<p>I am a HS senior and just had a meeting with my Guidance Counselor to review my transcript. Printed right on my transcript is "Exceptionality, Specific Learning Disabled" with all the info of when I was first admitted to the ESE program in my district. I was struggling with the decision of whether or not to disclose my LD to colleges. My GPA and grades are pretty good and did not want to disclose except to "stretch" schools with an additional LD essay. I was under the impression that this info was private and that it would be MY choice. Does anyone know what the laws or regulations are about schools disclosing this information? Thanks</p>
<p>If your h.s. is in the United States, the disclosure on your transcript is illegal. Not slightly illegal, seriously illegal. If your family is in a position to hire a lawyer (must be someone who knows education law) to get this off the transcript immediately, it would be good if you could have one on Monday. The U.S. Department of Education also has a Civil Rights division that cares about this sort of thing. You or your parents can telephone the regional office that covers your state on Monday and talk with someone. You might also want to PM tsdad who really knows what he is talking about in this area. Your high school can't do this to you for the same reason the College Board can't earmark your SAT scores by stating that you had a special administration . Also, it does not matter if you are at a public or private school -- this is wrong! I will try to get you some more resources by early next week. Other parents -- please chime in here.</p>
<p>Or, the OP's parent can call the GC and request it be removed from the transcript before it is sent to colleges. Sometimes the unofficial, or working transcript has info on it that doesn't necessarily get included on the official transcript. My son's unofficial transcript always had a notation below his classes that said "504" on it, but that was not on the official transcripts sent to colleges. Might be good to ask the school prior to contacting the DOE as it may be that the school has a policy of removing that type of information before sending the transcript out.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. We thought that it was illegal but not sure. My mom is going to speak to the LD specialists to see if she can get information and then will go in to school to speak to the Guidance Counselor again. Will keep you updated.</p>
<p>PatsFan8 -- So glad your mom is moving to address this. Bessie is right, of course, that if you can get this resolved without a big battle, it's best for everyone. Just know that this is not a legal grey area -- requesting that the information be removed from the transcript and not be revealed to colleges is your right. If the LD specialist is familiar with your high school, he or she may have some good tips for dealing with this particular school, as well as good, specific information about students' rights in this situation.</p>
<p>I disagree.
Send it to college and then sue the school for a lot of money.</p>
<p>I know you're trying to be funny, and I'm usually really anti-pc, but as a lawyer, I am a serious advocate of the adage "nip it in the bud" and avoid lawsuits at all cost. Ah, the irony!</p>
<p>As everyone says, this is a serious breach of confidentiality and should be dealt with swiftly and, if necessarily, harshly.</p>
<p>We were concerned about this transcript situation last year. The transcript that was sent home clearly identified my son as a student with an LD because of his Resource Class grade. My son questioned the Guidance Counselor and then was given a copy of the transcript covering all four years that would be sent to colleges. These composite transcript being sent did not include his Resource Room Class or grades and did not include Resource Room on the list of Senior Classes.
Perhaps your high school has two different versions, one that is sent home and one that is sent to colleges.
