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POLICY 5114
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Students with disabilities have the right to request and receive
reasonable accommodations to ensure access to programs and facilities at Shoreline
Community College. To receive reasonable accommodations, students are responsible for
requesting accommodations and documenting the nature and extent of their disability in a
timely manner. Students should direct their requests for reasonable accommodation to the
Services for Students with Disabilities office. (State of Washington Laws of 1994, Ch.
105, Washington Core Services.)
Reasonable accommodations under this policy include, but are not
limited to:
 | Academic adjustments, such as modification and flexibility in test-taking arrangements;
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| Adjustments in nonacademic services and other rules; and,
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| Auxiliary aids and services |
Shoreline Community College 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 alteration of essential program requirements.
Appropriate academic adjustments/reasonable accommodations will be
provided to qualified students with disabilities participating in the following
activities: recruitment, the application process, enrollment, registration, financial aid,
course work, academic counseling, and nonacademic programs and services.
The Board of Trustees hereby adopts policy #5114, Reasonable
Accommodation of Students With Disabilities, and directs the President to establish
procedures to implement this policy and to disseminate its basic principles in accordance
with the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504; the Americans With Disabilities
Act (ADA) of 1990; and, the Washington State Engrossed House Bill 2327 (Core Services
Bill).
This policy does not provide rights or obligations not provided by
applicable laws.
Adopted by Board of Trustees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/16/99
Procedural Guidelines
This procedure defines terms associated with reasonable accommodation
and delineates related procedures and responsibilities. This procedure should not be
construed as providing rights or obligations not provided under applicable laws.
I. DEFINITIONS
General
A. "Student with a disability" refers to any student who: (1)
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life
activities (i.e., caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing,
hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working); (2) has a record of such an
impairment (has a history of, or has been classified as having, a mental or physical
impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities); (3) is regarded
as having such an impairment; or, (4) who has an abnormal condition that is medically
recognizable or diagnosable.
B. "Reasonable accommodations" in College programs and
services are reasonable modifications to those programs, policies, practices, and/or
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 for provision of
auxiliary aids and services.
C. "Program accessibility" means that all programs and
services, when viewed in their entirety, are accessible to persons with a disability.
D. "Health Care Professional" means a person who has
completed a course of study and is licensed to practice in a field of health care which
includes the diagnosis and assessment of the particular disability, or disabilities, in
question.
E. "Undue hardship" is any excessively costly, extensive,
substantial or disruptive modification, or one that would fundamentally 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.
Documentation of Learning Disability:
A. "Who documents": Must be prepared by a professional
qualified to diagnose. For learning disabilities, health care professionals would include,
but not be limited to: a licensed neuropsychologist or psychologist, learning disability
specialist, or other appropriate professional certified to administer and interpret class
C psychological tests. Experience in working with the evaluation of adults with learning
disabilities is essential.
B. "Documentation content" must be comprehensive. One test is
not acceptable for the purpose of diagnosis. Minimally, areas to be addressed must
include, but are not limited to:
1. Aptitude. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised
(WAIS-R) with subtest scores is preferred. The Woodcock- Johnson Psycho-Educational
Battery-Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability is acceptable.
2. Achievement. Current levels of functioning in reading,
mathematics and written language are preferred. Acceptable instruments include the Woodcock-
Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised: Tests of Achievement; Stanford Test of
Academic Skills (TASK); or specific achievement tests, such as the Test of Written
Language-2 (TOWL-2), Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised, or the Stanford
Diagnostic Mathematics Test. (The Wide Range Achievement Test- Revised is NOT a
comprehensive measure of achievement and, therefore, is not suitable.)
3. Information Processing. Specific areas of information
processing (e.g., short- and long-term memory, sequential memory, auditory and visual
perception/processing, processing speed) must be assessed. Use of subtests from the WAIS-R
or the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability is acceptable. (This is not
intended to be an exhaustive list or to restrict assessment in other pertinent and helpful
areas, such as vocational interest and aptitudes.)
C. "Currency": In most cases, this means the documentation
must be from within the past three (3) years. Since assessment constitutes the basis for
determining reasonable accommodations, it is in a student’s best interest to provide
recent and appropriate documentation to serve as the basis for decision-making about a
student’s needs for reasonable accommodation in an academically competitive
environment.
D. "Clear and specific": Documentation should present clear
and specific evidence which identifies specific learning disabilities and reflects the
individual’s present level of functioning in processing and intelligence as well as
achievement in written expression, writing mechanics, vocabulary, grammar and spelling,
reading comprehension, fluency and rate. (Individual "learning styles" and
"learning differences" in and of themselves do not specify learning
disabilities.)
E. "Specifics": Include in the report the exact instruments
used and procedures followed to assess the learning disability, test score data, a written
interpretation of the results by the professional doing the evaluation, the name of the
evaluator and date(s) of testing.
F. "Sufficiency": Provide sufficient data to support the
particular academic adjustment requested. Requests that are not supported by documentation
may not be approved without additional adequate verification.
