Autistic Postsecondary Access Depends on the Systems OSEP Funds
By Noa Minter
Introduction
When people think about special education, they usually think of IEP meetings in elementary school. But they rarely think about autistic adults navigating college, accessing workforce supports, or training to become professionals themselves.
The truth is: none of those things happen in a vacuum. They happen because of scaffolds that were built long before adulthood — and are still maintained by one federal office most people have never heard of.
That office is the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). And when OSEP is weakened, so are the systems that make postsecondary access even remotely possible for autistic students and graduates with support needs.
What OSEP Actually Does
OSEP sits within the U.S. Department of Education and is responsible for implementing and enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Most people associate IDEA with K–12. But OSEP also funds the very systems that help disabled students transition to adult life — and trains the next generation of professionals working in higher education, public health, and disability services.
OSEP-funded programs include:
Personnel preparation grants, fellowships and doctoral training
National technical assistance centers (e.g., IRIS, PBIS, NCII, NTACT)
Longitudinal data systems tracking postsecondary outcomes
Training programs and guidance on inclusive instruction and self-determination
Transition supports from school to employment or postsecondary education
OSEP isn’t a policy abstract. It’s the backbone of how we define disability, how services are staffed, and how disabled students — especially autistic adults — find any meaningful access after high school.
Postsecondary Outcomes for Autistic Students Are Already Fragile
Autistic young adults are the most under-supported postsecondary population across all disability categories:
Only 35% attend postsecondary education, and only 39% complete it
Over 50% have no employment or education two years after high school
Even among those who enroll, many do not disclose their disability or receive needed accommodations
Success isn’t just about academic ability. In fact, a nationally representative study found that both academic achievement and social skills were significant predictors of postsecondary success — with social skills predicting all three key outcomes: education, employment, and overall stability .
This means that students with strong potential still fall through the cracks if scaffolds for soft skills, transitions, and self-regulation are not in place.
But Postsecondary Systems Aren’t Set Up to Support Them
A 2020 systematic review found that while enrollment of autistic students in college is growing, supports rarely match the complexity of their needs. Most institutions only offer generic accommodations like extended test time or note-taking — not the structured social, emotional, and executive functioning supports that make or break success .
Only 28% of students with disabilities disclose their diagnosis in college. And of those, many say the services feel too generic, underutilized, or inaccessible .
Meanwhile, parents are often still providing daily scaffolding — waking students up, organizing their schedules, even hiring outside support — because the system doesn’t have a replacement for the individualized support that used to be written into IEPs.
What Happens When OSEP Is Cut?
Earlier this fall, OSEP staff were furloughed during a budget lapse. Although state special education funding wasn’t immediately affected, the damage is already showing in other ways:
Technical assistance centers pause guidance and halt training development
Grant-funded programs go unfunded, including doctoral research and postdoctoral training pipelines
Data collection freezes, leaving policymakers and researchers without evidence to push for reform
Postsecondary transition work weakens, cutting off the few supports that exist for autistic adults
Classification and diagnostic criteria lose consistency, risking mislabeling or denial of services
If OSEP is further dismantled or deprioritized, students with autism — especially those navigating postsecondary life with support needs — lose access not because of lack of ability, but because the entire bridge collapses underneath them.
Why This Is a Pipeline Issue — Not a Personal One
This is not just about individual struggle. It's about how we build and maintain the systems that let disabled people function in society — and how OSEP sits at the center of those systems.
Without OSEP:
Fewer providers are trained in inclusive practices
Fewer autistic adults make it into higher education or employment
More supports become dependent on family privilege or private pay
Data dries up, making it harder to prove any of this is happening
We lose the only federal office consistently investing in cross-sector disability access
Call to Action
OSEP isn’t just about early intervention or K–12 compliance. It’s about long-term access, adult outcomes, and training a workforce that understands disability beyond labels.
If we want autistic students to succeed beyond high school — to graduate, to work, to contribute — we need the systems that got them that far to keep going.
Here’s what you can do:
Learn more about OSEP and its programs
Ask how your program or fellowship is funded — it’s likely OSEP-adjacent
Share this post with peers, colleagues, and anyone working in education or disability services
Contact your representatives and tell them that cutting OSEP cuts access — not just for kids, but for adults too
