Hurdles in Education

      The gap in education between people with disabilities and those without persists to this day. According to the American Psychological Association, a 2006 study revealed that 26.6 percent of people age 25 to 64 with severe disabilities failed to finish high school, in comparison to 10.4 percent of people without disabilities. Whereas 43.1 percent of people without disabilities age 25 to 64 have a college degree, 21.9 percent of people without disabilities in the same age group have graduated college. From 2009 to 2011, the Office of Civil Rights received 11,700 complaints about disability issues. Of these complaints, over 4,600 complaints related to free appropriate public education and almost 2,200 complaints revolved around retaliation. Other complaints included denial of benefits, academic adjustments and harassment