager in the disability office? How often do they meet with students registered with the office? What is their student caseload?
How does your office support students during their first semester when they transition into college?
How well trained are the faculty when it comes to supporting students with disabilities?
What are the resources the disability office provides beyond accommodations?
How does your office approach a situation where a faculty member is not honoring an accommodation?
We hope this helps you navigate this difficult transition.
For questions or comments contact:
Adam Wouk via email.
Jake Weld via email.
