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Yes, and a lot of them do. What changes is who provides the accommodations, because inside the college course the high school's IEP or 504 plan does not apply. The college's disability services office takes over under a different law, and it only acts when the student asks and provides documentation. The time to set that up is the spring before the course, because a student can't ask for accommodations on work that has already been graded, and most families who wait find that out after the first bad grade.
Why doesn’t the IEP carry over?
Two different laws are in play. In high school, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act puts the school in charge of identifying needs, writing the IEP, and delivering services, and it obligates the school to come to the student. A 504 plan works similarly under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
A college is covered by Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and IDEA stops applying once the course is a college course. Under those laws the college must provide reasonable accommodations to a student with a documented disability, but the student has to request them, provide the documentation, and renew the request each term. Nobody at the college will read the IEP and act on it unprompted, and in most cases nobody will read it at all unless the student hands it over.
A dual enrollment course is a college course, so the college’s rules govern it even when it is taught at the high school. The high school still runs the IEP for everything else your teen does that day.
What do we do before the course starts?
There are four steps, and they belong in the spring before the course starts.
- Find the college’s disability services office. Every college has one, under a name like Accessibility Services or the Disability Resource Center, and its page lists what documentation it needs.
- Gather the documentation. The college usually wants a recent evaluation or a letter from a clinician describing the disability and its functional impact, plus the current IEP or 504 plan as supporting material. The college decides what is sufficient, so ask them rather than guessing.
- Have your teen make the request. At the college the request has to come from the student, and this is the first place many families feel the shift. You can sit next to them while they do it, but the college will not accept the request from you.
- Get the accommodation letter and have your teen give it to the instructor, because accommodations begin when the instructor has the letter in hand, and approval by the office on its own changes nothing in the classroom.
What accommodations are realistic?
Realistic accommodations are the ones that let the student meet the same standard by a different route. Extended time on tests, a quiet testing room, note-taking support, accessible course materials, and recorded lectures are common. What colleges generally will not do is change the standard itself, which rules out shorter assignments, modified content, a different grading scale, or the sort of curriculum modification an IEP can include. If your teen’s IEP relies heavily on modifications rather than accommodations, that is worth a frank conversation with the case manager before choosing a course.
Should we tell the college?
That is your teen’s choice, and we usually recommend yes. Disability status is not part of the admission decision for a dual enrollment course, and it is confidential once disclosed to the disability office. The downside of not disclosing is that there is no path to accommodations later, because a student can’t ask for extended time after the exam is graded. Having the letter on file also doesn’t obligate your teen to use every accommodation on it.
What about the high school side?
The IEP team should know a dual enrollment course is happening, and it can help. The team can plan transition goals around it, adjust the high school schedule so the college course has room, and in some districts provide support like a study period or a check-in. The team’s reach stops at the college classroom door, since accommodations inside the course come from the college. Ask the case manager to add the course to the plan as a transition activity so it is on the record.
FAQ
Can a student with an IEP take dual enrollment classes? Yes. The eligibility rules are the same as for any other student. What changes is that accommodations inside the college course come from the college’s disability services office rather than from the IEP.
Does an IEP apply to a dual enrollment class? No. The college course falls under the ADA and Section 504, so the student requests accommodations from the college and provides documentation. The IEP keeps applying to the rest of the school day.
What documentation does a college need for accommodations? Most disability offices ask for a recent evaluation or a clinician’s letter describing the disability and its impact, and many accept the IEP or 504 plan as supporting material. Each college sets its own requirements, so check the office’s page.
Can parents request college accommodations for their teen? No. At the college the student makes the request. You can help prepare the paperwork and sit in on the meeting, but the request and the ongoing communication have to come from your teen.
Will a college modify the coursework for a dual enrollment student with a disability? Generally no. Colleges provide accommodations that change how a student demonstrates learning, and they keep the standard itself the same. Modified content or grading, which is common in IEPs, is usually not available.