Postsecondary Students with Disabilities: The History of Higher Education Legislation

Authors

Toby Tomlinson Baker, Pepperdine UniversityFollow

Abstract

Legislation for SWDs led to the enrollment of postsecondary students with disabilities (SWDs) in higher education, but it has also created the increased prevalence of dropouts among postsecondary SWDs (NCES, 2020) Although postsecondary disability status has garnered attention, it continues to be neglected as a political need in higher education. Historically, postsecondary students with disabilities were discouraged from attending higher education settings (Madaus & Shaw, 2004). Disability laws were amended decades later, and therefore impacted the progress of students with disabilities. Thus, SWDs did not attend college since there was minimal activism by individuals seeking greater access to colleges and universities (West, Novak, & Mueller, 2016). It was not until 1975, with the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1975) that SWDs began completing high school programs and gained rights and access to higher education settings. Significant laws such as HEOA (2008) aim to eliminate the discrimination of postsecondary SWDs and provide much needed services to post-secondary SWDs (Newman, Madaus, Lalor, & Javitz, 2019).

Recommended Citation

Baker, Toby Tomlinson (2022) "Postsecondary Students with Disabilities: The History of Higher Education Legislation," The Scholarship Without Borders Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.57229/2834-2267.1000
Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/swbj/vol1/iss1/6