This allowed my son to disclose his LD on his own in an essay.</p>
<p>I would be very careful if a guidance office <em>said</em> they sent out a different transcript. Based on many various experiences with a different kid and what we were told would happen vs. what did happen--my advice is to be very careful and very prudent.</p>
<p>GC offices are often overworked and busy; sometimes also just careless. No one cares about your kid more than you do. I know this sounds harsh and I don't mean it to be unnecessarily so,...but I would do whatever is necessary to be positive the correct transcript is arriving at the college.</p>
<p>I suppose what you want to find out is if there are always two transcripts going... the working, in school transcript that is pulled from the computer by the GC and the OFFICIAL transcript, which is automatically cleared of any references to LD's by a computer program. At my son's school, transcripts sent to colleges are handled by an automated transcript service. You can bet they have a program that automatically removes said info or they would be litigated out of business. Just ask around... you will find out.</p>
<p>An update. We spoke to LD specialist at my school and my GC and they both said that it is on the official transcript that is sent to schools (along with the unreported SAT scores that got back to my school because they tracked it from extended time request). Because I am officially enrolled in ESE in my school, and get accommodations because of it, it is part of my academic record. I asked if the LD info could be removed and they said no. So, now the decision is, do we persue this or just accept it. On one hand, if a school does not want me because of the LD, then it is not the place for me. GC said she would write whatever we wanted to show good success in spite of LD. Or do we persue this further?</p>
<p>It's illegal. Did your parents talk to the GC? I would start with having your parents work on it, working up from GC to head of guidance to principal to superintendent. (Is this a public school?) Even if no one else can solve your problem, the superintendent has to know that this is absolutely illegal. </p>
<p>Did you receive a booklet explaining your rights as a special-needs student? If you have it, the law will be in there. If not, look online and find the relevant passage with the law. </p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>Ask to see what kind of transcript is sent to colleges. It may not be the same one that you viewed. You and your parents may want to see an attorney about this and find out what your rights are.</p>
<p>The decision whether or not to disclose your LD is legally yours... the school must remove this notation upon your request. Since they appear to be saying they will not do so, it is time to request they leave it off in writing and get their (illegal) response in writing. Upon receipt of that, move up to the district level, and do the same. IF the district also refuses to take it off, THEN consult an attorney. But hurry, application season is coming up. BTW, I agree with you that if a school would reject you based on your LD, then you probably do not want to go there, however, that is for you to decide.</p>
<p>PatsFan8 --</p>
<p>The decision of whether or not to disclose your LD is your decision, not your school's decision. That is the law. Because this is a very black and white, clearly illegal action by your school, it's hard to imagine that once the district's lawyer has a discussion with your lawyer or advocate, the school is going to want to lose a costly lawsuit. </p>
<p>Here is a link to the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights: Office</a> for Civil Rights . If you go onto the site, you should be able to find a phone number or a link to the regional office for your state. You and your parents can call them and ask to speak with someone who handles the rights of LD high school students. They can explain how to fill out their online complaint form. You can also explain that the matter is urgent because you are going to have to send transcripts to colleges in the very near future. See if there is a way to have someone at the OCR review your complaint in an expedited way, and see if there is a way to have someone perhaps help mediate with your school before the school actually breaks the law by sending the transcript. (The OCR services are free if they decide to handle your case or complaint.)</p>
<p>Another thing you can do would be to hire a private lawyer who knows this area of the law. He or she may be able to get this taken care of by writing a letter and/or contacting the legal counsel for your school district by phone, pointing out the specific laws that are being broken. (Actually, you could both hire a private lawyer and contact the OCR.)</p>
<p>Please do not feel intimidated or feel you are making a federal case out of something trivial. It is not trivial for a school district to break the law in a way that could hurt students.</p>
<p>On the issue of not wanting to attend a college that doesn't want a student with your LD, that's a different story. But I would frame it in a different way. Instead, I would think of not wanting to attend a college that didn't have the accommodations you need in place, or that didn't offer the support you need in a friendly, organized way.</p>
<p>My sense is that the folks in admissions do not necessarily even know the details of their school's support services (or lack thereof.) The task for the LD student and family seem to me to be to check out the support services independent of the application process. See if the college offers what you need. Call the student support office and ask questions. Look at the support service's part of the college website. Are they well-staffed? Do they list the services you need? Will they advocate for students if an issue arises?</p>
