Focus Beyond banner
Print View
Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
Office of Civil Rights logo
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education is providing the information in this pamphlet to explain the rights and responsibilities of students with disabilities who are preparing to attend postsecondary schools. This pamphlet also explains the obligations of a postsecondary school to provide academic adjustments, including auxiliary aids and services, to ensure that the school does not discriminate on the basis of disability.

The pamphlet answers common questions like the following:

As a student with a disability leaving high school and entering postsecondary education, will I see differences in my rights and how they are addressed?

May a postsecondary school deny my admission because I have a disability?

Do I have to inform a postsecondary school that I have a disability?

What academic adjustments must a postsecondary school provide?

If I want an academic adjustment, what must I do?

When should I request an academic adjustment?

Do I have to prove that I have a disability to obtain an academic adjustment?

What documentation should I provide?

Who has to pay for a new evaluation?

May a postsecondary school charge me for providing an academic adjustment?




 Students with disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities   OCR and USDOE pamphlet