NEURODIVERSITY INITIATIVE

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children with autism spectrum disorder has grown from 1 in 150 in the year 2000 to 1 in 36 currently; and

WHEREAS, in Illinois, 15 percent of all preK-12 students in school districts ages 6-21 have the support of an individualized education program. Of the students with an IEP in Illinois, 11 percent have IEPs related to autism (Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Report Card); and

WHEREAS, in the national 2020-21 student preK-12 student population, 14.7 percent of students had a reported disability with autism accounting for 12.2 percent of this population (National Center for Education Statistics); and

WHEREAS, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires providing eligible students with IEPs, does not apply to students once they graduate from high school; and

WHEREAS, neither the IDEA nor the Americans with Disabilities Act requires colleges or universities to seek out students with learning challenges or provide diagnostic services. Additionally, neither law provides prescribed requirements for documentation that colleges and universities must accept; and

WHEREAS, neither the IDEA nor the ADA requires more than reasonable accommodations with a few exceptions; and

WHEREAS, only 24 percent of students with autism spectrum disorders notify their institution of their disability, and approximately only 34 percent of students with autism spectrum disorders complete their postsecondary program, compared with 59 percent of the general population of students and 50 percent of students with all disabilities (Petcu, Zhang, & Li, 2021, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health); and

WHEREAS, students entering university and college-level institutions are largely on their own, and parents are kept out of conversations due to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act provisions; and

WHEREAS, universities and colleges have limited resources to expand aid and support; and

WHEREAS, existing state laws and individual policies have hardly been able to keep pace with the fast growth of this population:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will create a member committee to identify, define and create specific legislative and preK-12, college and university policy changes, such as instructional training for teaching neurodivergent students, changes to the IDEA and the ADA to require colleges and universities to actively reach out to students who may be in need of support, changes to IEPs to require self-advocacy skills for high school students and similar reforms, and programming that assists the school to post-school transitions; and

RESOLVED, that the above committee will present its recommendations to the AFT, which will then advocate for strong legislative and institutional policy language pertaining to the individual needs of this growing population.

Adopted May 28, 2025