Arizona College Disability Services After an IEP

The Fundamental Shift From IDEA to ADA

In high school, the school identifies students who need services, evaluates them, and writes the IEP. The student and family can be passive — the system comes to you.

In college, that structure disappears entirely. Postsecondary institutions operate under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, not IDEA. There is no IEP, no transition plan, and no obligation on the college's part to seek out students who need support.

The student must self-identify by contacting the Disability Resource Center (DRC) on campus, provide documentation of their disability, and specifically request each accommodation. If they do not initiate the process, the college generally has no obligation to arrange their individual accommodations.

This shift catches many families off guard. Twelve years of school-initiated services create the expectation that someone else will flag the need and build the plan. In college, the student drives the entire process.

What Documentation Colleges Accept

Arizona colleges and universities set their own documentation standards, but most DRC offices accept:

• The Summary of Performance (SOP) from high school — this is often sufficient for initial registration, especially when paired with a psychoeducational evaluation.
• Psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation reports — the more recent, the better. Many DRCs prefer evaluations within the past three to five years.
• Medical documentation from a treating physician or specialist.
• The IEP itself — some DRCs accept the most recent IEP as supporting evidence, though few accept it as standalone documentation.

Start the documentation process before the student graduates. If the most recent evaluation is more than three years old, ask the school district whether an updated assessment can be completed while the student is still eligible for FAPE; after graduation, check the college's documentation requirements.

What Accommodations Look Like in College

College accommodations are more limited than what most IEPs provide. Common college accommodations include:

• Extended time on exams (typically 1.5x or 2x)
• Reduced-distraction testing environments
• Note-taking assistance or lecture recording permission
• Priority registration
• Assistive technology access

What generally does not transfer from an IEP: modified curricula, one-on-one aides, behavioral intervention plans, or the level of individualized instruction that an IEP provides. The ADA requires equal access, not equal outcomes — the college must remove barriers, but it does not need to change academic standards.

Many colleges require accommodations to be renewed each semester. The student requests specific accommodations from the DRC, the DRC issues accommodation letters to professors, and the student delivers those letters and follows up if accommodations are not implemented.

Inclusive Postsecondary Programs

For students with intellectual disabilities who may not pursue a traditional degree, Arizona has a growing number of inclusive postsecondary education programs. These programs offer a college experience — campus life, structured coursework, social activities — alongside vocational training and independent living instruction.

Northern Arizona University's SIP-C program and similar initiatives at community colleges across the state provide structured support for students who benefit from a campus environment but need more intensive assistance than a standard DRC provides.

VR services can help fund participation in these programs if the Individualized Plan for Employment identifies postsecondary education as a step toward competitive employment.

Connecting the Dots

The transition from IEP to college disability services does not need to be a cliff. The key is preparation during the final IEP years: updated evaluations, a thorough SOP, and the student practicing self-advocacy skills (requesting accommodations, communicating with instructors, managing their own schedule).

The Arizona IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide covers the full school-to-college transition path, including a documentation checklist, DRC registration timeline, and side-by-side comparison of IEP versus ADA accommodations.

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