Transition from Secondary to Post‐Secondary Education
Students who come directly to our campus from high school programs provided under the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA) may have experienced program modifications designed to assure some form of success. It is not uncommon for students, parents, public school personnel, or clinicians to assume that IDEA‐type program modifications will be available in colleges and universities. They are not. IDEA governs K‐12 public schools. It does not apply to post‐secondary education.
The following chart demonstrates these differences:
| Secondary | Post-Secondary |
|---|---|
| Student rights covered under IDEA. | Student rights covered under ADA and 504. |
| District responsible for providing evaluation. | Student responsible for getting an evaluation. |
| Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 created through a team approach. | No individual plan. |
| District responsible for implementation of plan. | Student responsible to self-disclose disability and request accommodations. |
| District must prove plan is appropriate. | Student responsible to notify college if there are problems. |
| Curriculum can be fundamentally altered. | Curriculum content cannot be altered. |
| Parents actively involved. | Parents have access to information only with student's consent. |