<p>You do not have to reveal your LD to admissions to be able to avail yourself of the full range of LD services once you are accepted to the school. The student services office that provides the accommodations and support won't even know what you did or did not tell admissions. No one will feel that you have hoodwinked or tricked them. Whether or not you tell admissions has no bearing on the help you will receive once you get to the college. </p>
<p>It is up to you to disclose when and how you see fit. Your school cannot choose for you; cannot reveal your LD on your transcript; and cannot write about it in the GC's report or teacher recommendations. Another reason to have legal intervention right now might be to prevent these latter situations -- LD revealed and discussed in the GC or teachers' narratives -- from happening.</p>
<p>AnonyMom-</p>
<p>I can definitely see teachers at my childrens' school including something in the letter regarding the LD, even if only because they thought it was being "helpful" to state what had been achieved in spite of the LD challenges.</p>
<p>How would you suggest dealing with this, especially because applicants are often highly encouraged to check the box that they will not see the teacher recommendations? Would you discuss it up front with the teachers writing the recommendations? It often seems easier to prevent something than fix it later.</p>
<p>Interested in responses from anyone who has experience dealing with this. Also, has anyone else had the SAT scores back-tracked to the school due to extended time request? Our school is very strong-willed about the scores being on the transcript. This is absurd in my opinion, especially given that SAT will go to score choice, as ACT has been. We simply left the school code off the test registration. However, that won't help if they tie it back from the extended time request.</p>
<p>I'm not completely sure what you mean by back-tracked, but I think you're asking if SAT scores are reported back to the school/test center when there's a special administration. My impression is that the scores do not go to the high school unless you give the school's code and request that the scores be sent there. But I don't know for sure. </p>
<p>Given that there really was a federal case about not earmarking special administration SAT scores or treating them any differently than standard administration scores, I think it would be very risky for the ETS to hand out an LD kid's score to the school without a parental request when other kids' scores are private. That said, in my experience, the ETS has some pretty questionable policies. I think it would be good to call the ETS office for LD support and ask for a supervisor. Ask what they do when the parent of a kid with a special administration does not make a specific request that the scores be sent to the high school. Explain that you do not want the score sent to the high school. Find out if they have some special form or procedure that will keep the score away from the school. You might have to go up the chain at ETS on this; do not take the word of the guy who answers the phone. I don't think the ETS has a right to release a score to anyone without the parents' or 18 y.o. kid's request. If they are planning to release it to the high school anyway, over your protests, and you feel really strongly about it, you might need legal protection. </p>
<p>About high school teacher and GC recommendations, I was very comfortable that my kid's GC would not reveal because the school seems to be on top of students' rights and their own legal responsibilities. My kid's decision not to disclose was discussed with the GC and she agreed with his application strategy. Even if she hadn't agreed, I trust she wouldn't have violated his request. As for the teachers, I never really gave it a lot of thought, but probably should have. If you have a concern, and if you have a decent relationship with the GC, you might ask if the school could draft a memo to all teachers reminding them of the school's legal responsibility not to reveal a student's LD's in recommendation letters. This could conceivably go to all of the teachers and not just your kid's teachers, and might help a lot of students. My personal preference is to let the school handle this stuff with teachers if possible, so if the teachers are upset or don't like the law or being told what to do or whatever, they'll be annoyed with the school or the law or something other than my kid. </p>
<p>Again, if your child decides to disclose and wants a particular teacher to talk about the child's success in overcoming a challenge, you and your child can give the teacher (or the GC) permission to do so.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Our school is very strong-willed about the scores being on the transcript. This is absurd in my opinion, especially given that SAT will go to score choice, as ACT has been.
[/quote]
I found this information earlier this year, when I thought my school system insisted that all scores be on transcripts (turns out it was incorrect information give to us by a GC intern).</p>
<p>Page</a> Not Found</p>
<p>(Go to section "SAT Scores on Transcripts")</p>
<p>and <a href="http://www.collegeobard.com/prod_downloads/research/RDGuideUseCBTest020729.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeobard.com/prod_downloads/research/RDGuideUseCBTest020729.pdf</a> </p>
<p>Look at Section 2 (For Institutions, Agencies and Organizations 2.4 and 2.7) and Section 3 Counseling 3.6.</p>
<p>I did everything I thought I could to keep the scores from being sent to my school short of calling the College Board. Since the school sent all the info for me to get extended time to the College Board they sent the scores back anyway. I was kind of surprised that they were there. I am not going to submit my official SAT scores to colleges because my ACT scores are better but they are on my transcript anyway. It's not that big a deal since the scores are ok, I never wanted to re-take the test or anything to bring them up. I wonder how deep into the transcript the colleges look to dig up this information if you submit scores from ACT.</p>