Highland Park ISD Parent Newsletter

The resources and events shared in this section are for information purposes only. Highland Park ISD does not recommend or endorse any activity or organization. Parents and families are encouraged to determine whether an activity or organization is appropriate for them, given their unique needs.

The traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury support group “The Second Life” will give survivors as well as their caregivers the support and strength they need to move forward together, rather than on their own.

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Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month from 5:30 pm-7:00 pm at PILC located at 417 SW 10th Ave, Amarillo, TX 79101.

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For more information, please contact the center toll-free at (800) 585-6768 or locally at (806) 374-1400.

The Independent Living Services program, or ILS, provides services for the hard of hearing/deaf, visually impaired, blind and those with mobility needs. They can provide hearing aids, visual aids and mobility services such as ramps.

With understanding comes better supports and interventions. We will discuss the ADHD brain and all the gifts it brings to the world, and how to help foster those gifts for better outcomes.

This virtual session will meet on October 28, 2025 at 12:15 pm

Register Here - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GHEn2DsSSLqiGe6AxMMdag#/registration

If your child has had an IEP or a 504 plan in elementary, middle school, or high school, you’ve been able to play a role in the process. You’ve had access to the people who are providing supports and services. And you’ve been able to monitor how well those supports are being implemented.

College is a different story — starting with the fact that there are no IEPs or special education in college. For some parents, that can be hard to adjust to at first. Still, almost all colleges have a disability services office for students with learning and thinking differences.

Here are six things to know about college disability services, and how they differ from high school.

1. Colleges don’t have the same legal obligations as high schools.

Colleges don’t fall under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. That’s why there are no IEPs.

This means colleges don’t have to provide the same level of supports and services a student might have gotten in high school. For instance, they don’t have to provide specialized instruction.

They do have to follow federal civil rights laws, however. That includes Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These laws have a different goal than IDEA. Their purpose is to ensure equal access for people with disabilities and to protect them against discrimination. Colleges provide accommodations to students who are eligible under ADA/Section 504. (Some may also provide support services like tutoring or coaching for a fee.)

Colleges don’t have to give students the same types of academic support they had in high school. But if students can provide evidence that they need a specific accommodation, they may be eligible to get it in college.They’re not likely to find more personalized help, however. That includes things like having someone make them a study guide or reframe study questions.

2. Your child must register as a student with disabilities to get accommodations.

The process of applying for accommodations happens separately from the college application process. It usually begins after your child has been accepted and has enrolled in the college.

In order to get accommodations in college, students need to register as a student with disabilities. This happens with the disability services office, not the admissions office.

Simply writing about any issues in a college application doesn’t guarantee that a student will get accommodations. Neither does providing a copy of an IEP or evaluation during the application process. Admissions offices typically won’t look at these things before admitting a student. Under ADA, they’re not allowed to accept or request any information about a student’s disabilities.

Colleges usually have instructions for how to register for disability services on their website. Your child should look for the instructions on the page for the school’s disability services office. (The name of the office might not have the word disability in it. Your child can also look for words like access, equity, or accommodations.)

The process typically involves completing a registration or application form. Students may have to log into the school’s system with student ID to do that, or they may be able to print the form. Someone from the office will sit down with your child for a one-on-one intake. This is a good time for your child to speak about specific needs for accommodations and support services.

3. The requirements for documentation in college are changing.

Your child will need to provide evidence of a disability to get accommodations. Colleges have typically required the most recent high school evaluation report. But lately, some have moved away from that. When it comes to documentation, your child should check with the disability services office at the college.

4. There are no “case managers” in college.

Your child may have a dedicated contact person at the disability services office. That will continue for as long as your child is seeking accommodations. But this person doesn’t function in the same way as a high school case manager.

First, this person will work with your child to determine “reasonable” accommodations. These might be academic, such as the use of a note-taker for lectures. Or they might be non-academic, like having a single dorm room.

This person will write an “accommodation letter” listing the ones your child is entitled to get. The letter will be addressed to the faculty in your child’s courses for that semester.

The process for informing professors about a student’s accommodations varies. At some colleges, the disability services officer will email them. But it’s more typical for students to give the letter to professors and also explain their accommodation needs.

No matter how the message is delivered, it will only say that the student has been approved for accommodations. It won’t say what the disability is. This protects the student’s privacy. But if the student wants to tell professors about it, that’s OK.

5. Different schools offer different levels of support.

All colleges that get federal funds must ensure equal access to students with disabilities. That means they have to provide reasonable accommodations.

Accommodations aren’t the same as modifications. A student wouldn’t be allowed to bring a list of formulas into a statistics test, for instance. That would be a modification. Giving extra time for the test is an example of an accommodation.

Here are some other typical accommodations in college:

• Having a note-taker for class lectures

• Making audio recordings of lectures

• Using a laptop computer in the classroom

• Taking exams in a distraction-reduced room

Some colleges go beyond that and provide a greater range of supports. (That’s not counting schools with specific programs for students with learning and thinking differences.)

Some colleges may have professional tutors with a background in learning and thinking differences, for instance. Or they might run study skills and time management workshops. The difference is, none of these services are required by law in college.

It’s a good idea to visit with the disability services office or the person who coordinates services at the colleges your child is interested in attending. Both you and your child can ask questions about potential supports and services.

6. You’re no longer automatically in the loop.

When your child was in high school, you were legally entitled to be part of the process. That’s not true when your child is in college. The law protects your child’s privacy. So if you want to talk to the disability services officer or anyone else involved with your child’s accommodations, you’ll need permission from both your child and the school.

One of the most important things we can do to support our children’s success is to read every day. Research tells us that students’ daily reading practice of 20 minutes will continue to strengthen skills in all domains. Have your child read to you; read with your child; and/or read to your child. Reading for 20 minutes every day will expose students to over a million words a year, and those students usually test in the 90th percentile. Students who only read 5 minutes a day are exposed to less than 300,000 words per year, and typically score in the 50th percentile. Reading for 1 minute means exposure to only 8,000 words and test scores are only in the 10th percentile. When it comes to reading, every minute with your child counts!

If you believe your child has a disability and because of that disability

might need special education services at school, please contact:

Stephanie Milne

Director of Special Education

Stephanie.Milne@hpisd.net

806-322-3806