If your college-bound teen has an IEP or a 504 Plan, you likely hope to smooth the transition to their new learning environment.
Maybe you have already called the college’s director of accessibility services for information. And maybe I have answered that call.I often hear both excitement and trepidation in parents’ voices when they call my office of Accessibility Services at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.
They are excited about the opportunities awaiting their teen, but they also seek reassurance – that their child will be ready to live and study independently by the time classes start.The first question parents usually ask is, “How do we transfer my child’s IEP or 504 Plan to college?” Reality hits when I tell them that these plans do not transfer to college. Accommodations, however, are available for students with learning differences, but they are requested and implemented differently in college.Most parents and students do not know the difference between accommodations and modifications.
These two words may appear interchangeable, but their implications in the classroom are significant. High schools can implement both accommodations and modifications; colleges can only implement accommodations.