Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: IDEA
vs
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 / The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: ADA

IDEA

• This legislation applies to the opportunities that must be available to students enrolled in Kindergarten through 12th Grade.
• In IDEA, the school maintains responsibility for determining which students need special education
• The school must identify students who need help, through testing and observation.
• Schools are responsible for diagnosing the specific problem students might be having.
• Public schools are responsible for providing an appropriate education for each student, based on an evaluation and an Individualized Education Plan: IEP.
• Eligibility for special education services in public schools is diagnosis driven (i.e., the student must be diagnosed as having one of eleven specified conditions).
• In K-12, parents and teachers advocate for the academic needs of students.

ADA

• This legislation applies to the opportunities that must be available to students choosing to attend an institution of higher education.
• Under ADA, students pursuing a post-secondary education are responsible for documenting and requesting accommodations for their specific needs.
• Students are responsible for identifying themselves as students who have a disability.
• The student must provide the college with appropriate documentation regarding their disability and recommended accommodations.
• Students are responsible for requesting specific academic adjustments or accommodations according to their documented needs.
• Eligibility for reasonable accommodations in post-secondary institutions is driven by severity of impact on major life activity (i.e., "a mental or physical impairment which significantly limits a major life activity").
• In college, students must advocate for their own academic needs.