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Transition Issues Under Title II
- f the ADA and Section 504
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Transition Issues Under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 MPACT 10 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transition Issues Under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 MPACT 10 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transition Issues Under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 MPACT 10 th Annual Transition Summit October 9, 2018 Presentation by: U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) 1 Presenter: Claire D. Fitzgerald Attorney, OCR
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Objectives
Who is OCR? How does OCR assist with the transition
- f students from high school to college?
What does Federal law require for
students with disabilities in college?
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OCR is
A component of the U.S. Department of
Education
Responsible for ensuring compliance
with certain Federal civil rights laws in colleges and public school districts
Comprised of 12 regional enforcement
- ffices with HQ in Washington, DC
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Disability Laws Enforced by OCR
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (Section 504) - prohibits discrimination by colleges that receive Federal financial assistance
Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II) - prohibits discrimination by “public” colleges (those that are considered part
- f state or local governmental entities)
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OCR Assistance With Transition:
If a student or her parent believes the
student has been subjected to disability discrimination, OCR can attempt to resolve the matter through mediation or an
- investigation. Generally, agreements to
address any discrimination call for prospective corrective action, not punitive action or monetary damages.
OCR also provides technical assistance to
students, parents, and schools.
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Federal Legal Requirements for Students with Disabilities in College
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Requirements Are Not The Same As At The ESE Level
At the elementary and secondary school
level, every student who is of an appropriate age to attend school is entitled to a free appropriate public education, which usually involves having an IEP or 504 plan developed by an IEP or 504 team with significant involvement of the student’s
- parents. Responsibility falls on the school to
locate, identify, and serve every student with a disability.
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In College:
In college, only those students with a disability
who meet the academic and technical standards requisite for admission or participation in the college’s education program (Section 504), or who meet the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt
- f services or the participation in programs or
activities provided by the public entity (Title II) are covered by the Federal disability laws (“qualified” individual with a disability).
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Also:
A college may exclude from its programs and
does not have to accommodate a student who poses a direct threat to the health or safety of
- thers, or a student who is currently engaging
in the illegal use of drugs, when the exclusion/ refusal to accommodate is based on the illegal drug use.
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Case #1:
Student with a disability attends a high
school that offers a diploma for meeting graduation standards and a certificate of completion for only meeting the goals set forth in the student’s IEP. The Student earns a certificate of completion.
Student applies to a four-year university that
requires a high school diploma for admission. University denies admission to the student. What result?
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Admission
- Generally, colleges may not make
preadmission inquiries as to whether an applicant is a person with a disability. After admission, a college may make inquiries on a confidential basis as to disabilities that may require accommodation.
Students with disabilities do not have to
disclose their disability before admission, or after admission unless they want academic adjustments or auxiliary aids or services.
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Process:
Colleges may establish reasonable
policies and procedures for providing services to students with disabilities
It is the student’s responsibility to know
and follow the procedures
Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities, http://www.ed.gov/ocr/transition.html, “If I want an academic adjustment, what must I do?”
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Process (2):
Usually:
Student must contact the Disability Services
Office and identify himself/herself as a student with a disability
Student must provide reasonably current
documentation of his/her disability and the need for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, or other services/modifications
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Documentation:
A copy of a high school IEP or 504 plan may
provide helpful information but is normally not sufficient to meet a college’s documentation requirements
An assessment or evaluation (ordinarily at
student expense) should be reasonably current and clearly identify disability and functional limitations and the need for academic adjustment or auxiliary aids or services.
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Documentation (2):
Purposes of documentation:
Diagnostic, to establish a disability Prescriptive, to help college work with
student to identify appropriate accommodations
Show relationship between disability and
need for accommodations
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Interactive Process (1):
The college and the student should engage in
an on-going “interactive process” to discuss:
Whether the student’s documentation is
sufficient
Whether the student is eligible for
academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids and services, and, if so
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Interactive Process (2):
What academic adjustments, auxiliary aids/
services, and/or other modifications the student will receive
What academic adjustments, auxiliary aids/
services, and/or other modifications are not effective and how they need to be modified
- r altered
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Case 2:
Student had a peanut allergy but did not
initially tell his college. He was using a George Foreman grill to cook in his dorm room to avoid peanut contamination.
