Preparing for Post-secondary Education 

When planning for life after high school, a student can consider different paths. One possible path for many students is to continue learning in a post-secondary education setting.  Examples of a post-secondary education program include 4-year college or university, 2-year college, or technical trade school. More and more colleges and programs are encouraging youth with disabilities to continue their education after high school. While supports offered to students in post-secondary programs differ from supports in high school, students considering post-secondary education can still find a variety of helpful resources and services to support their continuing education.  

  • To better understand the differences between high school and college, check out this chart from Think College Transition Project at the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston. 

 To have the best postsecondary experience possible, students with disabilities should learn their rights and responsibilities and the laws that protect them. A good place to start is with a resource from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education, 

  • Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education:
    Know Your Rights and Responsibilities, at this link: https://www2.ed.gov/print/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html This resource explains the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities preparing to attend postsecondary schools as well as the responsibilities of postsecondary schools to provide academic adjustments, including auxiliary aids and services, and to ensure the school does not discriminate on the basis of disability.   
  1. Explore this online resource that provides information on college support for youth with disabilities.

3.  Use the Heath Resource Center website that raises awareness about post-secondary options for life after high school in a college or training environment. 

Graduation 

Disability Disclosure 

Section 504 rights 

Accommodations 

Training Programs 

Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment 

Community Colleges 

Four year colleges  

 

Webinar on Creating a Post-Secondary Vision (1/19/2016)  

Webinar on Secondary School Basics for School Professionals given by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlVQJ4n_83o 

A Comprehensive Approach to Transition www.aucd.org/docs/publications/transition2_web.pdf