Postsecondary Career Education Options for Students with Disabilities

1. Postsecondary Career Education Options for Students with Disabilities

2. Definition of disabilities specified by the Florida Education Equity Act is consistent with the ADA and Section 504: Any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such an impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment. Some students may not meet the eligibility criteria under IDEA but are qualified as having a disability under Section 504 and ADA. IDEA is only for K-12 students.

3. Secondary students with disabilities may enroll in: • regular career education programs • specialized career education courses for students with disabilities • or exceptional student education (ESE)/career education courses.

4. Shared-enrollment Many high schools do not offer all CTE programs that may be available at the local technical center. A student may wish to go to the technical center and earn secondary credit for taking a CTE program. This could be an option for a student who does not meet the dual enrollment criteria. Course outcomes may be modified through the IEP process for secondary students with disabilities who are enrolled in a postsecondary program if the student is earning secondary (high school) credit for the program. (MOCPs)

5. Co-Enrollment A high school student failed/couldn’t enroll in a required high school course and needs to take the course in order to graduate. The student may enroll at the adult high school and earn secondary credit to take back to their high school to be included on their transcript for graduation. The legislature has eliminated co-enrollment after the 2011-2012 school year.

6. Dual Enrollment • A mechanism for high school students to earn college credit or to take CTE programs at the PSAV level. • Career early admission is a form of career dual enrollment through which eligible secondary students enroll full time in a career center or a Florida College System institution in courses that are creditable toward the high school diploma and the certificate or associate degree. • Career dual enrollment shall be provided as a curricular option for secondary students to pursue in order to earn a series of elective credits toward the high school diploma.

7. Dual Enrollment (continued) • There are minimum GPA requirements for dual enrollment. Enrollment in career certificate dual enrollment courses must include a 2.0 unweighted grade point average. • Exceptions to the required grade point averages may be granted if the educational entities agree and the terms of the agreement are contained within the dual enrollment interinstitutional articulation agreement. • Student qualifications must demonstrate readiness for career-level coursework if the student is to be enrolled in career courses.

8. Dual Enrollment (continued) • Any student dual-enrolled is exempt from the payment of registration, tuition, and laboratory fees. • Students enrolled in postsecondary instruction that is not creditable toward the high school diploma shall not be classified as dual enrollments. • Vocational-preparatory instruction, college-preparatory instruction, and other forms of precollegiate instruction, as well as physical education courses that focus on the physical execution of a skill rather than the intellectual attributes of the activity, are ineligible for inclusion in the dual enrollment program. • s. 1007.271 • http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/1007.271

9. Accommodations change the way the student is instructed or tested. Modifications change the outcomes or what the student is expected to learn.

10. Students with disabilities who have IEPs are eligible for accommodations and modifications in their education programs. Students with Section 504 plans are eligible for accommodations, only. In K–12 programs, a team of professionals, family members, and the student develop an IEP or a 504 plan.

11. Accommodations involve a wide range of techniques and support systems that help individuals with disabilities work around their limitations that result from a disability. Accommodations remove barriers so that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to participate fully in career education and adult general education programs.

12. Accommodations provide individuals with disabilities with access to educational and training programs and opportunities for successful employment. REMEMBER!! Expectations and performance standards are not lowered when accommodations are provided.

13. Accommodations are permitted for assessments used in CTE programs: • Extended time on the test • Braille, audio or large print versions of the TABE (revised format) • Flexible responding • Flexible setting • Flexible scheduling • Use of mechanical aids

14. Modifications are not the same as accommodations. Modifications involve changes to program outcomes that relate to the specific content, level of skill, or number of skills required by the program. Modifications to basic courses shall not include modifications to the curriculum frameworks or student performance standards.” However, if a student is working toward a special diploma, modified academic courses are acceptable (Rule 6A-1.09961, F.A.C. )

15. Modifications to the expectations or outcomes of the curriculum may be necessary for a student with a disability. Modifications may include modified program or course requirements, concepts or skills significantly below the targeted grade level, or alternate curriculum goals.

16. Modifications to curriculum outcomes should be considered only after all appropriate accommodations have been tried. In K–12 programs, only students with disabilities who have IEPs may be allowed to have modified program outcomes.

17. Modified Occupational Completion Points (MOCPs) • Career education courses are different at the high school level. • Rule 6A- 6.0312(1), F.A.C., authorizes the use of modifications for career education (vocational) programs (MOCPs). • Districts have the option of developing MOCPs.

