CHAPTER SIX

STUDENT AFFAIRS

640	DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER
640.1	Disability Resource Center (DRC) Mission Statement
	The mission of the DRC is to assist students with disabilities in achieving access to higher education and to promote their ongoing personal and educational success and to promote campus compliance with relevant CSU, California State and Federal legal mandates prohibiting discrimination against any otherwise-qualified student with a disability (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/TOPNAV/about.html).
640.2	Verification of Disability
	The Disability Resource Center has been delegated the authority to certify disabilities and to prescribe specific accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
640.2.1	Verification of Evident Disability
	The campus director (or designee) of the DRC has the authority to verify a disability if the nature and extent of the disability is evident.
640.2.2	Documentation of Disability/Qualification of Individuals
	In those cases where the director (or designee) of the program for services to students with disabilities is unable to verify a student’s disability, it is the responsibility of the individual with a disability to complete a Student Application for Services and, per the guidelines contained in that application, provide appropriate documentation of his/her disability from an appropriately training professional who identifies any functional limitations that may result from the disability as he/she participates in University programs or activities (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/prospective/applicationforservices.pdf).
640.2.3	Transfer Students with Disability Status
	A student who has transferred as a student with a disability and received services from a California community college, the University of California, or any other regionally accredited, postsecondary institution, may be eligible for academic accommodations or support services at a California State University campus if appropriate documentation is received verifying the disability by the criteria used by the CSU. The campus director (or designee) of the DRC shall have ultimate authority to determine disability status, subject to established appeal procedures.
640.2.4	Student Appeal
	Students may appeal provision of services based on verification of a disability based on existing grievance processes (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/faculty/disputes.html#reviewboard).
640.3	DRC Student Confidentiality Policy
640.3.1	Student Records
	The DRC will maintain appropriate confidential records that identify students with disabilities. These records shall include the student’s name, address, student identification number, nature of disability, support services needed, and verifying statement by the coordinator or designee of services to students with disabilities, and documentation provided by the student.
640.3.2	Protections of Confidentiality
	All DRC student records, including student medical records, shall be considered “education records” protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 and its regulations. Although certain medical records are exempt from FERPA definition of “education records,” that exemption does not apply to students with disabilities (http://www.ess.calpoly.edu/_records/stu_info/ferpa.htm). Accordingly, confidential records will be protected in accordance with FERPA regulations with the purpose of providing appropriate academic accommodation or adaptation of curricula. All DRC students are required to sign a notice informing them of their rights to access and their rights to privacy as delineated by that Act (http://drc.calpoly.edu/faculty/index.html#disclosure).
640.3.3	Release of Information
	The DRC will not release any information regarding an individual’s diagnosis documentation, or participation in the DRC without his/her informed, written consent or under compulsion of legal process. Information will be released only on a “need-to- know” basis, except where otherwise required by law. Furthermore, to safeguard the confidentiality of individuals with psychiatric disabilities, evaluators may withhold or redact any portion of the documentation that is not directly relevant to criteria for establishing rationale for requested appropriate accommodations. Information about the student may be released with the student’s informed written consent in accordance with FERPA or other applicable legislation.
640.3.4	Storage of Records
	Disability Resource Center student educational files will be securely stored to protect confidential student information.
640.4	Accommodation Agreement
	The Disability Resource Center will develop an Accommodation Agreement that defines to which disability-related accommodations an individual is legally entitled. Each Accommodation Agreement is developed on a case-by-case basis and will include appropriate consultation with the individual with a documented disability, and as necessary, consultation with other University representatives and/or appropriate individuals.
640.5	Provision of Accommodations
	The DRC provides support services for students with mobility limitations, learning disabilities, hearing or visual impairments, and other disabilities. The provision of any disability-related accommodation will be supported by documentation and/or the professional judgment of a DRC staff member competent to interpret that documentation.
640.6	A Non-Exclusive List of Accommodations
	· Academic Advising (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/advising.html) · Adaptive Computer Resources (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/adaptive_computing.html) · Assistive Listening Devices (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/assistive_listening.html) · Computer-aided Realtime Transcription (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/captioning.html) · Cued Language Transliterators (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/cuedlang.html) · Notetaking (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/notetaking.html) · On-campus Transportation (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/transportation.html) · Accommodated Parking (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/parking.html) · Sign Language Interpreters (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/interpreting.html) · Taped, Large-Print and E-Text Textbooks (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/tapedtexts.html) · Test Accommodations (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/testing.html) Accommodated Testing provides testing accommodations to eligible students based on documented functional limitations. Students are requested to submit a completed Authorization to Administer Test form one week in advance of the test date. The Authorization to Administer Test form must be completed and signed by the professor. It is the responsibility of the DRC to enforce the test conditions specified by the professor and provide the pre-determined accommodations.
	All students taking tests proctored by the DRC are required to adhere to campus policies addressing the issues of cheating and plagiarism. Any student who violates the terms of his/her Test Authorization Agreement will be reported to the student’s respective instructor for appropriate disciplinary action. The testing materials of any student who arrives more than 20 minutes late for their exam will be returned to their instructor per the instructions on the Test Authorization Agreement. Accommodated Testing: All testing services described above can be adapted to accommodate the needs of appropriately verified persons with disabilities. Arrangements to receive such services must be made in a timely manner.
	· Writing Assistance (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/services/writing.html).
640.7	Policy for the Prioritization of Accommodations
	If resources are not adequately available, the following criteria will be utilized to determine the allocation of those resources: · Date of request · Type of class
	Basic or pre-requisite courses required for academic progress. Major/support/GE courses (elective or non-academic courses will receive a lower priority). Sequential courses critical to student’s major which may be offered only limited times during the year. Availability of alternate times/sections for requested course(s). Ability of students to voluntarily take classes together to maximize the use of resources. Availability of accommodations that might serve as alternates to the preferred accommodations.
640.8	Definitions
640.8.1	“Person with a disability”
	Any qualified student who has: · an impairment which substantially limits one or more “major life activities;” · a history of such an impairment; or · who is regarded as having such an impairment.
640.8.2	“Otherwise qualified individual with a disability”
	Any person who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities.
640.8.3	“Reasonable Accommodation”
	A reasonable accommodation provides the individual with the opportunity to participate equal to that afforded other program participants. The accommodation may include modification of existing practices or procedures so long as it does not “fundamentally alter” the nature of the service program or activity. The exact nature of what constitutes a “reasonable accommodation” is determined on a case-by-case consideration of alternate means of accommodation, their feasibility, cost and their effect on the academic program. No reasonable accommodation may “substantially lower or effect a fundamental modification of technical or academic standards” or impose an undue financial or administrative burden upon the University.
640.9	Grievance Procedures
	Per Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the University has designated an ADA Compliance Officer who is charged with assisting in the resolution of ADA-related grievances. The University adopted and publishes grievance procedures that incorporate due process procedures and provides for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints related to the accommodation of persons with disabilities through both informal and formal procedures (http://www.drc.calpoly.edu/faculty/disputes.html).

