13 minute read
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
Advocating for All Students with Disabilities in their Pursuit of PostSecondary Opportunities
By Alexia Hartogensis ’19, Katherine Kaneko, and Lara Damashek
Increasingly, a college degree is not enough to gain entry in the competitive job market in the United States. Amplified by the uncertain economic future following the COVID-19 pandemic, job competition and scarcity will likely see an even greater rise. Consequently, advanced degrees and admission to graduate school have almost become a prerequisite for certain career opportunities, such as law, medicine, education, and more. Yet, these careers may be out of reach for some students who require accommodations. For example, rigid testing requirements for graduate entrance exams, like the MCAT for medical school, demand that such students have documentation of an extended history of disabilities that warrant the accommodations.
Multiple factors that can preclude a student from being able to show this history include socioeconomic background, access to resources within the school district, family understanding around the complex legal issues of an IEP or 504 plan, and institutional obstacles such as misdiagnoses and lack of will within academia. The repercussions for not receiving accommodations are severe, ranging from a loss of scholarships to those students who are unencumbered by disabilities, or simply not being able to attend graduate school at all. In this article, we explore potential underlying disparities associated with accommodations in post-secondary education, including various graduate-level entrance exams; the impact a 504 plan has on a child with a disability's success; and the various structural issues underpinning awareness and education for students with disabilities.
Accommodations are significant to leveling the playing field for students with learning disabilities, especially for students with dyslexia and language or reading disorders. Advocates point to accommodations as essential based on the needs of students with dyslexia. According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity (2017), “Having accommodations doesn’t give a test-taker the answer, but it allows his/her brain the time it needs to read the question and access the higher-level thinking and reasoning systems that help the dyslexic use the context to figure out a word.” Extra time on a test is necessary for students with dyslexia, as it gives them what they need to fully demonstrate their knowledge. In a study examining the effects of extra time for disabled students, (Ziomek and Andrews, 1998) found when given two tests, one with extra time and one without, participants with learning disabilities had a higher score than students without disabilities. A dyslexic has the same potential and capabilities as a non-dyslexic; however, they process information differently. Accommodations are critical for students with disabilities to demonstrate their potential.
How does a student receive accommodations? Many students with a disability either apply for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504. These plans aim to provide a more comprehensive support system than testing accommodations alone. While an IEP and 504 plan both have the goal of enabling students to thrive, they are different. An IEP, which is covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), grants students different educational services in either special or regular academic settings (Bachrach, 2016). 504 plans are covered under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973) and provide for the necessary accommodations or modifications to put students with a limiting condition or disability on the same playing field as their typically developing peers; it is an anti-discrimination law that aims to promote equal access to learning opportunities to children who suffer from disabilities. Normally, 504 plans include three major aspects: changes in the environment, changes to instruction, or changes in how materials are presented (Understood, n.d.). In addition to helping students acquire accommodations in school, a 504 plan helps students receive accommodations on standardized testing. While a 504 will not provide a student with an automatic accommodation on the SAT or ACT, it allows the school to help the student through the process (Understood, n.d.). The purpose of applying for a formal 504 plan is to aid students and their families in the procedure of receiving accommodations and make the overall task easier.
A Case Study on the MCAT and Its History of Accepting Accommodations
Documentation is essential for students to apply for accommodations in college and graduate-level entrance exams, yet certain tests have distinct requirements. Historically, the MCAT has accepted uncharacteristically low numbers of applications for accommodation. For example, in 2004, less than 1% (Julian, Ingersoll, Etienne & Higer, 2004) of students requesting accommodations on the MCAT were approved. From 2011-2013, only 0.3% of students that took the MCAT had accommodations (Applerouth, 2017). Many have claimed that the AAMC, the organization in charge of administering the MCAT, denies granting
accommodations unless a student can demonstrate a track record entrance exams need to reconsider better testing instruments to of receiving accommodations dating back to elementary school. equally measure a student's aptitude on standardized tests. A few standardized tests have changed and improved their criteria in accepting students for accommodations. These tests The Equity of Documentation include the SAT and the ACT, which have reported increases in Documentation of a learning disability at a young age is crucial acceptances of applications in recent years. The ACT only requires for any child who wants access to the same opportunities afforded a track record of a year (Applerouth, 2020) and the SAT only to typically developing peers. To qualify for accommodations on requires four months of documentation (CollegeBoard, 2020). standardized testing, such as those governing high school or college Another graduate entry test, the LSAT, required for law school, admission, a student must prove that they have a history of a will approve accommodations if the student was already approved limiting disability or impairment that has hindered their ability for the ACT or SAT (LC, AC, 2020). to learn.