18. MOCPs (continued) • Secondary students with disabilities pursuing a standard or special diploma are eligible for MOCPs, which must be determined on an individual basis through the IEP in support of the student’s postsecondary goals. • The intended outcomes and student performance standards for the student must be specified on an individual basis and maintained in the student’s file. • Apply only to high school students with disabilities who are seeking a standard or special diploma.

19. MOCPs (continued) • MOCPs provide an opportunity to match the interests, abilities, and special needs of the student to a job in the community. • MOCPs may enable the student to participate in a regular career education course rather than in a specialized course. • Students with disabilities may be reported as a “completer” of an OCP or MOCP.

20. MOCPs (continued) • Deciding whether to modify the outcomes of a student’s career education job preparatory program must be based on a review of the student’s strengths, experiences, and needs. It’s important to review vocational evaluation information including academic levels, student progress in prevocational experiences, exploratory courses, practical arts courses, and work experiences. • When considering modifications, it is important to evaluate the long-range impact of changing expectations. Students with disabilities who are not challenged to reach the same level of achievement as their nondisabled peers may not be able to earn a standard diploma in high school or a career certificate or degree from a postsecondary institution. Modifications may also limit the types of careers and occupations in which students can find work.

21. MOCPs (continued) • The district determines the type of certificate that is issued to students with disabilities who complete MOCPs. • May not be used in programs requiring licensure or certification • Remember that accommodations at the postsecondary level are not always the same as those at the K-12 level.

22. Postsecondary CTE In general, requirements in postsecondary programs can not be modified. School districts and Florida’s colleges may vary up to ten percent of the intended outcomes for the curriculum frameworks for job preparatory programs, although this does not apply to frameworks for regulated programs requiring federal or state licensure or certification, such as nursing and cosmetology.

23. When students are enrolled in Career Education for Students with Disabilities, Supported Competitive Employment for adults with Disabilities, or Adult General Education for Adults with Disabilities, the particular outcomes and student performance standards that the student must master for an LCP or OCP must be identified throughout the student’s AIEP process.

24. In specialized programs for adults with disabilities, student performance standards are selected on an individual basis for the customized program. The student’s individual needs are identified, and individualized goals and objectives are determined through the AIEP process.

25. The criteria used to determine eligibility for aids and services for an individual with disabilities differs for students in K–12 and adult programs. In postsecondary programs, students with a disability must self-identify, provide documentation of their disability, and request accommodations under Section 504 and ADA.

26. If adults with disabilities meet the admissions standards of a postsecondary education program, they must be ensured equal opportunity for participation in the program, including program accessibility, use of auxiliary aids and services, and academic accommodations. The educational institution may request additional documentation of the disabling condition, including diagnostic test results and professional prescriptions for auxiliary aids. In addition, the institution may obtain its own professional determination of whether the requested aids or services are necessary. REMEMBER!!! Adult students are not required to reveal their disability.

27. TABE All students that are enrolling in a Postsecondary Adult Vocational (PSAV) program of 450 hours or longer must take the TABE. The test is given at the beginning of the program so that remediation may be provided to assist the student in being successful in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) program

28. TABE • Exemptions • A.A.S. degree or higher • Met cut scores on ACT or SAT • May be exempt from all or part of the test based on disability • http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-4155/basic-skill-tap-att1.pdf

29. TABE • Students with disabilities may be exempt from all or part of the TABE, depending on the disability. The exemption is a district policy and may differ with each district. • The common procedure is: • The student is tested within 6 weeks of admission • The student is provided with remediation • The student is post-tested • If the student successfully meets all the requirements of their CTE program, the TABE requirement is waived and the student is counted as a completer from the program.

30. Rule 6A-10.040, F.A.C., Basic Skill Requirements for Postsecondary Career Certificate Education, provides for appropriate accommodations and the use of alternative assessment instruments for students with disabilities. The Florida Educational Equity Act and Rule 6A-19.001, F.A.C., prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, sex, handicap, or marital status against a student or an employee in the state system of public education and support equal access to programs.

31. Memos: October 31, 2011 – Accommodations and Modifications for Students with Disabilities: Career Education and Adult General Education Guide and Brochure http://www.fldoe.org/ese/pdf/311201_acmod-voc.pdf December 7, 2010: Loretta Costin, Basic Skills Examination

32. Jane Silveria Florida Department of Education Division of Career and Adult Education Bureau of Standards, Benchmarks and Frameworks Career and Technical Education Programs 325 West Gaines Street Room 714 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400 850-245-9022 850-945-9019 FAX Jane.silveria@fldoe.org