New Orleans Guide to High School and Beyond 2018

INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLANS AND SUPPORTS
High School
The IEP Team, which includes the student and school district
develops Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and must follow
this legal document in the provision of educational services.
Accommodations and or modifications of classes and
materials are required. The school, with student and family
input, is responsible for arranging for accommodations and
modifications.
College
There are no IEPs in college. The Disability Services Office will
develop an accommodation plan based on documentation of
disability that is provided by the student. Modifications are
not required- only accommodations. Student must request
accommodations from the college Disability Services Office.
Impact On Students With Disabilities
Students with disabilities may have had course accommodations and or modifications in their IEPs. In college courses taken for
credit, modifications are not allowed. Some colleges work with faculty or a facilitator to identify course modifications or to create
an individualized set of expectations for the course. In these cases, students would not receive a college credit. Accommodations
are provided to students with disabilities, typically through the Disability Services Office. While it is expected that college students
meet with the DSO to arrange for these accommodations themselves, there may be some support to help students with intellectual
disabilities become familiar with these services or there might be a separate or additional service coordinator or coach to guide/
mentor the student. Some students might still have an IEP, if they are participating in college classes while still in high school. An IEP
or Section 504 plan does not follow a student from high school to college (This remains the responsibility of the IEP/504 teams.).
However, colleges are prohibited from discriminating against students with disabilities, and must work with students to ensure their
disability needs are met in the classroom and in student housing.
DEFINITIONS
Postsecondary Education - beyond the high school level (i.e.,
community college, four-year University, vocational training program).
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act - Federal law
guaranteeing students with disabilities “reasonable accommodations”
in higher education unless those accommodations would constitute an
“undue burden”.
Individual with a Disability - is defined by the ADA as a person
who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one
or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of
such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having
such an impairment.
Intellectual Disability (ID) - Intellectual disability is a disability
characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning
and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and
practical adaptive skills. This disability originates before the age of 18.
Entitlement - A legal right, typically used in the context of Ch.766
where children are entitled to services written in the IEP that are
provided and/or monitored by the school system, or in the context of
Ch.688 where a person is entitled to a plan, but receiving services is
not an entitlement (i.e. services are not guaranteed).
Facilitator - A person who leads and chairs meetings to address
various topics including person centered planning meetings, resource
mapping, etc.
Content provided with consent of the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Think College - College Options for People with Intellectual
Disabilities (http://www.thinkcollege.net)
©2015, University of Massachusetts Boston. Think College is a project of the Institute
for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The Think
College initiatives are funded by grants from the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation Research, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, the
Office of Special Education Programs, and the Office of Postsecondary Education.
The contents of this website do not necessarily reflect an official position of the
sponsoring agencies.
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