What Is a Special Needs Based Financial Aid Award?
“Special needs” is a term used to catalog all types of disabilities. These can range from simple food allergies to severe physical and mental disabilities. This widely defined category makes it difficult for parents and students to determine the type of disability that qualifies them to receive financial aid for special education needs. To qualify for this type of aid via private organizations, schools or states, in most cases you need to fit the disability qualifications set forth in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act, a national law that prevents discriminatory acts against people with disabilities.
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School Scholarships
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Private school opportunities are often available for disabled students. This education may come at a significant cost, however, unless you understand that most private schools have several financial options available, including needs-based grants. These grants come directly from the school and do not need to be re-paid. These grants are given on a yearly basis and a reapplication is conducted yearly. The school admissions office is the best source of information for these grants. Most colleges also have a similar type of funding or scholarship programs available for disabled or special needs students. The easiest way to access these funding options is to contact the school's disability resource center.
State Funds
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Some states have a disabilities program in place that helps give children and young adults with disabilities the opportunity to go to private primary and secondary schools and provide aid with college costs. These states include Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Utah. The amount of the financial aid award depends on the available state funds, the school costs and the type of disability of the student. In most cases, the amount of the scholarship is the private school's tuition or a set amount given to the school district where the student is enrolled. The financial aid award depends on the participating state and their available funds.
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Federal Financial Aid
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Disabled students who need a financial aid award for their upper-level education should look at federal funding options. Although the federal government doesn’t offer an individual grant geared toward disabled students specifically, there are many federal grant opportunities they can qualify for, the largest being the Pell Grant. Other federal grants that special-needs students can qualify for include the National SMART grant, the Academic Competitiveness Grant and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. These grants are also dependent on the student's course of study and other eligibility requirements.
Private Foundations
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Special institutions also offer grants and scholarships for people who are disabled. These institutions or foundations often offer scholarships to people with certain disabilities. For instance, the Marionjoy foundation offers scholarships to students with physical disabilities of up to $5,000, while the National Federation of the Blind offers scholarships in the amount of $12,000 to people who have sight disabilities. Students with autism can receive scholarships from the Friedman Foundation for private school tuition, and the AmeriGlide Achiever Scholarship offers financial aid awards to students in wheelchairs. To find these institutional financial grants, contact the disability resource center at the attending school or contact foundations directly through websites like Disaboom, Disability.gov or Finaid.
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References
- StudentGrants: Disability Grants for College
- Department of Health and Human Services: Fact Sheet (PDF)
- Disabled World: U.S. Autism Scholarships -- Educational
- Ava White Academy: Special Needs Scholarship Program
- Ameriglide: AmeriGlide Achiever Scholarship
- The Friedman Foundation: Ohio -- Autism Scholarship Program
Resources
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