From U.S. News and World Report:

Katie Apostolides, a young woman with Down syndrome, is among a growing cadre of students with intellectual disabilities who are benefiting from college programs tailored to their needs. New initiatives that were started late last year offer hope for a dramatic expansion in such programs around the country.

Thanks to changes in the Higher Education Opportunity Act and two multimillion-dollar federal grants awarded in December 2008, experts say, the number of post-secondary programs for students with intellectual abilities is expected to expand dramatically from its current roster of about 150 programs.

Presently, fewer than a quarter of students with intellectual disabilities have been able to participate in post-secondary education, according to an ongoing U.S. Department of Education study.

Recent research shows students with intellectual disabilities who completed any type of post-secondary education program earned 1.7 times more per week than their intellectually disabled peers who received no post-secondary education.

“Everyone deserves to go to college, students with intellectual disabilities included,” says Debra Hart, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion. For a list of existing programs, see the ThinkCollege.net website.

From the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News:

A federal judge has rejected a request from a student with disabilities to live in the Oakland University dorms pending the resolution of his lawsuit, and cast strong doubts on the man’s legal claims.

Fialka-Feldman alleges that the school violated federal law by refusing to let him live in university housing. He attends classes at the school as part of a non-degree program for people with intellectual disabilities; the school has said its housing is reserved for students in degree-producing programs.

While U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Duggan didn’t throw out the case, he said Fialka-Feldman “is not likely to succeed” on his claims that the university violated the federal Fair Housing Act. “Plaintiff’s request that defendant grant him a waiver to its housing policy would elevate the rights of a handicapped, nondegree seeking student over the rights of all other nondegree seeking students,” Duggan said in his opinion.

Earlier posts here, here, here, and here.

From the Detroit Free Press:

A lawyer for a cognitively impaired Huntington Woods man who sits in on classes at Oakland University but was barred from living on campus because he isn’t enrolled in a degree-producing program asked a federal judge on Tuesday to rule that he is the victim of discrimination.

Micah Fialka-Feldman (above) said through counsel that he is seeking equal opportunity to live in the dorm like any other student. Oakland University argued that its policies are not discriminatory, and that its dorm rooms are reserved for students who are high school graduates and have been admitted to degree programs.

Judge Patrick Duggan took the case under advisement.

See also the Oakland Post, the student newspaper at Oakland University: No decision made on Fialka-Feldman’s case yet; Lawsuit against OU could be unsettled for years

Earlier posts start here.

From the [Nashville] Tennessean:

Vanderbilt University is planning a post-secondary program for students with developmental disabilities that is set to open its doors in 2010. The program will be the first of its kind in Tennessee.

Current plans call for an opening class of eight young adults who will take a mix of undergraduate, life-skills and technical courses, and will also participate in campus extracurricular activities with Vanderbilt undergraduates. Tuition will be about $10,000 a year, with some scholarships available.

Although the program will not provide housing initially, officials hope students eventually may be able to live on campus.

“Students coming out of Tennessee high schools who have intellectual disabilities, they like to have options and they like options their peers have,” said Wanda Willis, executive director of the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. “That happens to include some form of continuing education …”

From The Gazette [Cedar Rapids, Iowa]:

The University of Iowa has enrolled 18 students from five states in a new two-year REACH program for young adults with learning and intellectual disabilities. The program aims to help students become independent and develop life skills in a traditional college setting.

REACH program Coordinator of Student Life Amy Vander Busard says part of the focus of the program is getting students involved in campus life and encouraging them to attend events on their own. Students live on campus with help from resident assistants.

Some of the life skills covered by the program include money management, personal finance, and employment internships. REACH students are expected to have a high school diploma or certificate, meet math and reading level requirements, and demonstrate work or volunteer experience.

(Gazette photo)

From the Detroit News:

The Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service has filed a lawsuit against Oakland University, alleging the university has failed to follow federal fair housing and disability rights laws when it denied a student’s request to live in the dorms.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of Micah Fialka-Feldman, a 24-year-old Huntington Woods resident who has a mild cognitive impairment that hinders his ability to read and write. Through a special program called OPTIONS, Fialka-Feldman has been sitting in on courses, volunteering on campus and participating in clubs.

Last year, Fialka-Feldman arranged to live in the dorms on campus. But before move-in day, the university withdrew the housing offer, saying Fialka-Feldman is not eligible to live in the dorms.

Earlier posts start here.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Canadian colleges are increasingly wooing students with learning disabilities, and see them as a potential growth market amid a general enrollment decline. Among the factors contributing to the trend are assistive technology, greater curriculum flexibility, and a growing resolve among parents to help their children avoid low-paying jobs.

Carleton University has one of the highest proportions of students with disabilities in Ontario at about 5.5 percent, but that’s still far below the potential market. One in ten Canadians has a disability.

“We’re not even up to the national average. There’s still room to grow, and that’s a good thing. We’re competing for students,” said Larry McCloskey, director of Carleton’s Paul Menton Centre, which helps find supports for students with disabilities.