Questions? Call 1-800-237-0178 or email leellington@vcu.edu
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December 2006
No. 6
www.valrc.org

 

 

 

 

What's in Update on LD this month?

This month in Update on LD we will take a look at learning disabilities and the law and how they affect adult education. You'll find an overview of the laws that apply as well as a short quiz for you to take to see how legally savvy you are.

You'll also find Book Blurbs. Remember that all books reviewed in Book Blurbs are available in the Resource Center's library for you to check out.

This issue also features websites that give more information about the laws governing learning disabilities.

Websites for more on learning disabilities and the law:

Learning Disabilities Association of America's Legislative Updates website
LDA is the leading advocate for laws and policies that create opportunities for people with learning disabilities.
www.ldaamerica.org/legislative/index.asp

The Americans with Disabilities Act by Dale Brown
This article, written by one of the leading experts on learning disabilities, explains the Americans with Disabilities Act.
http://www.ldonline.org/article/5999

Who should I contact if I have questions?

Lauren Ellington is the Learning Disabilities Specialist for the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center.

If you have any questions about learning disabilities, please contact her by email at: leellington@vcu.edu or by phone at 1-804-828-6158 or
1-800-237-0178.

She will be happy to answer your learning disabilities-related questions or find an answer for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Blurbs

In each issue of Update on LD, books on learning disabilities or related issues, which are available in the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center's library, will be highlighted.

If any of the books are of interest to you, you may contact the Resource Center to borrow the books.

 

Collective Perspectives on Issues Affecting Learning Disabilities: Position Papers and Statements by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities. Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed, 1994.

This reference work is essential for anyone concerned with fundamental issues related to learning disabilities. Collective Perspectives comprises all of the position papers, statements, and reports approved to date by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD), whose member organizations represent approximately 350,000 professionals and parents.

 

Exceeding Expectations by Henry B. Reiff, Paul J. Gerber, and Rick Ginsberg. Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed, 1997.

Awareness of adults with learning disabilities is on the rise. However, few works have specifically addressed successful outcomes of adults with learning disabilities, particularly from the vantage point of a large-scale empirical study. On the other hand, a recent wave of business-related books has focused on success in the workplace. The popularity of this literature attests to a growing interest in understanding the process of success. The confluence of these two issues, successful outcomes of adults with learning disabilities and a pragmatic analysis of the process leading to those outcomes, is a current running through Exceeding Expectations: Successful Adults with Learning Disabilities. Highlighting abilities rather than deficits of persons with learning disabilities, this book's holistic approach provides a radical departure from traditional approaches to understanding learning disabilities.

 

 

How Legally Savvy Are You?

Match the phrase on the left with the correct term or phrase from the column on the right.

1. Neurological disorder that substantially limits a major life activity. a. major life activities
2. What adults must have in order to assert their rights. b. learning disability
3. Caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, working, and learning, for example. c. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
4. Education law guaranteeing that adults under the age of 22 are entitled to free, appropriate, public education. d. guaranteed
5. Choosing whether to disclose a disability is a _______________. e. documentation including diagnosis
6. When sharing information with another organization about an adult student's disability is appropriate. f. legal right of an adult learner with LD
7. Extra time for completing tests, books on tape, access to calculators, and large-print materials. g. adult with LD has given informed consent and signed a release
8. Equal opportunity is not just expected, under ADA it is ___________. h. a learner with a diagnosed learning disability
9. Providing documentation of a disability and the need for accommodations is the responsibility of _________________. i. examples of reasonable accommodations
10. The acts that define the legal rights related to learning disabilities and adults. j. IDEA, Section 504, and ADA

 

1. b, 2. e, 3. a, 4. c, 5. f, 6. g, 7. i, 8. d, 9. h, 10. j

Learning Disabilities and the Law

There are three distinct laws the govern individuals with disabilities in the United States; the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504; and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997
IDEA is an education law that applies to young people with disabilities from birth to 21 years of age (defined as up to the 22nd birthday) who require special education and related services. The sections pertaining to school-age children also apply to those young adults past typical graduation age who have not obtained a high school diploma. All education programs receiving federal funds, which includes all public schools, must adhere to provisions of this law.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504
Commonly referred to as Section 504, this law was the first piece of civil rights legislation directed specifically toward individuals with disabilities of any age. It requires nondiscrimination on the basis of a handicap in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. This typically includes educational programs, community services, and many employers. It covers people with current or past physical or mental impairments, as well as people who are not disabled but who are regarded as such.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
The ADA is a civil rights law built on the concepts of the Rehabilitation Act. The main difference between the two is that the ADA does not depend on the involvement of federal funds. The law is divided into five sections:

  • Title I prohibits employment discrimination.

  • Title II focuses on equal access and availability to transportation, programs, goods and services by individuals with disabilities in public institutions.

  • Title III protects the rights of persons with disabilities in privately operated settings. This includes private, non-profit institutions, such as literacy councils.

