Of the approximately 300,000 children with disabilities who leave high school each year, only 8.8 percent enroll in a postsecondary education program nationally. In New York State, only two percent of all college students report the existence of a disability (VESID, 1992). Many educators feel that these low numbers are the result of poor planning and preparation and low expectations on the part of our educational system (Regents Select Commission on Disability, 1993).

This outreach project is designed to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate new approaches for serving students with disabilities in postsecondary education settings. Through the collaborative efforts of the New York State Education Department's Offices of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities; Higher and Professional Education; and Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education, the proposed project will (a) enhance student potential for successful postsecondary education experiences; and (b) improve the capacity of postsecondary education institutions in New York State to reach out and serve students with disabilities.

This project will focus on individuals with disabilities from minority backgrounds, including African Americans, Indians, Hispanics, Asians and Haitians. The specific goals of the project are to:

• Implement strategies to improve outreach to qualified students with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and to improve their awareness of postsecondary options and opportunities;
• Enhance coordinated planning among students with disabilities, college personnel and secondary education personnel to improve the ability of students and families to understand and access postsecondary education programs;
• Develop secondary education strategies to improve the skills necessary to improve student potential for successful postsecondary programs;
• Produce detailed procedures and materials for replication of the model in other sites; and
• Evaluate the project through the use of multiple outcome measures, including functional student outcomes, effects of the model and cost data.

Within each goal, specific objectives and activities are delineated. Multiple outcome measures for the objectives will be evaluated to determine the effectiveness of the model, its components (outreach, planning, skill development), and regional strategies. The evaluation plan will measure multiple, functional student outcomes, other indices of the effects of the model and cost data associated with regional implementation through a formative and summative evaluation plan to allow both the reporting of cost information, effectiveness of strategies, and successful replication of the model.