Promoting Access to Postsecondary Education for Low-Income Students With Disabilities

Few students with disabilities from high-poverty backgrounds attend college. We discuss the effects of disability and growing up in poverty on expectations for postsecondary education attendance. We describe the limiting effects of attending high-poverty high schools on student achievement followed by challenges faced by low-income students with disabilities in accessing and completing college programs including the role of federal student aid programs. Finally, we discuss the limited employment outcomes for adults with disabilities, in particular, those from high-poverty backgrounds who have not completed college. We conclude with implications and recommendations for policy.