Student:
A. "Student" is a person enrolled at the College.
B. A "qualified student with a disability" is one who, with
or without reasonable accommodation, meets the academic and technical standards required
for admission to, participation in, and/or fulfills the essential requirements for College
programs and activities.
C. "Core services" are those services listed in State of
Washington Laws of 1994, Ch. 105, that are necessary to ensure students with disabilities
are reasonably accommodated at the College.
D. "Course substitution" is replacement of a specific course
required for a degree program with another course that measures the same learning
objectives/skills as the required course.
II. OBLIGATIONS OF THE COLLEGE
General:
A. Comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Section
202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended; the Law Against
Discrimination, Chapter 49.60 RCW; and, the State of Washington Laws of 1994, Ch. 105,
(Washington Core Services Bill).
B. Notify students of the College’s policy of non-discrimination
on the basis of disability and of the steps s/he may take if s/he believes discrimination
has taken place. This notice shall be included in all formal correspondence that
communicates decisions or policies adversely affecting the individual’s status or
rights with the institution of higher education. This notice shall include the phone
numbers of the United States Department of Education, U.S. Office of Civil Rights, and the
Washington State Human Rights Commission.
C. Work with the student, faculty and staff, on a case-by-case basis,
to select and provide those reasonable accommodations/core services appropriate for
each qualified student with a disability.
D. When a student makes a request for a reasonable accommodation, and
the disability is not readily apparent and has not been previously documented, the
Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities may request that the student
provide verification from a health care professional that s/he has the disability as
claimed and that it has the effect of necessitating the reasonable accommodation
requested. The College may obtain a second opinion at its own expense from a health care
professional of its selection. Such inquiries must be limited to verification of the
student’s claims, except that the Coordinator of Services for Students with
Disabilities may also request that the health care professional suggest possible effective
alternative reasonable accommodations.
E. Generally, the college will respond to
requests for reasonable accommodation within ten instructional days.
A decision will be rendered and communicated to the requesting student.
At this same time, a second copy of excerpts from College Policy 5114:
Reasonable Accommodations of Students With Disabilities will be
provided to the student, detailing information on how s/he may seek review
(appeal) of the decision on her/his request, if in dispute (Section IV.E.).
F.
The College shall develop an internal grievance procedure for
addressing disputes related to requests for reasonable accommodation. Such procedures shall: explain
the method for submitting a grievance, describe any internal appeals
process(es), identify an individual responsible for overseeing the process(es),
set forth reasonable time frames for review and resolution of the grievance,
and provide for documentation of complaints submitted and the steps taken to
attempt resolution.
To Students:
A. Make available to all students information on the services available
to students with disabilities, including the name and location of the Services for
Students with Disabilities office and the process for accessing those services.
B. Maintain the academic integrity of its programs.
C. Not make pre-admission inquiry as to whether the applicant has a
disability, except as provided by law.
D. Develop procedures to protect the confidentiality of information
regarding the nature and extent of the documented disability.
III. OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF THE QUALIFIED
STUDENT
The College is obligated to provide reasonable accommodation to a
qualified student with a known disability. What is appropriate for the student is a
case-by-case determination. It is the obligation of the student to seek reasonable
accommodation. A student who seeks reasonable accommodation under policy 5114 is
responsible for documenting the nature and extent of the disability. The College will work
collaboratively with the qualified student in determining the appropriate reasonable
accommodation.
Obligation of Student:
To ensure that needed reasonable accommodations are provided in a
timely manner, the student shall:
A. Provide a signed Release of Information form to the Coordinator of
Services for Students with Disabilities.
B. Provide timely notice and documentation of the nature and extent of
the disability and the request for reasonable accommodation to the Coordinator of Services
for Students with Disabilities. When possible, requests from students for reasonable
accommodation should be received by the Services for Students with Disabilities office six
(6) weeks prior to the beginning of the quarter for which the request is made. Lack of
advance notice may delay the availability of a reasonable accommodation.
C. Provide such additional documentation on the nature and extent of
their disability as the College may require to determine appropriate reasonable
accommodation. Such documentation must include, but is not limited to: identification of
tests administered, test results, description of the covered disability and recommended
reasonable accommodations.
D. Cooperate with the Services for Students with Disabilities office to
develop an appropriate reasonable accommodation.
E. Promptly notify the Coordinator of Services for Students with
Disabilities of any problems encountered in receiving the agreed-upon reasonable
accommodation.
Obligation of Services for Students with Disabilities:
A. The Services for Students with Disabilities office is responsible
for the coordination of services to qualified students with disabilities requiring
reasonable accommodation.
B. The Services for Students with Disabilities office 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.
C. Information regarding a disability will be kept confidential
according to Federal and State privacy regulations unless a student signs a Release of
Information in accordance with College procedures.
D. The Services for Students with Disabilities office will assist and
advise each qualified student with a disability, who requests accommodation under this
policy, in developing an instructional plan, identifying those reasonable accommodations
appropriate for the student, and ensuring that the agreed-upon accommodations are
provided.
