Secondary
Education

Postsecondary
Education

What is the law?

• IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
• 504 (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, particularly Subpart D)
• ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of
  1992)

What is the law?

• 504 (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
  particular references in Subpart E)
• ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of
  1992)

What is the intent of the
law?

IDEA: To provide a free, appropriate,
public education in the least restrictive environment to eligible students with
disabilities, including special education and related services.

504/ADA: To ensure that no otherwise
qualified person with a disability is denied access to, benefits of, or is
subjected to discrimination in any program or activity provided by any public
institution or entity.

What is the intent of the
law?

504/ADA: To ensure that no otherwise
qualified person with a disability will be denied access to, or the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination by any program or activity provided by any
public institution or entity.

Who is covered under the
law?

All infants, children and youth requiring special
education services, until age 21 or graduation from high school

Who is covered under the
law?

All qualified persons with disabilities who meet the
entry age level criteria or particular program entry criteria of the college and
who can document the existence of a disability as defined by the
ADA.

What is a disability?

A list of disabilities is provided in IDEA, and
includes specific learning disabilities.

504/ADA has no such list, but considers a person
with a disability to have any physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or
is regarded as having an impairment.

What is a disability?

Any physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities, having a record of such an impairment,
or being regarded as having an impairment (504/ADA); ADA also includes HIV
status and contagious and noncontagious diseases.

Who is responsible for identifying and
documenting need?

School districts are responsible are
identifying, evaluating, and planning educational services at no expense to
parent or individual.

Who is responsible for identifying and
documenting need?

Students are responsible for self-identification and
for obtaining disability documentation from a professional who is qualified to
assess their particular disability; cost of the evaluation must be assumed by
the student, not the institution

Who is responsible for initiating service
delivery?

School districts are responsible for identifying
students with disabilities and providing special instruction, individualized
educational plans, and/or accommodations.

Who is responsible for initiating service
delivery?

Students are responsible for notifying the
Disability Support Services staff of their disability and of their need for
accommodations. Accommodations (not special education) are provided on a
semester-by-semester basis in order for students with disabilities to have equal
access to the institution's programs and activities.

Who is responsible for enforcing the
law?

IDEA is basically a funding statute, enforced by the
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services in the U.S. Department
of Education.

ADA/504 are civil rights statutes, enforced by the
Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Justice, and the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Who is responsible for enforcing the
law?

This is basically a civil rights statute so the
Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education for 504, and
primarily the U.S. Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (ADA)

What about Self-Advocacy?

The parent or guardian is the primary advocate.
Students with disabilities learn about their disability, the importance of
advocacy, the accommodations they need, and ways to become a
self-advocate.

What about Self-Advocacy?

Students must be able to communicate what their
disability is, their strengths and weaknesses, how the disability impacts and
functionally limits major life activities, and identify any requested
accommodations.