Delaware College Accommodations After an IEP: What Changes and What Doesn't

Your child had an IEP through all of high school, and now they're heading to college. The hardest adjustment isn't academic — it's that every support system they relied on disappears overnight. The IEP does not follow a student to college. No law requires a college to provide the same services, at the same intensity, or through the same process. Understanding this shift before enrollment starts is the difference between a smooth first semester and a crisis in week three.

The Legal Framework Changes Completely

In K-12, students with disabilities are protected by IDEA. The school district is responsible for identifying the disability, designing the IEP, and providing a Free Appropriate Public Education. The burden is on the school to find and serve students.

In college, IDEA does not apply. The governing laws are Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under these statutes:

• The college has no obligation to identify students with disabilities
• The student must self-disclose to the disability services office
• The student must provide documentation to support their accommodation request
• The college provides reasonable accommodations — not the full IEP package
• Curriculum modifications are not required; academic standards remain unchanged

This means a student who received modified exams, reduced assignments, or alternative grading in high school will not receive those same modifications in college. Accommodations — like extended time, note-taking services, testing in a reduced-distraction room, or assistive technology access — can carry over if they're supported by documentation.

What Documentation to Bring

The Summary of Performance is the primary exit document from high school, and every Delaware student leaving with an IEP or a DAAS should have one. Colleges also typically require:

• Current psychoeducational or psychological evaluation — many disability services offices require evaluations completed within the past three years. If the student's last evaluation is older, request an updated one from the school district before graduation, while it's still at public expense.
• IEP accommodations history — a clear record of what accommodations were used, how long they were in place, and which ones were effective
• Medical documentation — for health-related disabilities, clinical records from treating physicians

Families should request the Summary of Performance well before the student's final IEP meeting and review it for specificity. A SOP that says "extended time on tests" without specifying why or how much is less useful than one that says "1.5x extended time due to processing speed deficit documented on WISC-V PSI, effective since grade 9."

Delaware-Specific Programs to Know

Two programs at Delaware institutions give transition-age students with intellectual disabilities structured support that goes beyond standard disability services:

Career and Life Studies Certificate (CLSC) at the University of Delaware — a two-year inclusive postsecondary program for students with intellectual disabilities. Students take audited university courses alongside typical peers, receive social mentoring, and participate in career development. DDDS funding (typically $8,000–$12,200) and DVR funding (up to $5,500) can offset costs. The CLSC accepts students with a DAAS credential.

Spectrum Scholars at the University of Delaware — a support program for students on the autism spectrum who are admitted to the university through the standard admissions process. Spectrum Scholars provides mentoring, executive function coaching, and social skills support within the existing university framework.

Delaware Technical Community College also accepts DAAS graduates through Accuplacer placement rather than transcript-based admissions, making it accessible to students who took the alternate assessment pathway.

The Accommodation Request Process

Once enrolled, the student contacts the college's disability services office (at UD, this is the Office of Disability Support Services). The process typically involves:

1. Submitting documentation — SOP, evaluations, medical records
2. Meeting with a disability services coordinator to discuss needs
3. Receiving an accommodation letter that the student shares with each professor
4. Requesting accommodations each semester (they don't automatically renew at every institution)

The student is responsible for every step. Parents generally cannot receive or discuss a student's disability-services information without a signed FERPA release. This independence requirement is why self-advocacy skills — practiced through student-led IEP meetings in high school — matter so much during transition planning.

The Delaware IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide walks through the entire high-school-to-college documentation process, including what the Summary of Performance should contain for college-bound students and a checklist for building the accommodation request file before graduation.

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