Can Your Student Use Their IEP in College?

Education verse access to education:

Let’s get the record straight on IEPs, 504s and college

First, let’s talk about the laws - IDEA, Civil Rights law 504, and the ADA. There is always confusion about IDEA (IEPs), 504, and ADA and how they make high school and college different. It’s much more complex than the below but here it is in essence.

Here are the three laws for easy reference:

• High school education is governed by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), the law that makes available a “Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to children with disabilities.”

This is what creates special education and IEPs (the process and the document). IDEA, and the IEPs they mandate, provide for an appropriate education and the burden is on the district to make sure the student gets that education.

Of course, ADA is at play here too, for example in the buildings, the grounds, and other areas.

• High school and college are both governed by Civil Rights law 504 to “ensure that persons with disabilities are not discriminated against and have access to the goods or services that these federal fund recipients provide.” This law does not guarantee an education, only access to education, so the burden to get that education is on the student.

• Colleges are also governed by the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) which merely “prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities” and “guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations…”. Again, this puts the burden to utilize that access on the college student.

And so, in high school if there is an IEP the education is guaranteed and provided to the student. High schools also often support students with a 504, with the accommodations that guarantee access, not the education, per se.

But in college only ACCESS to education is guaranteed. In college the student has to ask for accommodations, demonstrate needs, ensure they are in place, assess if they are helpful, and utilize them to ensure they can access the education provided.

The college will want to see documentation for the challenges to inform their own academic accommodation plan, and they will use the high school IEP and 504 documents, but neither legally “transfers” to the college (colleges don’t have to legally follow either one). These documents are used as compelling documentation to inform the college plan.