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Have you ever heard someone say, "I know my rights!"? Our constitution
and laws guarantee us certain rights. To enjoy these rights we have
responsibilities. Qualified people with disabilities attending postsecondary
school have the right to be able to access facilities, activities and
instruction. You are probably aware that you have certain rights as
a person with a disability attending high school. Some of those rights
(and your responsibilities) change once you go to college. You must
learn the differences. We will give you the basics here and refer you
to an excellent publication for more information. If you are already familiar with how your rights
and responsibilities will be different in college, take a moment to check the headings just to make sure or jump to summary for Checkpoint 5 then go
on to Checkpoint 4.
The Right to Access
Colleges may not discriminate against qualified students
with disabilities by denying access to instruction,
facilities or campus sponsored events. Colleges must offer academic
adjustments including auxiliary aids and services. Although colleges
must provide equal access to instruction, activities and facilities,
the law does not require them to guarantee your success or provide the
services you might think you need for an appropriate education. They
do not have to provide personal services such as tutoring, personal
care attendants or personal devices that students may need outside of
college (such as a wheelchair or hearing aid).
Staying with our promise to keep the Checklist brief, the
following is just a summary of the basic concepts. The laws that guarantee
your right to equal access have more details that you should understand.
The United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has
developed an excellent pamphlet titled:
"Students
with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights
and Responsibilities" that we recommend you read and
discuss with your parent or teacher. A second resource that you will
find helpful is
"Rights
and Responsibilities to Ensure Educational Access for Students with
Disabilities" that is published by the Heath Resource Center
at the George Washington University.
Right to Privacy
Colleges may not ask if you have a disability. Generally, once they
have information about your disability, colleges will only share it
with your permission. This means no one will talk about your disability
with your professors, your parents, or your therapist without your written
permission. You can learn more about this by visiting
"FERPA: General Guidance to Students" on the United States
Department Education Web site. You should ask for a copy of the privacy
policy at your future college.
Responsibility to Disclose your Disability
If colleges cannot ask you if you have a disability, how would they
know about it? The answer is that they will not unless you formally
disclose that information to the appropriate department in the college
(this is usually called the Office of Disability Services or
something similar). When you disclose you will be asked for acceptable
documentation of your disability (see #9, above). You will also be expected
to discuss how your disability related needs affect your access to instruction,
college facilities, services and events. Disability Services will expect
you to be able to discuss what might be done about giving you access.
Responsibility to Follow Established Procedures
Colleges have a responsibility to establish procedures to ensure you
have access. You have a responsibility to learn about and follow those
procedures. Many colleges will have a Disability Services procedural
manual or fliers describing common procedures. Make a point of getting
a copy of these before you develop a support plan with the Disability
Services Office at your college. Hint: Check their web pages or call
and ask.
Summary
1. Learn more about your rights under the law by visiting the Department
of Education's Office for Civil Rights Web Publication
"Students
with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights
and Responsibilities"
2. Learn about your rights to Privacy by visiting the Department of
Education's OCR Web site and reading the publication
"FERPA:
General Guidance to Students"
3. Once you have disclosed your disability and a plan to provide you
support services (academic adjustments including auxiliary aids and
services) has been developed, learn and follow the college's procedures
to obtain and monitor your those services.
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