ADA and Students Rights and Responsibilities
THE LAW
What is the ADA?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990, 2008) includes basic civil rights guaranteed for people in the United States who have disabilities. With regard to colleges and college students, the ADA upholds and extends the standards set forth in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which states that: “No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States shall, solely by reason of… disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
A person with a disability includes: “Any person who:
(1) Has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities,
(2) Has a record of such an impairment, or
(3) Is regarded as having such an impairment.”
For college accommodation purposes a person with disability includes
Any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities may include: seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, breathing, sleeping, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, learning, working, standing, lifting, concentrating, and interacting with others. According to the law, college faculty are obligated to assist students with disabilities.
The term “otherwise qualified individual” means that the student does meet the admission requirements for the college. Eligible students are those who meet admission requirements, have documentation of a disability, and have met with Accessibility Services in advance of a request for accommodations. However, certain programs have additional technical standards that exceed the standards for college admittance. If this is the case, students who are registered with the AS must meet these standards, but the standards must be applied so that they do not discriminate against a student with a disability or any student.
Policy
The Policy for People with Disabilities at Central Lakes College is intended to remove barriers to programs and services to meet the needs of all qualified persons with disabilities. The policy for students with disabilities at Central Lakes College ensures the provisions of supplemental support services to meet the needs of all documented, qualified, enrolled or disadvantages which include:
- Advocating for students with instructors to ensure proper communication and needs are being met
- Meeting with students to determine appropriate and reasonable accommodations and facilitating appropriate services
- Collecting and maintaining disability-related documents
- Providing a healthy and safe environment for students
- Guiding students through administrative processes
- Providing referral services as appropriate
Rights and Responsibilities
Rights of the Students
The right to be treated with dignity and respect by all A.S. service providers (interpreters, note takers, student workers, office staff) and all members of the college community
- Equal access to courses, services, jobs, activities and facilities offered by CLC
- Equal opportunity to learn, work and receive accommodations and services
- The right to receive high quality services, accommodations and assistance in accordance with our policies and procedures
- The right to have information about your disability kept confidential
- Right to Accessibility Services at NO cost to the student with the exception of personal devices or if costs are unreasonable
Responsibilities of Students
- Self-identify disability status to Disability Services and provide recent documentation about disability related functional limitations from a licensed professional
- Request necessary accommodations in a timely matter by meeting with AS staff
- Each semester students MUST request accommodations for their new classes
- Complete other forms as appropriate for the situation (ie. Alternative Proctor Request)
- Follow all CLC and AS policies and procedures
- Meet and maintain the same academic qualifications and essential campus standards as other students on campus
- Follow the college’s student code of conduct as all student on campus Rights of Central Lakes College and Accessibility Services
- Identify and establish essential functions, abilities, skills, knowledge, and standards for courses, programs, services, jobs, activities, and facilities and to evaluate accordingly
- Request and receive, through AS, current documentation from a qualified professional that supports requests for accommodations and services
- Deny requests for accommodations if the documentation does not demonstrate that the request is disability related, or if the individual fails to provide appropriate documentation
- Select among equally effective accommodations and/or auxiliary aids and services
- Refuse to provide an auxiliary aid or incur expense if constitutes undue hardship to CLC
Responsibilities of Central Lakes College and Accessibility Services
- Accommodate the known limitations of an otherwise qualified student with a disability
- Provide information to students, faculty, staff, and guests with disabilities in accessible formats upon request
- Evaluate students on their abilities, not their disabilities
- Provide or arrange accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids for students, faculty, staff, and guests with disabilities
- Maintain appropriate confidentiality of records and communication
- Maintain academic standards by providing accommodations without compromising the content, quality, or level of instruction
When an instructor is notified by Accessibility Services
Faculty members have the responsibility to cooperate with AS in providing accommodations the student has access to in a reasonable and timely manner. Questions or problems regarding implementation of an accommodation should be directed to the Coordinator, Megan Bistodeau, 218-855-8175, megan.bistodeau@clcmn.edu
If an instructor IS NOT notified
If a student requests an accommodation and the faculty member has not been notified of the student’s accommodations the faculty member should refer the student to Accessibility Services.
For more information on ADA and Higher Education visit:
http://www.higheredcompliance.org/resources/disabilities-accommodations.html