Students living with disabilities face challenges pursuing education, from social pressures and the trials of adolescence to academic rigors and obtaining legally-required reasonable accommodations. While students with disabilities may feel isolated in their endeavors, they are not alone. For instance, one study shows that nearly 20 percent of students nationwide enrolled in a higher education program have a physical, mental, or emotional disability. Laws at both the state and federal levels require schools to provide reasonable accommodations to students with qualifying disabilities, but Idaho schools sometimes fail to deliver them. If your primary or secondary school, college or university, or other educational program fails to acknowledge your disability or rejects pleas for reasonable accommodations, contact national education attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento. He and the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team stand ready to uphold your disability rights for equal education access.
Disabled Student Rights in Idaho
Disability Accommodations in Idaho
Schools in Idaho and nationwide must afford students a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE), per the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. Since disabilities can hinder a student's access to FAPE, they must be provided accommodations for qualifying incapacities. The primary federal law governing access to accommodations in K-12 schools is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Under the law, schools are compelled to acknowledge student disabilities and create individualized education plans (IEPs) that manage a student's education until their 21st birthday. Schools must also educate disabled students in the "least restrictive environment." Therefore, schools can't exclude them from the majority of in-school populations unless reasonable circumstances permit. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act also directs Idaho's colleges and universities to provide accommodations for students with disabilities. Such accommodations can include digital or physical equipment to augment a student's hearing, speaking, visual, or mobility, along with facility conversions, schedule modifications, alternative assessment methods, and others that will ensure equal education access.
ADA Issues and Lawsuits in Idaho
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an additional federal law compelling colleges and universities to recognize and accommodate qualifying disabilities. The ADA covers numerous disabilities like diabetes, HIV, muscular dystrophy, diminished hearing, eyesight, mobility, and other physical impairments. The federal law also includes intellectual and emotional disabilities like ADHD, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, and other psychiatric conditions requiring medication. The federal government will enforce ADA disability rights through formal lawsuits or civil actions. For example, a federal judge ordered a local Idaho school district to pay two disabled students and their families restitution for physical and emotional suffering following the school's failure to provide appropriate support services.
Idaho State Disability Laws
Idaho state disability laws generally track with federal laws. Many states begin special education services as early as three years old, but according to Idaho Statutes §33-201, they begin once a child turns five years old. Support services, including the implementation of IEPs, will continue through the semester when the student turns 21. The Idaho state legislature has also recently signed a bill into law recognizing dyslexia as a language-based learning disability. It has created a position within the state education agency to provide support services for students in need. If you or your student has a dispute with an Idaho school over school or program admission, reasonable accommodations, or access to special education programs, retain national education attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team.
Disability as a Mitigating Factor in Idaho
Disabilities Affecting Academic Progression Issues in Idaho
Accommodations will help students with disabilities acquire access to education, but those same students must also obey a school's academic progression policy. Idaho schools—K-12 programs and post-secondary institutions alike—require all students to maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) throughout their time enrolled. These standards usually include semester and cumulative targets of grade point averages, classes taken, and percentage of credits earned, including a maximum time limit for graduation. However, Idaho schools may fail to provide reasonable accommodations for SAP requirements to students with disabilities or modify them so their progress falls within a school's academic standards policy. If so, students with disabilities may risk violating a school's SAP policy, thus having academic misconduct allegations levied against them. In such a case, a student's disability rights can be a working defense against unfair disciplinary action. National education attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento can protect your enrollment status and fight against claims that may disrupt your graduation plans.
Disabilities Affecting Misconduct Discipline in Idaho
A student's disabilities also affect how they may act during a school's grievance procedures. An emotional, mental, or physical impairment could prevent students from defending themselves successfully. State and federal disability laws protect students from these situations as they require schools to accommodate disabled students in disciplinary hearings. Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and others affect student behavior. When students with qualifying disabilities aren't accommodated, schools may misjudge their actions and hand down unfair punishments. Anytime a K-12 school student risks disciplinary action, federal IDEA and Section 504 laws require manifestation determination review (MDR). An MDR is conducted by the school or district's MDR or IEP team to determine if the student's IEP must be altered to mitigate further corrective action. An MDR could also determine if the student should be placed in a state alternative education program. The Lento Law Firm has proven experience in education law and can assist students in misconduct hearings in which the school has not provided reasonable accommodations.
School Disability Attorney-Advisor Available in Idaho
Idaho must follow the same federal disability laws as other states in the union. Although federal law supersedes any narrower state laws or regulations, schools and education agencies sometimes aren't held accountable. You have the right to pursue an equal education and access any program or resource afforded to any other student. National education attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento has represented students in Idaho and nationwide with disability accommodations, disciplinary allegations, misconduct proceedings, and other related school issues. Call 888-535-3686 today or visit the confidential online consultation form to retain attorney-advisor Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team.
