The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that the Colonial School District near Wilmington, Delaware, has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure the district’s compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II) with regard to providing students with disabilities equal access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
During its investigation, OCR determined that the district had not taken steps specifically designed to ensure equal access to high rigor courses for students with disabilities, although the district had notice for years that students with disabilities participate in AP courses at rates well below their enrollment rates. In addition, specific district practices, such as promoting AP courses among students in courses in which students with disabilities under-enroll and an absence of district guidance for ensuring inclusion of students with disabilities may contribute to under-enrollment of these students.
To resolve this investigation, the district has committed to:
- Complete a review and assessment of the district’s AP course offerings for the 2023-2024 school year and develop recommendations for ensuring equal access to AP courses for students with disabilities, including whether adjustments to its AP course enrollment practices would increase enrollment for students with disabilities.
- Review its communication with students and their parents, including students with disabilities and their parents, regarding the availability of AP courses and develop a protocol for ensuring that all students in 8th through 11th grade and their parents are provided with notice of the availability of AP courses, how to enroll in these courses, and the significance given to AP courses by colleges in the admissions process.
- Complete an evaluation of its academic counseling services at the district’s Middle School and High School and make changes, as necessary, to ensure that students with disabilities receive counseling that informs them of available AP course options.
- Provide training to all district Middle School and High School guidance counselors and teachers regarding the eligibility requirements for AP courses, and the importance of inclusion of students with disabilities in AP course enrollment. And,
- Develop a record-keeping system to identify the number of students with disabilities who participate in the district High School’s AP course offerings and ensure accurate reporting of data to OCR’s Civil Rights Data Collection.
“Equal access to academically rigorous courses and programs is critical to ensuring all students can realize their educational dreams,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “I commend the Colonial School District for its cooperation throughout OCR’s investigation and its commitment to improve access for students with disabilities, and all students, to its AP courses.”