The restrictive nature of accommodations for post-secondary As the case study of accommodations in post-secondary entrance exams, but particularly for the entrance exams such as the MCAT reveals, students with learning MCAT, is weighted when considered disabilities may experience barriers to future from social and economic perspectives. educational success based on geographic Disproportions in accommodations based Students with greater location or socioeconomic status. Students on socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity continue as students advance in their resources based on from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, and those who have the resources to be connected educational careers (Yull, 2015). Students with greater resources based on geographic geographic location to educators and professionals cognizant of the requirements, enjoy advantages of having location or socioeconomic status benefit from earlier diagnoses, interventions, and or socioeconomic a paper trail documenting their cognitive impairments. This, in turn, helps facilitate accommodations, while students without access to these resources are not supported. status benefit from accommodations for high-stakes tests like the MCAT. In fact, studies show that the gap begins in early childhood and remains even as the earlier diagnosis, One illustrative example is that schools with higher rates of students who qualified students move through high school. This gap intervention, and for reduced lunch costs have on average can be significant. Children of lower income families without access to early childhood accommodations, 1.6% of their whole student body population registered with 504 plans. However, schools education and support lag behind the average child by twelve to eighteen months (Barnett while students with lower rates of students qualified for reduced lunch costs have larger percentages & Lamy, 2013). Lower income families are disproportionally people of color, without access to of students with 504 plans (Belkin, Levitz & Korn, 2019). In other words, socioeconomic reinforcing structural systems that impede asset accumulation and upward mobility. these resources background correlates to access to the costly process of receiving legal support of their By stark contrast, students from wealthier families or districts enjoy the longitudinal are not supported. learning disability, like a 504 plan. Other barriers include the manner in documentation that can be used as evidence which the US public schools are funded. when requesting accommodations in graduate Funding public schools through real estate school exams, especially as the MCAT requires a track record of taxes automatically disadvantages lower income communities, receiving accommodations dating back to elementary school. where rates of home ownership and property values are less than This documentation is based on school district testing as well as communities with higher valued properties that garner greater real independent neuropsychological evaluations, all of which are estate taxes. Further complicating the problem is the increased frequently beyond the reach of many families from less wealthy mobility of non-home owning families, whose children then school districts or who lack the flexibility or financial resources lack continuity of documentation or support in school. Possible to be evaluated (Reynold & Rolnick, 2015). Families for whom solutions include changing funding sources for schools from English is a second language or who are unfamiliar with the US local coffers, creating a national database for students to upload educational system are also at a disadvantage in obtaining documentation in a uniform manner regardless of location, and to documentation and support for their children. have pediatricians, obstetricians, healthcare clinics, and schools
An issue that exacerbates the disparities in accommodations begin informing all new parents about the signs of language-based could be that students abuse extra time when they do not have learning disabilities or other impairments so that the families may disabilities, especially those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have greater agency sooner in their child’s educational journey. (Belkin, Levitz & Korn, 2019). If that is the case, then post-secondary
From Information to Advocacy parents and educators should be alerted to markers that identify a
Evidence confirms that disparity in educational access and student as needing further testing for language-based disabilities. opportunity exists (UNESCO, 2018; Tawfik, Reeves & Stich, 2016; The long-term impact of early intervention encompasses both Walters, 2001); yet, research on contributing factors is complex and academic and social-emotional deficits. In addition to providing varied. Nevertheless, bridging the gap between theory and praxis students with documentation for needed remediation and services, requires dialogue not just about the causation, early intervention establishes a longitudinal but also about how to remediate and eliminate history of need. This evidence then translates these disparities (Shih, 2018). Specifically, by Documentation of a into the student receiving accommodations taking the position that an education should provide opportunities for a student to advance learning disability at a at an early age and enabling the child to show need for accommodations in college their social, economic, physical, and emotional well-being through accumulated young age is crucial and graduate school entrance exams. Given the high costs of a diagnosis to knowledge and effort (Bourdieu,1986), our framework moves from being purely for any child who identify language-based disabilities, many schools, particularly those with fewer informative to advocative (McLaren, 2015). wants access to the resources, are often reluctant or unable to initiate intervention. On average, dyslexicWhere Should the Educational System, Schools, and Parents same opportunities assessments can cost between $1,000 to $5,000 for the two or three sessions needed to Start? According to the First Step Act, dyslexia is afforded to typically complete an evaluation. It is understandable that districts might see these costs as defined as “an unexpected difficulty in reading developing peers. prohibitive, taking away resources from the and writing for an individual who has the greater school population for the benefit of intelligence to be a much better reader, most a few. Nevertheless, the primary charge of commonly caused by a difficulty in the the United States school system is to educate and elevate the phonological processing, which affects the ability of an individual population. The system must provide the resources, avenues, to speak, read, and spell” (S.3747). Kindergarten and first grade and education to enable all students to reach their potential. might seem to be an early period in which to identify these Educational support for those who strive for high academic and deficits. However, unusual or anomalous aberrations in reading and career achievement should be not just a regional interest, but a writing, particularly for a student who is otherwise progressing in national priority. acquiring skills, are usually identifiable even at that age. As such,
About the Authors
Alexia Hartogensis ’19 is a dyslexic and an alumna of The Windward School. She attended Windward for four years before enrolling at Rye Country Day School. Following her high school graduation, she took a gap year interning with the US Senate before beginning her college career at Harvard University this fall. Alexia interned with Senator William Cassidy (LA-R) where she focused on dyslexia advocacy.
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Katherine Kaneko graduated with a BA in history from Dartmouth College before returning to Asia to work for a British law firm in Hanoi, Vietnam. After working in the Racketeering Division at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, she earned a master’s degree in early childhood and special education from Manhattanville College while working full-time and raising her two children. She has been a teacher at The Windward School for eight years where she is a language arts, study skills, science, and library teacher at the Westchester Middle School.
Lara Damashek practiced for ten years as a special education attorney at the law offices of Regina Skyer and Associates in New York City. In her current role as a CSE Liaison at The Windward School, she advises parents on how to secure necessary accommodations and services from their local school districts. Prior to her work as an attorney, she worked as a NYC public school teacher and witnessed firsthand the results of students not receiving crucial educational interventions. As a mother of a child who previously had an IEP, she also has personal experience navigating early intervention and preschool services.
Resources on Special Education Law
The parents and guardians of a child with disabilities are encouraged to keep robust documentation with their school district. Advocates will tell parents and guardians, “Do not wait until your child is remediated and looks strong on paper, or they may not qualify for an IEP or a 504 plan.” For further information, access these free resources to learn basic rights under special education law.
Understood
www.understood.org
Special Education Legal Fund
www.spedlegalfund.org
Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities
www.smartkidswithld.org
What to Know BEFORE Your IEP Meeting
By Lara Damashek
1
Bring documentation of any diagnosed learning needs or any educational recommendations from professionals working with your child (therapists, doctors, teachers, psychologists). It is always helpful to create a strong paper trail of your child’s needs.
2
Prepare a short statement about your child’s needs, deficits, and weaknesses. You want to explain to the district how your child’s learning challenges are significantly impacting their ability to derive a meaningful benefit from the educational environment. Prepare yourself to focus on the negative about your child, and to hear the same. You want to show that your child is not making any significant progress, and, even if the school district says they are doing fine, you can speak to why that progress is simply not enough. The law states that a student's progress must be more than de minimis. As the parent/guardian, you are a necessary and crucial member of the IEP team, and the team must consider your input.
3
Stress that the support you are looking for is what is appropriate and essential for your child. Under the law, a child is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”) and not the best education.
4
If you can, bring someone who can attend with you—an advocate, friend who works in education/has previously navigated the system of special education, or a therapist/ teacher who works with your child. Talking about your child can be emotional and it is helpful to have someone there to take notes for you, ask questions, and keep you on track for securing what you are seeking.
5
If you do not reach the desired outcome, you can challenge any decision by invoking your due process rights.
