Several years ago, our office represented a student by the name of A.S. A.S. is considered “intellectually disabled.” Statistics tell us that the chances of him enrolling in post-secondary education are small, around 30 percent, and his odds of attending a four-year college are even less likely, about 5 percent. The probability of him having gainful employment two to four years out of high school are also low, approximately 30-40 percent, which is problematic for the obvious reason that employment leads to increased life opportunities. Studies also tell us that, all other factors remaining equal, there is a 40 percent chance that he will never complete high school. Should he drop out of school, he is at least three times more likely to receive public assistance. He also faces an increased risk of incarceration; the well-publicized school-to-prison pipeline disproportionately impacts youth with disabilities, and the annual cost of incarcerating an individual is about $32,000, almost three times the annual expense of a quality public education. The statistics are even more grim if he is black or Latino. In fact, African-American students with disabilities represent almost half of the students in prison.
There is both good news and bad news for A.S. The good news is that, over the years, Congress has passed a number of laws to make his transition out of high school successful, with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) perhaps being the touchstone legislation.
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