Career-Focused Experiential Education for Students with Disabilities: An Outline of the Legal Terrain

Overview & Synopsis

While experiential education has been part of higher education for a long time, access for students with disabilities is an emerging topic, broadening the scope of work for disability service providers. Participation in career-focused experiential education, such as internships and cooperative education, is an especially important learning experience for students with disabilities as a way of preparing them for the challenges of employment after graduation. To further understanding of the intersection of career-focused experiential education and disability service provision, this paper outlines the U.S. statutes, regulations, and a small number of key court and agency cases that impact students with disabilities who participate in career-focused experiential education at U.S. institutions of higher education. (Contains 2 endnotes and 1 table.)