Documentation
Guidelines
EDUCATIONAL
ACCESS SERVICES
(DIVISION OF ADVISING & ACADEMIC SERVICES)
Recommended
by
Consortium of Support Services for Students with Disabilities
INTRODUCTION
Individuals with disabilities
who attend or plan to attend a postsecondary institution in Colorado
may need reasonable accommodations, modifications, or auxiliary
aids in order to have equal access to the programs and services
offered. There are two laws that require postsecondary institutions
to provide these services to otherwise qualified students, Section
504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Students who need accommodations
are responsible for requesting these services from and for meeting
with the Disability or Supplemental Services office at their institution
for the following reasons:
- To provide documentation
that supports the request for services; and
- To discuss the request,
the nature of their disabilities, and past experiences.
PURPOSE
These documentation
guidelines have been provided to assist students in obtaining
appropriate documentation from qualified professionals. Appropriate
documentation of a disability is only one part of determining
necessary accommodations. The provision of appropriate documentation
to an institution helps students to educate appropriate staff
and faculty about the impact of their disabilities, needs, and
potential accommodations. Institutions may request documentation
for the following reasons:
- To verify the existence
of a disability;
- To assist in the
collaborative determination of individual needs and eligibility
for auxiliary aids and services to minimize the impact of the
disability;
- To personalize student's
rights to equal access to their institutions.
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
In addition to notifying
and documenting the need for accommodation(s), students with disabilities
also have the following rights and responsibilities:
- Equal access to
all programs at each institution;
- Disability related
records will be used to determine appropriate Services and will
be maintained separately from academic records;
- Students must initiate
a request for accommodations by contacting the EAS office
prior to the start of classes. A new request must be made
each semester.
- Students need to
give institutions advance notice of needed accommodation(s);
- Students will need
to meet with a Disability or Supplemental Services staff member
for an intake appointment and discussion about the nature and
impact of their disabilities;
- Submission of documentation
is not the same as the request for services; these are two different
steps in the process of determination and provision of appropriate
accommodations;
- Generally, an Individualized
Education Plan (IEP), 504 Plan, or General Education Initiative
from a secondary school do not provide thorough information
for the documentation of disability and needed accommodations.
The institution and
Disability Services staff have the following rights and responsibilities.
- The institution
reserves the right to determine the appropriateness of submitted
documentation and requests for accommodation(s) on a case by
case basis, utilizing the professional judgement of the Disability
Services staff;
- Additional information
may be requested to determine eligibility for services;
- Relevant information
regarding the student's disability may be shared with those
who have a legitimate educational interest.
12/21/98
For more information
about specific disabilities, click on any of the following links.
Any questions or
comments?
Please contact:
Nancy Conklin, Coordinator at Educational Access Services
1020 Elm Avenue
248-1826
updated
06/22/05
