Historically, students with disabilities in higher education received the support of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This legislation helped to establish services and programs for students with disabilities throughout the 1970's and 1980's. Section 504, which is still in effect, primarily placed the responsibility of access to higher education on public institutions, which received federal funds.
In July of 1990, the disability movement in the United States picked up momentum with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA was a sweeping civil rights legislation, which provided the legal mandate for colleges, and universities to provide access for students with disabilities.
The ADA covers all aspects of disability in society including employment, education, telecommunications, private sector services, public sector services, transportation and more.
Students Rights and Responsibilities
It is required that students benefiting from DSPS will:
- Make measurable progress toward an educational goal
- Disclose any health condition that could affect the safety and welfare of themselves, other students, or staff members
- Be assured that all student medical-related health records and DSPS records shall not be made available to anyone other than DSPS staff, college health personnel, or other appropriate district personnel with a legitimate educational need to know. Information may also be released to personnel from the Chancellor's Office and other State agencies.
- Be given all rights available to other students and will abide by the Student Code of Conduct
TITLE VI CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964:
Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in all employment situations involving programs or activities aided by federal financing.
TITLE VII CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964:
Prohibits job discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in all employment practices: hiring, firing, promotions, compensation, and in all other terms, conditions and benefits of employment, including vacations, pensions, and seniority.
SECTION 504 REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973:
" No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States shall, solely by reason 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... ".
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) OF 1990:
Extends universal civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities, covering public and private sector employment, public accommodations, transportation, and telephone communications.
Difference Between 504 and IDEA (Table)
Recent Legal Decisions
Reasonable Accommodations
Students are not required to assume the responsibility for securing necessary accommodation. The university is required to provide reasonable accommodations for a student's known disability so that the student has an equal opportunity to participate in the courses, activities, or programs. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) ruled that a university may not charge students for necessary accommodations.
Expense of accommodation is not undue hardship. Providing an auxiliary aid or incurring an expense to ensure access would not constitute undue hardship to the university. In determining what constitutes an undue hardship, the OCR views the entire financial resources of the university rather than any single department or college.
Classroom Assessibility
A classroom must be accessible. A classroom's location must be changed to provide accessibility for a student with a mobility impairment. The university does not need to make every classroom accessible but must provide for the participation of students with disabilities when "viewed in its entirety."
Extended Time
Extended time is a reasonable accommodation for a student whose documentation specifically calls for that accommodation. The university is required to ensure that the student is provided additional time to complete tests and/or course work in order to provide an equal opportunity for that student.
Altered Form of Exam
The form of an exam must be altered if the testing procedure puts a student with a disability at a disadvantage based on the student's documented disability. There may be an exception when the purpose of the test is to measure a particular skill. Accommodation must be documented. The university may refuse to grant a student's request for an accommodation which is not specifically recommended in the student's documentation.
Handouts in Alternate Form
If a student with a visual impairment is enrolled in a class, the instructor must provide all handouts in the alternate format requested by the student. In addition, all handouts must be made available to students on the same day they are distributed to nondisabled students.
Material on Reserve in Library
The instructor must make course material on reserve in the library available in alternate formats for students with visual impairments enrolled in the course.
Diagnostic Information is Confidential
Faculty/staff do not have the right to access diagnostic information regarding a student's disability. Faculty/staff need only know the accommodations that are necessary to guarantee an equal opportunity for the student.
Personal Liability
An individual faculty member who fails to provide an accommodation to a student with a documented disability may be held personally liable.
Academic Freedom
Academic freedom does not permit instructors to decide if they will provide special aids and services for students with documented disabilities in the classroom.
Testing Accommodations
Accommodations for testing such as readers, scribes, or the use of adaptive equipmenmt must be provided for a student with a documented disability.
Personal Services and Aids
The university is not required to provide personal services such as attendant care, or personal aids such as wheelchairs or eyeglasses.
Accessible Programs
The university must operate its programs in the most integrated setting appropriate.
Accommodations for ACT Testing
Scholarships based on ACT scores must allow for accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Admissions criteria
The university may not use as sole criteria for admission or rejection a test that has been shown to be discriminatory for persons with disabilities.
Job announcement Postings
Postings for job announcements must be readily accessible to students with visual impairments.
Bulletin Identify 504 Coordinator
The name of the Section 504 coordinator must be identified in recruiting materials such as application forms and school bulletins.
Student may File Grievance
A student with a disability may not only file a claim with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, but may also file a complaint with HUD.
Off-campus Housing
If the institution provides assistance to nondisabled students for off-campus housing, then the institution must provide
options to students with disabilities for accessible off-campus housing.
Tutoring Services
Under Section 504 of the l973 Rehabilitation Act, students with disabilities must have access to general college services. The DSPS program may offer specialized tutoring services; but the services must be disability-related tutoring rather than general tutoring available through the Learning Center, EOPS, or other sources. DSPS funds are intended to provide additional specialized support that allows students with disabilities to more fully access and benefit from the general offerings and services of the college.
In addition, Title 5 regulations prohibit provision of services or instruction that duplicate those otherwise available to all students. Therefore, DSPS tutoring services must not replace or supplant existing general college tutoring services.
Weight Training
University must provide comparable opportunities for weight training to students with disabilities.
Career Counseling
Career couselors are prohibited from counseling a student with a disability into more restrictive career paths than are recommended to nondisabled students with similar abilities and interests.
Other Links
Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education
Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
US Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights
Washington, D.C. 20202