 | Americans with Disabilities Act
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Section 504 of the Rehabilition Act
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/disability.html
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
http://www.ideapractices.org
Students with identified learning differences may want to investigate the programs and services that are specifically designed to meet their post-secondary education needs. Within a four-year college there are often special support services necessary for the student to succeed in regular classes. These programs also frequently provide no-credit courses which help the student identify her or his learning style and develop appropriate compensatory skills. There is often a separate admissions process to enter a Learning Differences program.
Even in colleges with programs for those with learning differences, individuals without learning differences may take advantage of tutorial or other support services. Students with documented learning differences may request appropriate modifications such as extended time testing and taping of lectures.
As students explore post-secondary options, they should raise questions about the availability of support services, the presence of training learning specialists, and the provision for classroom modification, if necessary. In most instances, students should indicate in the application process the nature of the learning services they have received in high school, and the nature of accommodations that will be necessary in college, if any. If the school has a special learning support program, the student should also be in contact with the director of that program during the admissions process. Colleges that have a program for students with learning differences frequently require professional assessments that document and identify the specific learning disability of the student who is applying.
Students with documented hearing, learning, physical or visual differences which might impact their performance on college entrance examinations such as the SAT can receive special accommodations for testing. These accommodations, for eligible students only, can include additional time to take the tests, large type test booklets and answers sheets, a sign-language interpreter or a reader. The accommodations are available during specific periods of the academic year and do not cover all regularly scheduled test dates.
To be eligible for these special accommodations a student needs to either have an Individualized Educational Plan that identifies the need for these testing conditions, a “504 Plan” in force, or documentation which provides independent verification of the existence and nature of the difference signed by an appropriate licensed or certified professional. In either case, to qualify for modifications, a student also needs to be currently receiving in school those modifications for instruction and assessment that they would receive on the SAT program tests. The SAT Company will review all materials and determine which, if any, accommodations they will allow. Information about nonstandard admissions testing is available from the Guidance Office. Registration deadlines apply to non-standardize testing.
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