Reference

· Date approved by the President:

· Office responsible for implementation: Disability Resource Center

· Date when the policy is to be reviewed and by whom: February 2004, Cornel N. Morton, Vice President for Student Affairs

· Sunset clause (where stipulated):

· Related University Policies/Documents/Manuals/Handbooks:

· Any laws, regulations or codes of practice which should be referred to in conjunction with the policy: A CSU Guide to Federal Disability Law In Student Programs and Activities, Office of the General Counsel (revised 1998) – CSU Guidelines for Compliance with Relevant Federal Laws Protecting the Rights of Individuals with Disabilities; AB – 3184 ( CSU implementation through Addendum to AAES 89-71) - Reader Services for Students with Disabilities; AB – 1021 (Amending Section 67300 and adding Sections 67302 and 67303) - Reader Services for Students with Disabilities; Section 42201 of Title 5 (California Code of Regulations) - Campus Parking Fee; State University Administrative Manual Sections 9322.12, 9332.10 and 9342.11 – Requires Consultation with DRC Designee at Each Phase of Any Capital Outlay Project; AB-462 (Donahue Higher Education Act (Div. 5, Chapter 14.2, Section 67310) - Equal Access to Post-Secondary Education for Persons with Disabilities; California State Assembly bill AB-746 (Chapter 829, Statutes of 1987) - Provision of Services to Students with Disabilities Enrolled in the California Community Colleges, the California State University and the University of California; California State Assembly bill AB-1021 (Education Code Section 89755.5) – Funding of Disabled Student Services; California State Assembly bill AB-2625; CSU Academic Senate Resolution AS-187-85 - Resolution on Students with Disabilities; CSU Academic Senate Policy AS-1106-79/FA – Policy on Student Taping of Lectures; AB – 422 (Added Section 67302 to Education Code) Requires Textbook - Publishers to Provide in Electronic Format Copies of Any Printed Materials; SB 302 (Amends Government Code Section 11135) - Requires CSU to Comply with Section 508 Standards for Access to Electronic Information; Title 24, California Code of Regulations – Provides for Architectural Accessibility; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – Prevents Discrimination on the Basis of Disabilities in any Program Receiving Federal Funding; The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – Extends Protection from Discrimination on the Basis of Disability to Both Public and Private Sectors of the United States.