Study Shows Students With Disabilities Have Trouble Graduating

According to a recent news article from Disability Scoop, almost 40 percent of students with disabilities do not graduate high school. Education policy officials predict around 90 percent of children with disabilities should be able to graduate with the systems and practices in place. In reality, we are seeing only six out of ten of these disabled individuals actually being able to complete all requirements and graduate from high school.

at-the-campus-2-1074636-m.jpgThese recent numbers come from a study that examined much of the available federal education data. This 60 percent graduation rate for students with disabilities is significantly lower than the total graduation rate of around 81 percent.

It should be noted, the graduation rate for disabled students is higher than in previous years, so the new special education system is working to some extent, but a rate of 20 percent below the average graduation rate is still an alarming issue for many researchers and, more importantly, parents of students with disabilities.

As our Boston disability attorneys can explain, it is exceedingly difficult for a disabled individual without a high school diploma or GED to get a job, and not having ever worked will likely make this individual ineligible for obtaining Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

The reason for this involves how the Social Security Disability Insurance program works. In many ways, it is much like a private long-term disability insurance program. However, instead of purchasing an insurance policy and paying a premium, workers pay for SSDI through tax withholdings in their paychecks. This is the roughly seven percent tax that is applied to the Social Security retirement and Social Security disability funds.

When a worker becomes injured or develops and illness rendering him or her unable to keep working, he or she can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. In order for a claimant to be provided SSDI benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must determine claimant is disabled and claimant has earned enough quarterly credits to qualify for benefits.

Quarterly credits are earned for each quarter employee works prior to his or her initial date of disability. The number of credits depends on a claimant’s age. For example, a younger claimant may not need to have worked as many years as an older claimant, as it would not be possible for the younger person to have worked the requisite number of quarters.

However, for many children with disabilities who are not likely to graduate from high school, they will have extreme difficulty finding employment, while, at the same time, they may not able to get SSDI benefits, because they have not worked enough quarters to earn the required number of credits.

As an alternative, parents of a disabled child or disabled claimant can apply for a different type of Social Security disability benefits known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a disability program that does not require claimant to have earned any quarterly credits. The only requirements are that claimant is disabled and claimant lives in a low-income household, because there are very strict income guidelines.

If you or a loved one is seeking Social Security Disability Insurance in Boston, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:
Nearly 40 Percent Of Students With Disabilities Don’t Graduate , May 12, 2015, Disability Scoop
More Blog Entries:
Social Security Disability Claims Process, Jan. 23, 2015, Boston Social Security Disability Insurance Lawyer Blog

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