Hi Kathleen,

Those five ADA requirements are straight from the ADA:   ADA, Title II, Section 35.106 (required as of 01/26/92) states five administrative requirements that apply to adult education and literacy programs administered through state, county, or city government: (1) Designate a responsible employee (ADA coordinator) (2) Provide public notice (3) Establish grievance procedure (4) Conduct self-evaluation (5) Develop transition plan.  

The self-evaluation refers to monitoring ADA compliance.  An evaluation should be completed to determine if the program is in compliance with all ADA mandates (not just regarding learning disabilities).  A good example of an ADA evaluation for adult education programs is in the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning's Accommodating Adults with Disabilities in Adult Education Programs publication.

Regarding the transition plan, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004 (IDEA), defines transition services as, "A coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability that is designed to be within a results oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child's movement from school to post-school activities, including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living or community participation" (Retrieved 01/10/06 from http://www.acc.k12.ar.us/transition/). While IDEA applies only to students under the age of 22, the Learning Disabilities Policy Committee felt that these services should apply to all adult education students with documented disabilities, even those over the age of 22.  At this time, case law has not addressed adult education per se but other legal precedents are relevant.  Prevailing opinion is if program staff has reason to believe a person has a disability, the staff must make a good faith effort to notify the learner of relevant rights and responsibilities, including information about disability determination and accommodations (University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning, Accommodating Adults with Disabilities in Adult Education Programs, p. 100).


I don't know of any law that says you have to document the success/failure of any applied accommodation; however, our Disabilities Advisory Committee included this in our state guidelines to make sure there would be documentation of all steps taken to accommodate the needs of students with disabilities in the event that a student may file a grievance and charge the program with not providing appropriate or effective accommodations.  I think this kind of policy addition is usually referred to as a "CYA" item.  ;)



We have a few programs in our state that use PowerPathT as one part of their comprehensive screening process.  Most of our programs use a variety of learning disabilities screening tools and techniques to provide individualized, appropriate, and effective screening for our adult students who may have undiagnosed learning disabilities.



Good luck with your training in NY!  I am familiar with the current policy initiatives to which you referred - my colleague and I did some introductory training in NYC for the LAC's  Learning Disabilities Symposium in December and January.  Many programs there are already off to a great start.



I hope I've answered your questions, but let me know if you have more,

Patti



Patti White, M.Ed.
Disabilities Project Manager
Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center
prwhite at madisoncounty.net
http://aalrc.org/resources/ld/index.aspx
800.569.3539    ph/fax/tty


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Kathleen Steinchen 
  To: prwhite at MadisonCounty.NET ; The Learning Disabilities Discussion List 
  Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:04 PM
  Subject: [LearningDisabilities 907] Re: Policy Question


  I have a copy of the Arkansas learning disability policy manual and have
  a question regarding the origin of the policy guidance provided for ADA
  compliance.  The policy statements provided under the section "ADA and
  Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973" are most clear and direct
  for programs to follow.  My question relates to the policy statements
  made under  "All adult education and literacy programs are legally
  responsible for five specific administrative requirements in the ADA"
  and continues to state...... "Each program must conduct a
  self-evaluation" and  "Each program must develop a transition
  plan"....(finally the question) Are the last two policy statements in
  the ADA legislation or were they made based on recommendations of a task
  force examining the ld issue?  
  My other question is:  Is there a legal requirement to document all
  accommodations and their success and failure?  (This data is not being
  required by NRS for WIA Title II)
  My other question was, Are programs using the Power Path for
  screening?

    A little background for you about me, I work for the New York State
  Education Department in the Adult Education and Workforce Development
  Team.  I attended the Bridges to Practice training in New Hampshire in
  2005-06.  I do not have a background in learning disabilities but have
  been learning ever since the Bridges training.  I am working with the
  LDA in NYS to provide training on learning disability, the first being
  ADA compliance.  I must recommend strategies for  NYS adult and family
  literacy programs to adopt to be in compliance with disability
  legislation but also to be effective in addressing NRS outcomes for this
  special needs population.

  Thank you for your response and any assistance you can offer me. This
  was my first time writing so if I made an etiquette 'faux pas' please
  let me know.

  Kathleen E. Steinchen, Ph.D.
  Adult Education and Workforce Development Team
  New York State Education Department
  tel: 518-486-2799(voice)
  ksteinch at mail.nysed.gov 
   

  >>> prwhite at MadisonCounty.NET 2/9/2007 12:16 PM >>>
  Sandy,

  Arkansas has a state policy manual for adult education and literacy
  programs.  You may view it in .html or download it in a .pdf file at
  http://aalrc.org/resources/ld/policyManual/index.aspx 

  Let me know if you have any questions,
  Patti

  Patti White, M.Ed.
  Disabilities Project Manager
  Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center
  prwhite at madisoncounty.net 
  http://aalrc.org/resources/ld/index.aspx 
  800.569.3539    ph/fax/tty


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