IV. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION - EXAMPLES BY CATEGORY
A. Academic Modifications:
Academic modifications may include, but are not limited to:
 | flexibility in timelines for completion of courses, certification, and degree
requirements; |
| adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted; |
| flexibility in teaching methods and test-taking arrangements; |
| flexible procedures in the admission process, e.g., early or priority registration. |
B. Auxiliary Aids and Services:
The Services for Students with Disabilities office provides a
comprehensive program of specialized services which include advisement, campus
orientation, special parking permits, loan of adaptive equipment, and provision of direct
services (readers, notetakers, scribes, tutors, interpreters, etc.). Shoreline Community
College students with a disability, either permanent or temporary, can receive information
and assistance from the Services for Students with Disabilities office.
C. Access:
In order to provide access to students with disabilities, the College
will:
1. provide on-going 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. facilitate physical access to programs and services, including
relocation of classes, activities and services to accessible facilities;
3. provide referrals 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. Policy and Procedure for Course Substitution and/or Waiver:
Shoreline Community College recognizes that certain disabilities may
preclude a student from successfully completing a specific course requirement for a degree
even with appropriate reasonable accommodation. SCC recognizes its obligation to provide
reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities without compromising the integrity
of the academic program.
Under the ADA, the College is not required to waive essential
requirements of a student’s program of instruction. Therefore, every student enrolled
in a degree program at the College is required to meet the essential requirements of a
degree program.
Shoreline Community College recognizes that altered methods of course
delivery and/or providing core services will enable most students with disabilities to
successfully complete course requirements, except in unusual circumstances. Usually, the
student with a disability will attempt to successfully complete the required course with
reasonable accommodation prior to requesting a substitution. If compelling documentation
exists to support a substitution without the student first attempting the course, an
exception may be granted by the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities
upon written request by the student. If an exception is granted, the student must then
follow established course substitution procedures.
A student seeking reasonable accommodation in completing a course due
to a documented disability shall request assistance from the Coordinator of Services for
Students with Disabilities. The student with a learning disability must present to the
Coordinator a previous assessment and documentation of the disability from an appropriate
specialist, i.e., licensed neuropsychologist or psychologist. In order for students to
qualify for services through Services for Students with Disabilities, SCC requires
documentation of a specific learning disability and may request appropriate documentation
for students with other disabilities. The learning disability diagnosis must be
comprehensive and specify the nature and effects of the learning disability and recommend
appropriate compensation strategies and reasonable accommodation suggestions.
If a student is unsuccessful in completing the course, the student may
request course substitution under this policy. Only rarely will a waiver of degree program
requirements be given, and then only after the student has attempted, with appropriate
reasonable accommodation, to meet the requirements.
Request for course substitution may be approved only if the proposed
substitution is consistent with the essential degree requirements of Shoreline
Community College. Furthermore, when appropriate, the student will be advised, if
transferring, of potential deficiencies in fulfilling four-year degree requirements.
Requests for exemptions and substitutions for a particular course or
program are considered only when a qualified student with a disability has demonstrated
that, even with academic adjustments and auxiliary aids/services provided by the College,
s/he is unable to successfully complete the course solely because of the disability.
All requests for course substitution must be submitted in writing by
the student to the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities and must contain
an explanation of the relationship of the student’s disability to the lack of success
in completing the course, including:
| a statement that s/he has made a good faith effort to complete the required course with
appropriate accommodations, if applicable; |
| a current transcript; and, |
| if a current Release of Information form is not on file, a release signed by the student
confirming that the Services for Students with Disabilities office may make available the
documentation on the student’s disability to the appropriate division chair. |
The student makes an appointment with the appropriate division chair to
submit, in writing, his/her request for the substitution or waiver. The division chair may
ask the student to provide any of the above documents. At the request of the student, the
Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities may accompany the student to the
meeting or any subsequent meetings.
The division chair shall respond in writing to all requests for course
substitutions within two (2) weeks of receiving the request. The response shall include a
brief summary of the basis for the decision.
Waivers of Degree Requirements:
Requests for waiver of a program/graduation requirement will be
considered only when the course substitution is not successful. Usually, such requirements
will not be waived, but will be adjusted or an appropriate alternate requirement arranged.
The appropriate division chair shall consider such requests in the same manner as provided
above. The division chair’s response shall go to the Vice President for Academic
Affairs, who shall make the final decision on requests for waivers.
E. Reasonable Accommodation - Disputes:
1. If a student believes that the Coordinator of
Services for Students with Disabilities has not identified or provided reasonable academic
adjustments or auxiliary aids, the student may seek review of the Coordinator’s
actions by the Director of Advising and Counseling. The Director will review the
student’s position and respond within five (5) working days.
2. If the student and the Director of Advising and Counseling do not
reach resolution, the Director will refer the appeal to the Vice President for Student
Services. The Vice President for Student Services will review the dispute and make
recommendations in writing for appropriate resolution.
3. If resolution is not reached by the student and the Vice President
for Student Services, the Vice President for Student Services will refer the appeal to the
ADA Compliance Officer.
4. The decision of the ADA Compliance Officer is the
final decision of the institution.
Procedural
Guidelines approved April 16, 1999
Revisions
approved by President's Staff May 21, 2001 |
