PHOENIX –  Receiving accommodations is often a confusing process for many disabled college students. But a new law that went into effect over a year ago aims to make it easier for disabled students to seek out the help they need.  

 

The Arizona Legislature approved House Bill 2031 on June 6, 2022, and the governor signed it the same day. The bill’s purpose: ensure universities and community colleges make it easier for students to access to disability accommodations.

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The law specifies that documentation such as the 504 plan, which outlines accommodations for Arizona high school students, must be accepted to recognize the disability when students transfer into college.

 

At the university level, accommodations could include extended time on tests, a note taker, deadline extensions and other services that facilitate “the removal of existing barriers” for a “full inclusion of people with disabilities,” according to  Northern Arizona University’s disability resource page. 

 

Jamie Axelrod, director of disability resources and Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator at Northern Arizona University, said the new law did not have major impacts to both NAU and Arizona State University because they have “always accepted that information is sufficient to establish that someone is a person with a disability.”
 

 However, Axelrod said the new law does help individuals qualify for the right accommodations, which eases confusion as a result. Implementing the law with this approach is a way for “campus communities to design more thoughtfully,” Axelrod said.

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Students without documentation may benefit 

 

Nico Clayton, an earth and environmental studies major at ASU, said he believes the new law HB 2031 will help incoming students transition into college with more ease.

 

“It'll really help a lot of neurodivergent freshmen with that transition because I know I was kind of a unique case where I didn't really struggle with that transition, but I know a lot of my friends who did,” Clayton said. 

 

Clayton, who is going into his sophomore year, mentioned he cannot receive a diagnosis for his disability because he can’t pay for health services.  

 

Clayton said the law can potentially help people who can’t get a diagnosis.

 

House Bill 2031 recognizes students who may be disabled yet struggle to receive a diagnosis for a variety of reasons: sudden change in IEP, costliness, and lack of education. As a result, the new law allows some students without a current, proper diagnosis to receive accommodations. 

 

An IEP, or Individualized Education Plan, is a legal document developed for each individual student’s special education, according to the U.S. Department of Education. 

 

“It can possibly include people that don't have the ability to be diagnosed – like people whose financial or living situation just makes obtaining the diagnosis impossible or it could impede future employment,” Clayton said. 

 

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                                           Nico Clayton (right) in Palm Walk at Arizona State University. ​Clayton is one of many

                                           who cannot receive a diagnosis due to affordability. Mason Ald/Cronkite School

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 Why students don’t seek accommodations 

 

Nationally, 94% of college students received accommodations in high school, while only 17% received accommodations in postsecondary institutions, according to a 2014 study cited by the National Center for Learning Disabilities.   

 

The study included a series of surveys and random samplings in which 12% of respondents were cited as having a learning disability.

 

Axelrod said the smaller percentage of students receiving accommodations in college is because only the student can decide whether they want to receive accommodations. 

 

As an ADA coordinator at NAU, Axelrod is responsible for preventing discrimination against students on the basis of disability. He works alongside the Disability Resource Center at NAU to find accommodations students can utilize. 

 

“It’s a student's choice and responsibility to self-identify to the university and request accommodations,” Axelrod said.

 

He said some students want to “try things without accommodations.”
 

But 43% of students who didn’t receive accommodations reported that they wish they had, according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

 

Sometimes, the student doesn’t know how to apply for accommodations. And the schools can’t ask students about disabilities when they apply. 

 

“As post-secondary institutions, we're not allowed to make what are called pre-admission inquiries into student’s disability status,” Axelrod said. “We can't ask an applicant, ‘Do you have a disability?’ Because the concern is that information would be used as a reason not to admit someone.” 

 

ASU anthropology student Abimanyu Satish, who is diagnosed with ADHD and depression, said the “hands-off” environment at universities has led him to lack the motivation to seek accommodations. 

 

“My roadblocks are in the fact that everything in terms of getting accommodations has to be from my own part,” Satish said. “I would have to reach out whenever I get accommodations. And that honestly puts me off a lot from the idea because it feels like extra work I have to do.” 

 

Michelle Udall, the former Arizona state representative who sponsored  HB 2031, said these roadblocks often happen because of the transition from being a K-12 student under “Individuals With Disabilities Education Act” to being a college student under the ADA.

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“It's especially difficult because, in K-12, you have your parents that are kind of overseeing all of that process and making sure that you get those accommodations that you need,” Udall said. 

“But once you get to college, your parents can't just call your professor and check in on how you're doing, or your mom doesn't just show up and say, ‘Hey, my kid's having this trouble.’” 

 

"Some professors help students find resources"

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“I've had some teachers who have been super open about it, where they do really push towards the beginning of the semester that if certain kids need accommodations, that they should look for them,” Saitish said.  

 

“And they've actually gone through the website showing you how to find these resources in the first place,” Satish said. 

 

Chad Price, ASU disability resource center director, said the number of students applying for accommodations has only increased since the passing of HB 2031. 

 

According to Price, during ASU’s 2020-2021 academic year, more than 7,000 students applied for accommodations in 2020-2021 compared to more than 9,000 in 2022-2023. 

 

Price said even prior to the law, high schools have worked to make it easier, “trying to make it a smooth process for students as they can when it comes to coming to university because of the different laws that apply in higher ed versus K-12.”  

 

But HB 2031 only serves as a starting point. 

 

“It starts with even just people like me, I guess, being more open where it's like, even me personally, I don't really talk about my neurodivergence or the fact that I've looked for accommodations before,” Satish said.

 

“But that's a big hurdle that I think students having a more open culture about, that would help a lot.”

 

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