Good luck with obtaining that waiver. It may be easier than it seems right now. I remember how back in the day programming languages were sometimes allowable for language credit. Not sure if that is still a thing.
Weird because all the accommodations I used in high school are still valid in college. I was exempt from FL in high school.
@NASA2014 this student has been out of high school for 10 years or more.
IF a student has an IEP in HS, the disability office MIGHT review that IEP especially the accommodations section (because let’s face it…colleges do not do goals and objectives, and have mandatory special education services which are contained in the IEP). But for a student who has been out of school for a decade or so, any accommodations would be old news.
Just curious…did this student take a FL in high school? That was a requirement at our school…so wondering if this was a requirement for this kid’s HS…and if so…if it was waived.
It’s excellent that @“Cardinal Fang” has updated assessment information. That will help with accommodations of some types. But mandatory course requirements might not fall under this.
@compmom I hope you see this thread at some point…and can contribute.
My kids said that Mandarin was the hardest subject both of them took and I’d anOT recommend it. You have to learn the characters — there are many thousands of them even for lower level speakers, the traditional and simplified form, the tones and how it is romanized (often different, depending on the instructor).
D taught herself German and said it was MUCH easier than Mandarin. S majored in engineering, which had no language requirement.
I’d keep working with disabilities office on this—surely this issue has come up with other students. I’m taking Duolingual via iPhone app in Spanish right now. It is free and gives immediate feedback.
The Individuals with Disabilities Ed Act (IDEA), which provides for IEPs, is for children in public schools age 0-21, but ends with high school graduation. Colleges can, of course, follow the IEP as long as they want to make accommodations, and some of the issues may be converter to LDs under the Americans with Disabilities act, but the college doesn’t have to follow the IEP. My daughter had an IEP but went to a private grade school. Her teachers didn’t have to follow it, but they appreciated the suggestions on how she would learn best and we just used the IEP informally.
A student could instead have a 504 plan, which is under the Rehabilitation Act, for disabilities. That is a lot less formal and could stay with the student beyond age 21/hs grad but would most likely be converted to a plan for accommodations under ADA.
OP’s son is long past an IEP/504, but she said he had some accommodations already granted. I don’t think many schools change core requirements.
There is no college that is a reasonable fit for the student (has the student’s major, is affordable, etc.) but does not have a foreign language requirement? Since you appear to be in California, transferring to a CSU (no foreign language requirement except for majors that inherently need it) seems to be an obvious option.
Cardinal Fang has long experience and has contributed a lot here on the forum for parents of kids with disabilities.
The language of the ADA for college accommodations is that accommodations cannot pose an undue burden administratively or financially (paraphrasing) or “substantially” change the academic program.
First, I would hope they grant the waiver. Let us know!
Second, the definition of “substantial” change to an academic program is murky at best. Precedents are being established in the courts.
If the waiver is not granted, I personally would consider consulting a lawyer in this area, which would not only potentially benefit the OP’s son but others.
If there ARE any accommodations that could make a foreign language possible, that is another route, but it sounds to me as if a waiver is the only fair way to give the student a true “level playing field.” And the student really shouldn’t have to go through that kind of stress and struggle for FL, stress that will affect the entire experience as well as other grades.
Is there a replacement that would be acceptable to the school? As someone mentioned, a foreign culture course?
Finally, this student has a right to attend whatever school he wants. That is the point of the ADA as well.
I understand why the college is reluctant to grant this particular accommodation. But I hope they do, and I hope I don’t have to consult a lawyer.
A lot of schools don’t have foreign language requirements so that speaks for a waiver.
Good luck with this Cardinal Fang…hoping the waiver is granted!
I’m assuming you’d ask to replace the requirement rather than waive which at least would give the college the impression that you value foreign languages for most people at the college but the stress and cost to your son would outweigh any benefit he’d get from the course. Good luck!
My severe dyslexic was successful with Latin.
I might be off base here but can computer programming language replace the foreign language requirement. Just read an interesting article about being dyslexic doesn’t prohibit learning coding.
Dyslexics can skip over things when they read (punctuation, function words, etc), so coding languages where the placement of commas and quotation marks matters can be a challenge to learn. It depends on how severe the dyslexia is.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek, what resources did you use for Latin? Was your child able to take it in college?
Oh yes, I understand the requirement. It’s a good requirement. But just as if I’d accept and understand a swimming requirement at a college that emphasized outdoor activities, but not expect it to be applied to a kid with cerebral palsy, so I hope they won’t insist on applying this language requirement to my son, and that he can take some different courses as a substitute.
At my daughter’s lac they accepted her study abroad as the lauguage requirement. She became fluent in the lauguage and went back for an intensive in the lauguage given by the state department. I would think that the college wants their students to be successful. I would hope they would offer an alternative that would make sense for your child.
Some schools count sign language for a foreign language requirement.
@“Cardinal Fang” has already indicated that ASL is not an option for this student.
If this is a hard and fast…no waiver of the requirement…perhaps this isn’t the right college.
@austinmshauri He took 4 yrs of Latin at home using mostly Galore Park’s SYRWTLLatin materials plus some Bolchazy and REA test prep materials the last yr.
Yes, he took Latin in college. (And his dyslexia is severe.)
He really enjoyed Latin. French, otoh, about killed him. (He also loves programming. That has never been a problem for him.)
Thank you, @Mom2aphysicsgeek. I’ll pass the Latin resources on to my daughter. I’ll keep that in mind about the programming. I love it myself and I’d like to see her try.
@“Cardinal Fang” please let us know what your school decides.