The State fire agency said the use of heated
personal cooking appliances in dorm rooms was a fire code violation and the college banned them. The Student then disclosed his allergy and requested to continue using the grill as a disability accommodation.
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Case 2 (cont’d):
College requested documentation of the
peanut allergy, which the Student provided.
College confirmed with the Student that he
actively used the college meal plan. The only peanut product used in Food Services was peanut butter in individually wrapped sandwiches that were not opened in the dining hall.
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Case 2 (cont’d):
College already provided a microwave in the
dorms, determined this was sufficient for the Student to cook in his room, and denied his request to continue using the Foreman grill.
Student did not request any further
accommodations after the denial and requested to continue to use his meal plan.
Student then filed an OCR complaint. What
result?
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Case 2 (cont’d):
OCR determined no violation because college
engaged in an interactive process with the Student regarding his accommodation request and, after the college denied the Foreman Grill, Student did not attempt to further engage in an interactive process.
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Requirements:
College must make modifications to academic
requirements to ensure the requirements do not discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified person with a disability.
Examples of possible modifications are:
change in length of time to complete a program substitution of courses adaptation of manner in which courses are
conducted
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What Is Not Required
College is not required to change academic
requirements that are essential to
The course of instruction being pursued by the
student; or
Any directly related licensing requirement.
College is not required to alter the fundamental
nature of a program or make a change constituting an undue burden.
OCR (and the courts) gives appropriate deference
to the academic discretion of a college.
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Examples of Possible Auxiliary Aids and Services
Taped texts Notetakers Interpreters Readers Real-time captioning Adapted classroom equipment Braille versions of written materials
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What Is Not Required
College is not required to provide auxiliary aids
- r services that it can demonstrate would be
A fundamental alteration to a program; or Undue financial or administrative burdens
Or devices or services of a personal nature
Attendants Individually prescribed devices Readers for personal use or study
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Testing/Course Examinations
Test/Graded Assignment format and
administration should measure a student’s achievement, not the student’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where such skills are the factors the test purports to measure).
Examples of possible modifications would be
tape vs. print, extended time, a reader or scribe,
- etc. An institution is not required to change the
substantive content of the tests.
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Other Considerations:
Requests for academic adjustments/
auxiliary aids and services can be made at any time, but should be made as early as possible to ensure the college has an
- pportunity to provide what is needed (for
example, resources such as books on tape, sign language interpreters, etc. may be difficult or time-consuming to obtain)
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Other Considerations (2):
Although requests may be made at any time,
do not wait until a course is completed or a poor grade is received; academic adjustments, auxiliary aids/ services, and/or
- ther modifications are not retroactive!
Most colleges require requests for academic
adjustments/auxiliary aids and services to be made every semester
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Other Considerations (3):
Once academic adjustments/auxiliary aids
and services are approved, student must follow the college’s procedures for notifying individual instructors
It is the student’s responsibility to timely
notify the college of any problems so the college has an opportunity to modify academic adjustments/auxiliary aids and services or take other corrective action.
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Other Considerations (4):
Colleges are required to give primary consideration to the accommodations requested by a student with a disability but may opt to provide different accommodations as long as they are effective.
OCR’s publication Transition of Students With Disabilities To Postsecondary Education: A Guide for High School Educators,
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transitionguide.html Question 14
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If There Are Problems:
If a student believes he/she is being discriminated
against on the basis of disability:
Contact the college’s Disability Services Office Contact the person who coordinates the college’s
compliance with Section 504 or the ADA (“504 Coordinator,” “Affirmative Action Officer,” etc.)
Consult the school’s grievance procedures Contact OCR
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Summary
Find out the admission and academic
requirements for the college and program you wish to attend and the college’s process for requesting disability accommodations
Have documentation of your disability and
follow the college’s process
Be an advocate for yourself and speak up Make timely requests for accommodations
and seek assistance with any problem
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Resources
Protecting Students with Disabilities,
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/
- cr/504faq.html
Transition of Students With Disabilities To
Postsecondary Education: A Guide for High School Educators, https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/
- cr/transitionguide.html
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Resources (cont’d)
Students with Disabilities Preparing for
Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities, http://www.ed.gov/ocr/transition.html
Auxiliary Aids and Services for Students
with Disabilities, http://www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/auxaids.html
OCR website: www.ed.gov/ocr, especially
the “Reading Room” and “Topics A-Z”
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