Independent Living Program - Florida's Center for Child Welfare

How long canstudents withdisabilities stayin school?High School:Students who are covered by IDEA may receivedifferent kinds of diplomas. If they do not receivea standard diploma, they are entitled to remain inschool until their 22nd birthday. However, manyschools often choose to continue services until theend of the semester or school year in which thestudent turns 22.A student who has earned a standard diploma orhas reached the age of 22 usually forfeits the rightto a “free and appropriate public education” or toan IEP unless he or she is entitled to some form ofcompensatory education.Courts sometimes order compensatory education fora student who did not receive appropriate educationservices at the appropriate time. When that happens,educational services may be delivered after thestudent turns 22 or receives a standard diploma.Unless compensatory education is ordered, publicschools are not responsible for determining andmeeting a student’s educational needs if he or shehas a standard diploma or is older than 22.Post-Secondary Education:(After High School)After high school, a student may seek a postsecondaryeducation at a college, university or tradeschool, but the school will be responsible only foreducation and any accommodations necessary toachieve equal access under the law.A post-secondary educational program will notusually conduct meetings or write plans, but willsupport students with disabilities via arrangements26such as a reduced course load, recording devices,sign-language interpreters, readers, extended timefor testing, or adaptive software and hardware forcomputers.To receive accommodations, the student must notifythe school that he or she has a disability and requirescertain accommodations, services or technology.The post-secondary school is not required to lowerits academic standards for a student with a disability.The school may be required to allow more timeto take a test, for example, but is not required toalter the content of the test. Nor is it required tofundamentally alter the nature of its programs oraccept excessive financial burdens for students withdisabilities.Tuition Assistance:Florida offers a tuition exemption (free tuition) andfee waivers to state (public) post-secondary schoolsto former foster youth. [Fla. Stat. §1009.25(2)(c)].In order to be eligible the youth must be:• In foster care at age 18; OR• Living with a relative on their 18th birthdaybecause the youth was placed there by adependency court judge ; OR• Have spent at least 6 months in foster careafter their 16th birthday and were then placedin guardianship by the court; OR• Adopted from the Department of Children andFamilies after May 5, 1997