Returning to school

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights says Section 504 and Title II of the ADA cover almost every public school district and college. A college is not required to give a free appropriate public education. It is required to give academic adjustments so it does not discriminate. If you want an adjustment, you must tell the school you have a disability. Telling them is voluntary. If you do not ask, the school does not have to figure it out for you.

Ask as early as you can. Follow the school's process. That process is often in the catalog or on the disability services page. The school can ask for documentation of a current disability. An old IEP or 504 plan can help explain what worked, and the pamphlet says it is generally not enough by itself. The school does not have to lower essential requirements, pay for a personal attendant, or charge you extra for an adjustment. If the adjustment is not working, tell the school before the class is over.

Examples on the pamphlet include priority registration, a reduced course load, note takers, interpreters, and extra time on tests. The school may offer the thing you asked for, or a different adjustment that works. Parents are not automatically in the meeting. There is no college IEP.

Through high school, Section 504 requires a school district to provide a free appropriate public education to a child with a disability in its area. The Office for Civil Rights says students who qualify for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are also protected by Section 504.

IDEA is a different law. The college pamphlet says IDEA, and its IEP rules, do not apply to colleges. The Office of Special Education Programs administers IDEA. This page does not restate an IEP process. If a child is still in public school, start with the school district and the state special education page. In California, that front door is already linked from the first-weeks guide.

A state vocational rehabilitation agency may help pay for training when you are eligible and the service is part of your plan. It is not automatic.

California's Department of Rehabilitation says services for an eligible person can include college or career training, along with counseling, assessment, and job support. New people who are found eligible are on a waiting list under the order of selection. A signed plan already in place continues. If you need a new disability evaluation for college, the federal pamphlet says neither the high school nor the college has to pay for it, and state vocational rehabilitation may be able to.

In Texas, Workforce Solutions Vocational Rehabilitation is run by the Texas Workforce Commission. The program page says it helps people with disabilities get ready for, find, or keep a job, and it lists education and training among what it does. It also helps young students plan for life after school. Ask a counselor whether classes can be written into a plan. The page we opened does not promise tuition. The program phone is 512-936-6400.

Ask the college financial aid office how federal aid, grants, and any disability-related campus awards work. We opened the Federal Student Aid eligibility address and the page did not finish loading, so this guide does not repeat aid rules or name scholarships from memory. A scholarship we have not opened is not listed.

Social Security's SSI resource page says grants, scholarships, fellowships, or gifts set aside for educational expenses are not counted as a resource for nine months after you receive them. That is an SSI rule, not a promise of a scholarship. Report school money to Social Security if you get SSI.

Disabled Student Programs and Services, called DSPS, is the community college system's disability office. The Chancellor's Office says it helps students with equal access to programs and activities. Services can include priority registration, counseling, scheduling, mobility help, test proctoring, tutoring, transcription, and interpreters. A disability must be verified, and there must be an educational limitation. The next step on that page is to contact your college's DSPS office and set an intake appointment. The Chancellor's Office keeps a directory of coordinators. The office phone printed there is 916-445-8752.

You do not have to be a new high school graduate. Contact the disability services office at the college you want, bring what documentation you have, and ask what else they need. In California, a community college DSPS office is the campus door. In any state, the federal pamphlet above is the rights overview.

If the goal is a job, also ask vocational rehabilitation. California and Texas both serve adults, and both can talk about training. A waiting list or a plan meeting may come first. One appointment is enough to start.