College Readiness

There are fundamental differences between services for students with disabilities in K12 and accommodations appropriate to the higher education environment. Helping high school students understand these differences before entering college, prepares them for the post secondary setting. This document is intended to provide parents and  K12 educators with a general understanding of the way accommodations are provided in higher education. This does not constitute legal advice. For information about the policies and procedures at a specific institution, contact their disability services office.  

504 protections:

Special education services:
Special education services are not provided in the post secondary system.  
Changing exam content, shortening assignments, and allowing test retakes lessen academic rigor and are not accommodations typically provided in higher education.  
Grades are based on the mastery of course content, not seat time or effort. 
There is no supplemental instruction or para-education specifically for students with disabilities in higher education. 

HELP IS AVAILABLE:
Colleges have a variety of resources to help students with and without disabilities develop academic skills. Utilizing resources such as tutoring and academic mentoring, as well as meeting with faculty during office hours, can be beneficial for students who require additional support. 

The Role of Parents:

• In higher education, students are considered to be adult learners. Colleges provide  services to students, not parents.  
• Accommodations are a student-led process. While Disability Services offices can help  students develop self-advocacy skills, students must be active participants in the  accommodation process. This includes scheduling appointments, responding to  emails, and having conversations about their access needs.  
• A signed release of information enables college staff to share information but does not enable parents to act on behalf of their students.  
• Logging into a student's account or learning management system may violate state  privacy laws. Instead, parents may wish to help students develop strategies for monitoring their own progress.  

The Process: 
Colleges are required to have someone who determines reasonable accommodations for  students with disabilities. This may be an individual or a department. This area may be  called Disability Services, Access Resources or something similar.  

• Students may be asked to fill out an application for services to begin the process. 
• Many, but not all, schools require students to provide information about their disability from a health care provider. The requirements about this information, often called documentation, varies by school.  
• Students will meet with a staff member to talk about the way their disability impacts  them in the educational or housing setting and to identify appropriate accommodations.  
• Accommodations are provided to mitigate institutional barriers. 
• Students will work with staff to notify their faculty of their approved accommodations  each quarter.  
• Students are expected to bring concerns to the attention of the disability office in a  timely manner.  
• Disability offices consult with students and faculty as issues arise. 

Skills for College Success: 
Working on the following skills can help students prepare for college. Students will continue to develop mastery in these areas throughout their educational journey.  

• The ability to name their disability and describe how it impacts them.  
• Awareness of their strengths and challenges in learning.
• A willingness to ask for help when necessary. 
• The ability to manage their schedule independently including getting to class on time, doing homework, and studying without external support or prompting.  
• Strategies for coping with stress and anxiety. 
• Effective notetaking skills (or the ability to use technology to capture information from lectures) 

•  A system for keeping track of assignments and appointments. 
   

  College Readiness for Students with Disabilities - Educators and Parents

The College Board SAT School Day is a newly implemented initiative designed to make it easier (and more equitable) for students to take an official SAT. Instead of driving to a testing location on a Saturday morning to take the exam, students whose schools participate in SAT School Day will get to take the SAT at their own school during a time when they’d normally be in class. 

BHS SAT FALL TEST DAY - October 27, 2022

The exam will start in the AM and will last approximately 3 1/2 hours.

•  Students register for the SAT School Day exam by going to https://www.regismart.net/#/login. Here, students will:
  • CREATE ACCOUNT
  • Select Bothell High School
  • Register, and pay for the exam
  • Details of the registration, fee, cancellation policy, are listed on the RegiSmart website
• Students do not need to register for SAT School Day exam on the College Board website. However, if a student wants to take the SAT exam on a different date & location throughout the year (not hosted by BHS,) they must register for that exam on the College Board SAT website.

Testing Outside of Bothell High School

SAT exams are administered several times per year at locations outside of the Northshore School District.  Students will need to establish a College Board account before they can register for these tests.  It is important that the student registers with their own account, not a parent's account.  Creating an account takes about 30 minutes.  This is the same account that you will use if you are registering for an AP test.

With a College Board account, you can register for the SAT, and access/print your SAT Admission Ticket.  You can also access your SAT scores online, and send them to colleges.  Additionally, an account lets you manage your personal college list, save your scholarship searches, compare costs at colleges that interest you, and more.

As these tests fill up quickly, we recommend that if you want to test at a convenient location that you sign up for the SAT early.  Otherwise you might end up taking the test at a location further away.

Further information on the SAT can be found at www.sat.collegeboard.org

ACT exams are administered at different locations and are administered by ACT.org.  

Students will need an ACT account in order to register for these tests.

Further information about the ACT exam, including requirements, locations and how to register for the ACT, can be found at act.org.