  • Title IV requires that all telecommunication services be accessible to persons with disabilities. This includes requiring telephone companies to install
    telecommunications relay services for persons with speech and hearing impairments and requiring institutions to provide adaptive technology to make text/speech accessible on computer systems.

  • Title V includes a number of miscellaneous provisions.

In addition to these laws, the 5th and 14th amendments to the Constitution provide equal protection under the law for all.

Adapted from the Arkansas Learning Disabilities Training Development Participant Manual, March 2002

 

Comparison of the Laws

IDEA
Section 504
ADA
Mission

Assures a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.

Students are entitled to services.

Assures students with disabilities equal educational opportunity to be fully integrated into the mainstream.

Individuals must qualify for services.

Assures all persons with disabilities equal opportunities and nondiscriminatory treatment in a broad array of areas, including those not covered under Section 504 (e.g., private businesses, state/local governments).
Scope Applies to public elementary and secondary schools. Applies to any program or activity that receives federal financial aid. Applies to public or private employment, transportation, accommodations, and telecommunications.
Coverage Students requiring special education services, birth through the 22nd birthday. All qualified individuals with disabilities. All qualified individuals with disabilities and qualified nondisabled persons associated with a person with a disability.
Definition of Disability List of disabilities provided.

No list of disabilities provided.

Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; record/history of such an impairment; or being regarded as having an impairment.

No list of disabilities provided.

Same criteria as Section 504.

Identification Process Places the responsibility for identification and evaluation on the school district at no expense to parents or student.

Places the responsibility for identification on the student with a disability who must provide documentation.

Cost of evaluation is responsibility of the student.

Same as Section 504.
Service Delivery Special education services and auxiliary aids identified by team and stipulated in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and/or the Individual Transition Plan (ITP). Services, auxiliary aids, and academic adjustments provided in the regular education setting. Same as Section 504.
Funding Federal funds conditional to compliance with IDEA regulations. No authorization for funding attached to this Civil Rights statute. No authorization for funding attached to this Civil Rights statute.

Adapted from Brinckerhoff, L.C.; Shaw, S.F.; & McGuire, J.M. (1993). Promoting Postsecondary Education for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Handbook for Practitioners Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

Bridges to Practice: Learning Disabilities Trainings are now available.

Are your teachers at a loss as to how to adapt instruction for the learner with learning disabilities? Do they question which techniques would be the best to use with specific learning problems? If your program needs to learn more about learning disabilities, please contact Lauren Ellington to discuss a training.

 

Wrightslaw
Parents, educators, advocates, and attorneys come to Wrightslaw for accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities. Wrightslaw has thousands of articles, cases, and free resources about dozens of topics.
www.wrightslaw.com/

The National Center for Learning Disabilities' IDEA Final Regulations Update
The U.S. Department of Education approved new federal regulations governing the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education law as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004). These regulations are closely aligned with the federal IDEA law. NCLD has prepared a summary to highlight key provisions that impact how schools identify students with learning disabilities, develop and implement the Individualized Education Program (IEP), and plan for students' transition from high school to college.
www.ncld.org/content/view/1062/321/

Section 504, the ADA, and Public Schools by Tom E.C. Smith
This article takes a look at how the three different federal laws regarding learning disabilities are applied.
www.ldonline.org/article/6108

The Law After High School by Patricia Latham
This article, written by a lawyer with expertise in learning disability law, discusses the rights of individuals with learning disabilities in adulthood.
http://www.ldonline.org/article/6098

Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Rights and Responsibilities of the Adult with a Learning Disabilities

  • Equal access to jobs, programs, and services
    • They must be otherwise qualified for the job, program, or service if their disability is not taken into consideration.

  • Rreasonable accommodations in job, program, or service activities
    • Reasonable accommodations should not create a financial hardship for the employer, program, or service providing the accommodations.

  • Disclosure or non-disclosure of disabilities
    • A client can only receive accommodations if they disclose their disability. Non-disclosure of a known disability is essentially a waiver of legal rights.

Rights and Responsibilities of the Program Servicing the Adult with a Learning Disability

  • Identification of essential functions
    • determining what functions are essential to perform the job/task

  • Providing equal access
    • providing help in enrollment procedures

  • Nondiscrimination
    • no withholding of services/employment based on a learning disability

  • Providing reasonable accommodations
    • should not be a hardship on the program/employer who is providing them

  • Eliminating hostile environments
    • addressing negative attitudes or unwillingness to accommodate in personnel or peers

  • Obtaining informed consent when appropriate
    • informing individuals of the need for and receiving their consent to any testing or information gathering that relates to their learning disability

  • Establishing a grievance procedure
    • establishing and making known from the beginning a procedure for students/employees who feel that their rights have been violated

  • Maintaining client confidentiality
    • keeping all information relating to an adult's learning disability confidential
    • information should only be shared with the adult's consent and then only with individuals who have a need to know.

  • Conducting self-evaluations
    • periodically evaluating policies and procedures for serving and employing adults with learning disabilities

  • Developing transition plans for clients
    • working with the client to create a plan for transitioning themselves into the world beyond adult education