Postsecondary schools are prohibited from discriminating against students on the basis of disability under two federal laws. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehabilitation Act) prohibits entities that receive federal financial assistance, which includes institutions of higher education, from discriminating against otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) also protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination and covers a broader range of schools. Whereas the Rehabilitation Act applies to schools that receive federal funds, the ADA applies to state and locally funded and private-sector schools, with the exception of those that are controlled by religious entities. The Rehabilitation Act and ADA define individuals with disabilities as an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. The ADA Amendments Act rejected several Supreme Court decisions which had narrowed the definition of an individual with disabilities. In addition, the ADA Amendments Act set out guidelines for determining who qualifies as an individual with disabilities and provided a non-exhaustive list of “major life activities,” which includes learning, reading, concentrating, and thinking. Federal regulations implementing the Rehabilitation Act in the context of postsecondary education provide that qualified students may not be subjected to discrimination in recruitment or admissions to postsecondary institutions. Also, they may not be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits, services, or aid related to academic programs, research opportunities, occupational training, housing, health insurance, counseling, financial aid, physical education, athletics, recreation, transportation, other extracurricular activities, or other postsecondary education programs. The regulations also further outline the categories of academic adjustments (e.g., extended time on tests and reduced course load) and auxiliary aids and services (e.g., notetakers and sign language interpreters), commonly referred to as accommodations, that schools must provide to ensure that qualified students with disabilities can participate in higher education. However, laws and regulations cannot address the specific accommodations a school must provide for each student with a disability. Instead, these depend on the limitations of each student’s disability and take into account factors like where the student’s classes will be held and the academic requirements of the chosen course of study on a case-by-case basis. While schools are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified students and bear the costs, schools are not required to provide accommodations that would fundamentally alter the nature of a program, lower or waive essential academic requirements, or result in undue financial or administrative burdens. Also, schools are not required to provide personal devices and services, such as wheelchairs or attendants, individually prescribed devices (e.g., eyeglasses), tutoring, or readers for personal use or study. Students with disabilities beginning higher education face a different situation regarding their rights and responsibilities than they did during their elementary and secondary education. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), states and school districts must identify, locate, and evaluate children who may have a disability and provide special education and related services to eligible children and youth with disabilities. The Rehabilitation Act regulations governing elementary and secondary education also require that children with disabilities be identified, located, and evaluated. However, unlike in elementary and secondary school, it is the responsibility of postsecondary students to identify themselves as having a disability, provide documentation of their disability, and request accommodations and services. Although the general procedure for obtaining accommodations is often similar across schools, the particular steps of the process may vary s may vary among postsecondary schools. (See fig. 1 for example.) among postsecondary schools. (See fig. 1 for example.) Postsecondary schools are required to have an individual who coordinates the school’s compliance with the Rehabilitation Act and ADA. The school must also have grievance procedures that include steps to ensure a student can raise concerns fully and fairly and provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints. Education is responsible for enforcing the Rehabilitation Act, Title II of ADA, and various other anti-discrimination laws. The Department of Justice (Justice) delegated to Education responsibility for investigating complaints relating to elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools under Title II of the ADA, which applies to public entities. Justice is responsible for enforcing Title III of ADA to ensure that private entities, including private colleges and universities, provide appropriate accommodations and do not discriminate on the basis of disability. Justice and Education share enforcement jurisdiction if a private school receives federal funding. Justice also has jurisdiction pertaining to testing entities, such as for college admissions tests and law and medical school exams. Education’s strategic plan includes objectives to increase success in, and completion of, quality postsecondary education and to prepare individuals with disabilities for higher education. To carry out this mission, Education provides technical assistance, funding for grants, and regulatory guidance. Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) is responsible for formulating federal postsecondary education policy and administering programs that support its mission to increase access to quality postsecondary education. In addition, Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is responsible for providing a wide array of supports to parents and individuals, school districts, and states in three main areas—special education, vocational rehabilitation (VR), and research—to help prepare students for postsecondary education. Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) carries out its enforcement activities by investigating complaints, initiating compliance reviews, monitoring the resolution of complaints and compliance reviews, and providing technical assistance. OCR investigates complaints it receives and carries out its other activities with its remaining resources. Education is also responsible for implementing new provisions in the HEOA related to postsecondary students with disabilities. Other federal agencies provide services and support for individuals with disabilities, including postsecondary students. The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, a means-tested entitlement program that provides monthly benefits to the aged, blind, or individuals with disabilities who have very limited income and assets. SSI beneficiaries who are under the age of 22 and regularly attending school can qualify for the earned income exclusion, in which a certain amount of monthly earned income is excluded for SSI benefit computation purposes. This student earned income exclusion is intended to help defray the cost of educational training. In addition, SSA beneficiaries may obtain a Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS), which allows them to set aside income and/or assets to support efforts like higher education in the pursuit of work goals. Further, the Department of Health and Human Services administers the Medicaid program, which can provide medical benefits to individuals with disabilities. Finally, the Department of Veterans Affairs provides services and benefits to veterans with disabilities, including VR services and student financial aid under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The NPSAS pertains to school years 1999-2000, 2003-2004, and 2007-2008. Note that data from the 2008 NPSAS are preliminary and may be subject to change. The item response rates for the NPSAS 2000 and 2004 data we report are at least 66 percent. Item response rates for the data we report for NPSAS 2008 are not available as of October 2009. through Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System survey, will provide a new vantage point to examine the population’s size. Beyond looking at size, the portrait of students with disabilities appears to closely mirror that of their peers without disabilities, i.e., students who did not report having a disability, according to 2008 NPSAS data. Women represented about 57 percent of both students with disabilities and their peers. There were some small differences among both populations with regard to race. White students represented 67 percent of students with disabilities and 63 percent of their peers. Conversely, Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, and Asian students represented slightly smaller groups among students with disabilities than among their peers (see app. II, table 5). Also in 2008, the average age of students with disabilities was about 26 years old, or about 1 year older than their peers. This represents a substantial change from 2000, when students with disabilities were, on average, 30 years old and 4 years older than their peers. Moreover, in 2008 a larger proportion of postsecondary students with disabilities than in 2000 had begun higher education relatively soon after completing high school, as opposed to delaying by 1 or more years. Students with disabilities and their peers were also similar in some respects regarding the types of schools they attended—public versus private—according to NPSAS data. Like their peers, nearly 70 percent of students with disabilities attended public schools in 2008 (see app. II, table 6). However, for those students who attended private schools, students with disabilities were enrolled at proprietary (for-profit), as opposed to not-for-profit, schools at a slightly higher rate than their peers. There were some small differences in attendance patterns (e.g., full-time versus part-time) among students with disabilities and their peers. While the majority of both groups attended school part-time and/or for part of the year, this pattern was somewhat more prevalent among students with disabilities (see fig. 2). One contributing factor may be that some students’ disabilities hinder them from taking as many credits per semester as their peers, according to several disability experts and school officials we interviewed. In addition, the level of schools—2-year or 4-year—is another area in which there were some small differences among these two populations. According to the 2008 NPSAS, students with disabilities attended 2-year schools at a higher rate than their peers and 4-year schools at a lower rate (see fig. 3). This relative difference was also true in the 2000 NPSAS (see app. II, table 6). Some literature suggests that community colleges may offer more specialized services for students with disabilities and provide better access for these students than other types of institutions. One community college expert we interviewed said that students with disabilities can particularly benefit from these schools’ relatively smaller classes and more personal attention from faculty.