High School vs College Regulations
Differences in Governance
High School:
High Schools are governed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Colleges:
Colleges are governed by the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act but not governed by IDEA.
High School:
Parents are notified and required by law to give permission for any decisions regarding their son or daughter.
College:
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) mandates that the College cannot release any information concerning an adult over the age of 18 unless the student has given explicit written permission.
Differences in Responsibility
High School:
The school is responsible for the right to education for all children.
College:
The student is responsible to choose whether or not to attend College, to demonstrate qualifications for College attendance, and to compete with other adults for classroom seats.
High School:
The school is responsible for a free disability evaluation and documentation.
College:
The student is responsible for providing current documentation of their disability to the college.
High School:
The school is responsible for an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) that determines placement and appropriate support services.
College:
The student is responsible for planning his/her own education, identifying resources, and requesting reasonable accommodations.
High School:
The school is responsible for implementing the IEP, making services available and including them in the schedule.
College:
The student is responsible for implementing their own academic plan and requesting services each time they are needed.
High School:
The school is responsible for fundamental curriculum alterations to allow individualized goals and objectives.
College:
The student is responsible for meeting the unaltered fundamental College academic standards, standard course objectives, code of conduct, and program requirements.
High School:
The school is responsible to provide personal services such as transportation, mobility between classes, or content tutoring beyond that offered by the regular classes.
College:
The student is responsible to provide their own personal services to assure their own independence and safety.
High School:
The school administrators, teachers and parents advocate for students.
College:
The student is responsible to advocate for him/herself.
Academic Differences
High School:
The school establishes a class schedule that fills most of the time during the school day.
College:
The student is responsible to plan how to use free time between College classes.
High School:
High school teachers provide a lot of assistance with reading and studying.
College:
The student is responsible for reading text-books, memorizing information, applying concepts, studying, thinking critically, and writing on their own.
High School:
High school teachers provide regular homework.
College:
The student is responsible for independent learning such as reviewing notes, or studying outside sources in the library or online. College professors may require only one or two out-of-class assignment per semester.
High School:
The school expects students to spend about 2 or 3 hours a day on homework.
College:
The student is responsible for studying an additional 3 hours for every hour in a College class. This may mean 6 or more hours of studying per day.
High School:
High school teachers give tests on a regular basis.
College:
The student is responsible to prepare for fewer opportunities to pass tests. College professors may only give a mid-term and a final test.
Resources and Links
Students with disabilities preparing for post-secondary education: know your rights and responsibilities.
U.S. Department of Education
www.ed.gov/ocr/transition.html
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