Memorandum
To: Donna
Shea, Instructor
From:
Date:
Subject: WR7 Americans with Disabilities Act and its
impact on adult education
Describe accommodations the
university and instructors are required to provide to disabled students.
With the passage of Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) in 1990, legal mandates were established to guarantee equal
opportunities in education and employment. The laws also provide architectural
guidelines to ensure accessible buildings. The university and Services to
Students with Disabilities (SSD) is committed to upholding legal mandates. The
department's role as advocate for students with disabilities is to encourage
and/or bring attention to the need to comply with the mandates. Disability
awareness activities, meetings with faculty, and consultations with administrators
responsible for physical planning have been effective in promoting the spirit
of the laws and in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities.
The CSUSB community and SSD have teamed up to form an advocacy group, the
Campus Accessibility Advisory Board Committee. It is composed of faculty,
students, senior administrators, staff members and others who meet quarterly to
address issues specific to access and accommodations for persons with
disabilities. Subcommittees provide focus on assistive technology,
architectural barriers, disability awareness, fund-raising, and health and
safety. Additionally, quarterly forums are held with administrators to gain
updates on campus architectural barrier removal projects.
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course,
program, service, job, activity, or facility that enables a qualified student
with a disability to have an equal opportunity.
An equal opportunity means an opportunity to attain the same level of
performance or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges as are available to a
similarly-situated student without a disability.
The university is obligated to make a reasonable accommodation only to the
known limitations of an otherwise qualified student with a disability. To
determine reasonable accommodations, the Services to Students with Disabilities
(SSD) office may seek information from appropriate university personnel
regarding essential standards for courses, programs, services, jobs,
activities, and facilities. Final determination of reasonable accommodations is
made by the SSD Office.
Reasonable accommodations are determined by examining:
· the barriers resulting from the interaction between the documented disability and the campus environment;
· the possible accommodations that might remove barriers;
·
whether or not the student has access to the
course, program, service, job, activity, or facility without accommodations;
and whether or not essential elements of the course, program, service, job,
activity, or facility are compromised by the accommodations.
Describe the disabled student's
responsibilities and obligations.
To be eligible for services for a learning disability, students must present
appropriate documentation of their disability.
Upon completion of TRACS registration, submit a copy of your class schedule
to the Deaf Services Specialist. It is important that you make your request for
services as soon as possible. Your full cooperation with the following
guidelines will be greatly appreciated and will facilitate your needs as
hearing impaired students. There is a full range of services available to aid
students who are blind or visually impaired to be assured of reasonable accommodation
at the university. Students who desire accommodations must provide medical
documentation of their disability prior to receiving services.
All incoming students must make an appointment
with the Academic Support Services Counselor and provide medical documentation
of her/his disability prior to receiving services.
Students attending the university who have a diagnosed psychiatric condition
may be eligible for support services or accommodations. Students requesting
services must provide the office with current documentation of the diagnosed
condition from a medical or mental health professional. These records will be
kept confidential.
Discuss issues for which the
university and instructor are not accountable.
The university and instructors are not accountable for diagnosing any sort
of mental illness and sometimes a physical disability that may not be so
obvious. The student should be held accountable for submitting appropriate
documentation for such an illness or disability. As being a disabled student
myself I believe “an impairment which substantially limits one or more major
life activities" can
sometimes be difficult to assess and the student needs to be accountable
for substantiating ones own disability. As I mentioned my personal disability
or “physical challenge” of being a right arm amputee, and being right hand
dominant for 24 years, I had major difficulties adapting to the use of my left
hand. I have had some problems with class rooms with no left hand desk at times
and not being able to keep up with note taking but have always been
accommodated for such inconvenience. This took imitative on my part because
left to the instructors I may have not received the necessary accommodations to
assist me in my educational journey.
Discuss how this information impacts
the instructor's duties and education of the class-at-large.
This information would help the instructor in respect of treating and accommodating
the disabled within reason to achieve the best educational experience possible.
This would also help the instructor and student to have a clear understanding
of each others responsibilities. Furthermore, it would allow the instructor to
treat the “class-at-large” as equals in regards to educational goals and
achievements.