Students with disabilities pursuing education in Connecticut aren't alone in their journeys. Statistics show that across the U.S., nearly 20 percent of enrolled students live with a disability. Although state and federal laws and regulations must afford students with disabilities reasonable accommodations for equal access to education, Connecticut schools sometimes fail to act accordingly. If your college, university, or training program does not recognize your disability or refuses to grant accommodations, contact national education attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento. He and the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team are also ready to stand behind you or your student in their dispute with a Connecticut school at any grade level, degree concentration, or program.
Disabled Student Rights in Connecticut
Disability Accommodations in Connecticut
Connecticut schools at all levels, from primary and secondary school to institutions of higher education, must comply with federal disability laws requiring accommodations for qualifying disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the principal federal law requiring Connecticut's K-12 schools to reasonably assist students with disabilities through age 21. IDEA requires those schools to identify students with disabilities, then maintain and implement individualized education plans (IEPs). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a federal civil rights law compelling Connecticut's colleges and universities and post-graduate and career schools to reasonably accommodate student disabilities. Standard accommodations include student assistance services, computer equipment, location alterations, schedule modification, and other resources and adjustments that help students with disabilities obtain an education despite their challenges.
ADA Issues and Lawsuits in Connecticut
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is another level of federal protection for students with disabilities working to obtain an education. Public entities, including school districts, institutions of higher education, and other educational programs, must comply with Title II regulations. The scope of the guidelines will cover all areas of programs and services the entity offers. Reasonable accommodations to access include physical access under the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and programmatic access that discriminatory policies or procedures might obstruct. Therefore, disabilities protected include a wide range of physical impairments, but also mental and emotional impairments like ADHD, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, and other psychiatric conditions requiring medication. Under Title II, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has the authority to enforce ADA disability rights in Connecticut.
Connecticut State Disability Issues
Connecticut state laws generally track with federal laws. In some instances, however, there are legal challenges when students with disabilities surpass the thresholds of federal law. For example, when Connecticut schools sought to end special education eligibility for students at the end of the school year when they turned 21, the courts stepped in. A federal appellate court upheld the decision of the Connecticut court system that special education students have a “right to a free, appropriate public education until they reach the age of 22.” Although provisions of IDEA end when a student reaches age 21, the court moved to block Connecticut's law allowing students to “age out” before they obtain a diploma. If you or your student harbor a dispute with a Connecticut school over disability rights and accommodations, retain national education attorney Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team.
Disability as a Mitigating Factor in Connecticut
Disabilities Affecting Academic Progression Issues in Connecticut
Although students with disabilities require reasonable accommodations like schedule modifications, computer module services, and access to special equipment, further remedies are needed to ensure their right to an equal education. Disabilities may affect how a student can keep up with a school's policy for academic progress. Connecticut schools require students to meet satisfactory academic progress (SAP) standards, and disabled students are granted reasonable accommodations to meet them. SAP standards typically include maintaining cumulative grade point averages, semester credit loads, course completion rate, and graduating within a maximum timeframe. Yet, Connecticut schools sometimes fail to provide reasonable accommodations or adjust them to allow a student to meet academic standards. Unfortunately, you or your student may have received a probation notice or experienced disciplinary action due to the school's failure to provide or adjust accommodations. Retain national education attorney Joseph D. Lento to evaluate and assert your disability rights in your appeal against academic probation or disciplinary action.
Disabilities Affecting Misconduct Discipline in Connecticut
Like academic guidelines, Connecticut schools also maintain strict misconduct policies, wherein disciplinary boards may ignore a student's disabilities during misconduct proceedings. A physical, mental, or emotional disability could prevent the accused student from participating sufficiently in the misconduct proceeding. State and federal disability laws also require schools to accommodate disabled students to ensure they can provide an adequate defense, but schools may fail to offer those provisions. Students with autism, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other social or psychiatric disorders can be misunderstood when under investigation or during a hearing when the schools pursue misconduct charges. When schools fail to accommodate a disability reasonably, the student may be forced into misconduct that would not have otherwise occurred with proper methods followed. To counteract those possibilities, federal IDEA and Section 504 laws require a manifestation determination review to be conducted before a primary or secondary school can alter a student's IEP. The Lento Law Firm has substantial knowledge of education law and can assist you or your student if disciplinary officials fail to accommodate disabilities in a misconduct proceeding as the law requires.
School Disability Attorney Advisor Available in Connecticut
Connecticut must respect the same federal disability laws that apply in states across the country. Those federal disability laws supersede any Connecticut state law, rule, or practice, thus giving Connecticut students full disability rights. You or your student will have substantial legal authority in Connecticut to pursue education without a disability or a school's failure to provide reasonable accommodations for them to interfere with their access to education. National education attorney Joseph D. Lento has successfully represented hundreds of students nationwide with disability accommodations, disputes over misconduct, failure to progress academically, and related issues. Call 888-535-3686 or visit the confidential online consultation form to retain attorney advisor Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team.
