What Happens When Student Services End The Vanishing IEP

By Toby Tomlinson Baker

CHANCES ARE WE ALL KNOW A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY. THERE ARE

ABOUT SEVEN MILLION TEENS IN THE NATION WHO CURRENTLY HAVE AN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP), THE DOCUMENT THAT IS WRITTEN ANNUALLY AND SPECIFIES THE EXACT SERVICES EACH STUDENT WITH DISABILITIES RECEIVES THAT HAS SUPPORTED THEM ALL THROUGH SCHOOL.

But the second these students graduate from high school and enter college, their IEP vanishes. Twelve percent of all students enrolled in college have disabilities. Many families wonder what happened to their child’s IEP. They ask, “How will my child receive the help they need during college? How can we deal with the ‘Vanishing IEP?’”

The protections for students with disabilities written in their IEPs are covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975 (IDEA). This legislation no longer applies once a student with disabilities graduates from high school. So, if this law does not apply to post-secondary students with disabilities, what laws do apply?

The Higher Education Opportunity Act was enacted in 2008, which was the first time in 40 years legislation focused on postsecondary students with disabilities. In 2019, the Higher Education Act was reviewed for reauthorization, yet lawmak- ers in Washington reached an impasse. Even though there have been many changes in higher education impacting these students, no legislation has been amended.

Currently, there is no consistent mandated legislation protecting students with disabilities in higher education. Since the IDEA is obsolete, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) seems to be the go-to for legislation in higher education. The ADA’s protections are very broad and do not apply specifically to students with disabilities.

Postsecondary students with disabilities need IEPs to have the same services as they had in high school. Not enough students with disabilities are making a successful transition from high school to college or other training programs. Students with disabilities enter college with the dream of graduating. Yet too many students are failing their classes, dropping out or, as experts say, “departing.” In fact, 72 percent of post-secondary students with disabilities departed last year!

Since many students with disabilities who enter colleges after high school do not want to be labeled, or perhaps wish to shed their disability, they refrain from utilizing self-disclosure for a ademic assistance. Furthermore, privacy laws such as the Faily Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevent familiesfrom stepping in and assisting their college teens. However, even for students who disclose their disability, there are still many concerns in higher education that are ignored, such as testing accommodations, resources, and advocacy. One major issue is faculty support and their implementation of appropr ate accommodations in the classroom and online setting.

Since changing the national law is time-consuming, particularly during a pandemic, there are things that can be done right now by higher education faculty. Higher education institutions can start by training all their faculty in disability studies. They can change their policies to have mandatory training on disability topics at least once a year. Furthermore, they could have a disabilities expert on-hand, besides their Accessibility Officer. They could establish faculty meetings with students with disabilities every semester and they can stress the importance of having a healthy faculty/student-with-disability relationship.

If the IEP was an approved document at all colleges and universities, these institutions would have much more information to provide better accommodations for their students. The stigma of students with disabilities and the retention rate would be reduced. If the IEP traveled to college, more students with disabilities would graduate!

Toby Tomlinson Baker earned her PhD at Pepperdine University in Leadership and Global Policy. She is a lecturer at California State University—Los Angeles (CSULA) and she teaches special education with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Baker was awarded the Harrison Sylvester Award for her research by the Learning Disability Association (LDA) and has been CHADD’s 2018 Educator of the Year.

Email: tobytomlinsonbaker.net