Maryland College Disability Services After an IEP: What Changes and What You Lose

The Legal Framework Changes Completely

In Maryland's K-12 system, the school has an affirmative duty to find, evaluate, and serve students with disabilities. The school writes the IEP, funds the services, and is legally responsible for providing FAPE. The student doesn't have to ask — the system comes to them.

College reverses every part of that equation. Postsecondary institutions operate under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, not IDEA. The college has no obligation to identify students with disabilities, no responsibility to create individualized plans, and no requirement to modify academic standards. The entire burden shifts to the student.

What the Student Must Do

Self-disclose. No college will seek out students who need accommodations. The student must independently contact the Disability Support Services (DSS) office — sometimes called Disability Resource Services or Accessibility Services — and formally request accommodations. If the student doesn't self-disclose, the college assumes they don't need support.

Provide documentation. The student must submit current, comprehensive documentation of their disability. This may include psychological evaluations, medical records, or the Maryland Summary of Performance from their final IEP. Documentation standards vary by college, so ask the Disability Support Services office what it accepts before relying on an older evaluation.

Request accommodations each term. Accommodations aren't set once and forgotten. The student is responsible for independently requesting accommodations for each individual academic term.

What Colleges Will and Won't Provide

Colleges will provide reasonable accommodations that ensure equal access: extended testing time, note-taking assistance, alternative format materials, accessible classrooms, assistive technology, housing accommodations, and priority registration.

Colleges will not provide services that fundamentally alter the academic program or that constitute personal support. Specifically:

• No dedicated one-on-one aides or paraprofessionals
• No curriculum modifications or reduced academic standards
• No specialized tutoring beyond what's available to all students
• No personal care attendants
• No services that would fundamentally alter the nature of the educational program
• No IDEA-style behavior intervention plans

A student who received a full-time aide in high school, modified assignments, and a behavior intervention plan will not automatically receive those things in college. The accommodation framework provides access to the same program as every other student — it doesn't create a modified version of the program.

Preparing While Still in High School

The most useful thing an IEP team can do for a college-bound student is build self-advocacy skills starting at age 14. By the time the student is applying to colleges, they should be able to:

• Name their disability and explain how it affects their learning
• Describe which accommodations they use and why each one helps
• Request accommodations from an authority figure independently
• Manage their own accommodation paperwork

Practice this within the IEP framework: have the student lead parts of their IEP meeting, explain their accommodations to teachers, and manage their own testing schedule. These skills directly transfer to the college DSS process.

The Summary of Performance Bridge

The Maryland Summary of Performance — the exit document from the final IEP meeting — serves as a bridge between the two systems. It documents which accommodations worked in high school, what assistive technology the student uses, and the student's functional strengths and limitations. Many college DSS offices accept the SOP as supporting documentation alongside formal evaluations.

Request that the SOP be detailed and specific. "Extended time on tests" is less useful to a college DSS counselor than "receives 1.5x time on exams and quizzes due to processing speed deficit; consistently uses this accommodation in math and science courses with measurable improvement in performance."

Maryland Community College Options

Maryland's community colleges are often more flexible and supportive than four-year institutions for students transitioning from IEPs. Many offer:

• Transition programs specifically designed for students with intellectual or developmental disabilities
• Smaller class sizes and more accessible faculty
• Vocational certificate programs that don't require the full academic course load
• Partnerships with DORS for vocational training funding

The student still must self-disclose and request accommodations through the DSS office, but the institutional culture at many community colleges is more supportive of students who need guidance navigating the accommodation process.

The Parallel Planning Question

Some families face a choice: pursue postsecondary education or activate DDA/DORS employment services. These aren't mutually exclusive. A student can attend community college part-time while receiving DORS vocational rehabilitation support. DDA waiver services can fund personal supports that help the student manage daily living while enrolled in classes.

The Maryland IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide covers how to coordinate college enrollment with DDA and DORS services so families don't sacrifice one pathway by choosing the other.

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