What They Need to Know Before They Go

As a transition professional, you know that a person with a disability has a right to access specific supports from colleges or trade schools. Under Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, any publicly funded educational setting or entity providing services to the public (e.g., colleges and trade programs) must offer reasonable accommodations for:

  • physical access on campus,
  • access to online applications used in college or training programs, and
  • on-campus and online learning situations.

Any educational entity must provide protection from discrimination due to having a diagnosed disability, having a history of disability, or simply being regarded as having a disability.

Accessing Reasonable Accommodations

Remember to tell your students that their special education (including IEPs) typically does not continue into colleges/trade programs. Students with disabilities must positively advocate for themselves with professors, instructors, campus staff, administrators, and fellow students.

Each college student must be able to voluntarily access their school’s disability services. These services can come from a specific office or person on campus, and school administrative offices can provide information about these services.

To take advantage, your students will need to:

  • find their campus disability service office, person, or administrative office,
  • voluntarily disclose their disability to these campus disability support entities,
  • provide evidence of their disability such as a testing report from high school, and
  • know what individualized reasonable physical and learning accommodations they need.

It is important for your students to be able to do all these things as independently as possible because all colleges/trade schools must follow FERPA, the federal education privacy law. This means that without legal permission from the student, the college and trade school faculty/staff can only discuss education information with the student—not with their parents, guardians, or other family members.

Let your students know that if reasonable accommodations are not provided or if they experience discrimination due to a disability, they can contact the following for guidance: