Vermont Post-Secondary Options for Students with Disabilities

The Shift from Entitlement to Eligibility

In Vermont's K-12 system, students with IEPs have a legal entitlement to services. The school must provide a Free Appropriate Public Education regardless of resources, staffing, or budget. The moment a student graduates with a regular diploma or reaches the 22nd birthday, subject to the limited extension under 16 V.S.A. § 2942 if the student turns 22 within three months of their scheduled graduation, that entitlement ends. Post-secondary education operates on an entirely different model: the student must disclose their disability, request accommodations, provide documentation, and self-advocate at every step.

This is the hardest transition for many families to internalize. The school called the meetings, wrote the plans, arranged the services. In college, nobody calls. The student is responsible for connecting with the disability services office, providing documentation of their disability, and requesting each accommodation they need. If they don't ask, they don't receive.

College Disability Services

Every college and university in Vermont that receives federal funding must comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. This means they must provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students with documented disabilities. It does not mean they must provide the same level of support the student received in high school.

What colleges typically provide:

• Extended time on exams
• Note-taking assistance or lecture recordings
• Priority course registration
• Accessible housing
• Assistive technology access

What colleges do not provide:

• Modified curriculum or reduced academic standards
• One-on-one aides or paraprofessionals
• Transportation to and from campus
• Behavioral support plans
• Daily living assistance

The gap between an IEP's comprehensive support structure and a college's accommodation framework catches families off guard. A student who had a full-time paraprofessional in high school won't have one in college. A student whose tests were read aloud and modified will get extended time but not a rewritten exam.

Documentation Requirements

Vermont colleges set their own documentation standards for disability services. Most require:

• A current psychoeducational evaluation or diagnostic assessment (within the last three years is a common benchmark, though policies vary)
• The most recent IEP and the Summary of Performance
• Records from relevant medical or mental health providers

The Summary of Performance is particularly important here. A well-written SOP that describes the student's functional abilities, effective accommodations, and specific support needs gives the college disability services office a practical starting point. A bare-minimum SOP forces the student to start over with documentation.

Start the documentation process during the student's junior or senior year of high school. If evaluations are outdated, ask the school whether a reevaluation is appropriate while the student is still enrolled and eligible for IDEA services. After the student exits, the college or another provider may require the family to arrange and pay for any new evaluation.

Dual Enrollment and Early College Programs

Vermont's dual enrollment program allows high school students to take college courses while still enrolled in the K-12 system. For students with IEPs, this can serve as a low-risk trial run for the post-secondary environment — they're taking real college courses but still have their IEP supports in place.

The mechanics are important: during dual enrollment, the student's IEP accommodations apply to the high school side of things, but the college is not obligated to implement the IEP. However, the student can separately register with the college's disability services office to receive accommodations in the college classroom. Running both systems simultaneously gives the student and family a clear picture of what the college experience will actually look like.

College Steps and Inclusive Programs

College Steps is a non-profit program that partners with several Vermont colleges to provide transition support for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program places coaches on college campuses who help participants navigate coursework, social situations, campus logistics, and career development.

Unlike traditional college enrollment, College Steps is designed for students who may be auditing courses or taking a modified course load. The focus is on building independence in a college environment rather than earning a degree on a standard timeline. Students participating through College Steps while still enrolled in the school system may have the program written into their IEP as a transition service.

The key question for families: is the goal a degree, a certificate, a campus experience that builds life skills, or a combination? The answer shapes which post-secondary path makes sense and what documentation and preparation the student needs.

Vocational and Technical Training

Not every student with a disability is headed for a four-year college, and Vermont's vocational training landscape offers alternatives that lead directly to employment:

• Vermont Technical College (now Vermont State University) offers certificate and associate degree programs with disability services support
• Community High School of Vermont provides individualized education for students who need a non-traditional path
• HireAbility Vermont's vocational rehabilitation services can fund tuition, supplies, and assistive technology for qualifying post-secondary training programs that align with the student's Individualized Plan for Employment

For students transitioning from the IEP system to vocational training, the coordination between HireAbility and the training institution is critical. HireAbility can provide workplace readiness coaching, job placement assistance after training, and ongoing support when a formal VR case is open and an IPE is in place; coordinating that case before the student exits can help avoid a gap in support.

Planning the Transition

The gap between high school and post-secondary education is bridged by planning, not by hope. Before the student's final year:

1. Visit campus disability services offices and ask specifically what accommodations they provide and what documentation they require
2. Ensure evaluations are current and the SOP is detailed
3. Practice self-advocacy — the student should be able to describe their disability, explain what accommodations help, and make requests independently
4. If the student is interested in College Steps or a similar program, apply early — slots are limited
5. Coordinate with HireAbility if the student plans to pursue vocational training

The Vermont IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide walks families through this planning process with worksheets for evaluating post-secondary options and checklists for assembling the documentation that disability services offices require.

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