Chapter 5 Section 7 Reasonable Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Under ADA/504

Policy

No student shall, on the basis of his or her disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subject to discrimination under any college program or activity. Clover Park Technical College (CPTC) is committed to providing qualified students with a disability an equal opportunity to access the benefits, rights, and privileges of college services, programs and activities, in the most integrated setting appropriate to the student’s needs, in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, State of Washington Laws of 1994, Ch. 105(RCW 28B.10.910-912), and the Washington Law against Discrimination (RCW 49.60).

CPTC is committed to providing reasonable accommodations, including core services, to qualified students with disabilities. Students are responsible for requesting accommodations and documenting the nature and extent of their disability in a timely manner.

A. Governing Laws

1. Americans with Disabilities Act

Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act states no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from the participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of any public entity, or be subject to discrimination by any such entity.

2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states no otherwise qualified, individual in the United States shall solely, by reasons of his/her handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

3. State of Washington (RCW 28B.10.910-912)

Each student with one or more disabilities is entitled to receive a core service only if the service is reasonably needed to accommodate the student’s disabilities. The requesting student shall make a reasonable request for core services in a timely manner and the institution of higher education or agency providing the service shall respond reasonably and in a timely manner. Each institution of higher education shall ensure that students with disabilities are reasonably accommodated within that institution. The institution of higher education shall provide students with disabilities with the appropriate core service or services necessary to ensure equal access.

4. Washington Law against Discrimination (RCW 49.60)

Discrimination against any persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, families with children, marital status, sexual orientation, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability is prohibited.

B. Definitions

1. “Reasonable accommodations” in college programs and services, are modifications of those programs, policies, practices, and procedures that enable qualified students with a disability to have an equal opportunity to benefit from and have access to college programs and services and providing auxiliary aids and services.
2. “Student” is a person requesting educational services of the college.
3. “Qualified Student with a disability”: A “qualified student with a disability” is a student who
   • has a physical, mental or sensory impairment that substantially limits one or more of the student’s major life activities;
   • has documentation of such an impairment provided by a diagnostic professional qualified to make a diagnosis for the condition for which the student is requesting accommodation;
   • is one who, with or without reasonable accommodations, meets the academic and technical standards required for admission to, participation in, and/or fulfilling the essential requirements of college programs or activities.
4. “Undue hardship”: Undue hardship is an excessively costly, extensive, substantial or disruptive modification or one that would substantially alter the nature or operation of the institution or any of its programs or services or threaten the health or safety of the college community.
5. “Program accessibility”: “Program accessibility” means that all programs and/or services, when viewed in their entirety, are accessible to persons with a disability.
6. “Core services”: “Core services are those services listed in State of Washington Laws of 1994, Ch. 105 (RCW 28B.10.910-912) that are necessary to ensure students with disabilities are reasonably accommodated at the college.
7. “Core substitution”: A “core substitution is the replacement of a specific course/module required for a certificate, diploma or degree program with another course/module that measures the same learning objectives/skills as the required course/module.
8. “Modifications”: Modifications are changes or adjustments to the course, program or educational requirements as are necessary and appropriate, so that such requirements do not discriminate or that have the effect of discrimination based on a disability. Academic requirements that are essential to the course, or to the program of instruction being pursued by the student or which relate directly to licensing requirements will not be regarded as discriminatory within the meaning of this section.
9. “Diagnostic Professional”: A person who has completed a course of study and is licensed to practice in a field of care which includes the diagnosis and assessment of the particular disability, or disabilities, in question.
10. “Fundamental Alteration”: A significant modification that alters the essential nature of the services, programs, activities, facilities, privileges, advantages or courses offered.

C. Scope

CPTC will make those modifications to its academic requirements that:

1. Are necessary to ensure that those requirements do not discriminate, or have the effect of discriminating, against a qualified student with a disability based on that disability and;
2. Do not impose an undue hardship on the college or require fundamental alteration of essential program requirements.

Appropriate academic adjustments/reasonable accommodations will be provided to qualified students with disabilities for recruitment, the application process, enrollment, registration, financial aid, course/module work, academic counseling, and nonacademic programs and services. Reasonable accommodations under this policy include, but are not limited to:

1. ACADEMIC MODIFICATIONS

Academic modifications may include, but are not limited to:

1. Flexibility in timelines for completion of courses/modules, certificate, diploma and/or degree requirements.
2. Substitution of specific courses/modules required for the completion of certificate, diploma or degrees;
3. Adaptation of the manner in which specific course/module are conducted;
4. Flexibility in teaching methods and test-taking arrangements; and
5. Flexibility in credits required to satisfy institutional eligibility for financial aid.

2. AUXILLARY AIDS AND SERVICES

1. Advisor assistance in the admissions process;
2. Qualified sign language, oral and tactile interpreters, or other technological alternatives;
3. Access to adaptive equipment including, but not limited to, VPs, FM communicators, closed caption devices, amplified telephone receivers, closed circuit televisions, low-vision reading aids, photocopy machine able to use eleven-by-seventeen inch paper, Braille devices and computer enhancements;
4. extbooks and other educational materials in alternative media, including, but not limited to large print, Braille, electronic format, and audio tape;
5. Provision of readers, note takers, and/or proofreaders; and
6. Release of syllabi, study guides, and other appropriate instructor-produced materials in advance of general distribution and access beyond the regular classroom sessions to slides, films, overheads, and other media, and taping of lectures.

3. ACCESS

1. Ongoing review and coordination of efforts to ensure campus accessibility, including barrier-free design, signage, identification of hazards of mobility barriers, maintenance of access during construction, snow and ice clearance, and adequate disability parking for all facilities;
2. Facilitating physical access to programs and services including relocating classes, activities, and services to accessible facilities;
3. Provide referral to appropriate on-campus and off-campus resources, services and agencies; and
4. Provide accessibility to tutoring, mentoring, peer counseling, and academic advising, if available on campus, for students with disabilities.

D. Disability Resource for Students

1. Disability Resources for Students (DRS) is responsible for the coordination of services to qualified students with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodations.
2. DRS is committed to a reasonable approach in the identification of students with disabilities, including contacting all students who voluntarily self-identify during the college admission or orientation process.
3. Information regarding a disability will be kept confidential according to Federal and State regulations unless a student signs a Release of Information in accordance with College procedures.
4. DRS will assist and identify those reasonable accommodations appropriate for the student, and ensuring that the agreed-upon accommodations are provided.

THIS POLICY ENSURES COMPLIANCE WITH RIGHTS AND/OR OBLIGATIONS PROVIDED BY APPLICABLE LAWS.