Accommodating Students with Disabilities:  A Collaborative Campus Effort Opening Day – August 24, 2017 Dave Green, Associate Dean, Services for Students with Disabilities Eric Kim, Associate General Counsel, LACCD

Legal Overview - Applicable Statutes Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 Title 29, United States Code, Section 794 Recipients of Federal Funds American With Disabilities Act, Title II Title 42, United States Code, Section 12132 Public Entities Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Legal Overview - Prohibited Discrimination No qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any public entity or any program or activity (“college”) receiving Federal funds Title II of ADA and Section 504 Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Legal Overview - What is a Disability? A physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities Major life activities include: Caring for one's self Performing manual tasks Walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, Working Learning Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

District’s Legal Obligation In General: To provide equal opportunities to students with disabilities Ensure equal levels of communications Afford the same benefits and services Provide instruction and services that are equally effective in affording the opportunity to obtain the same results Afford the same rights, privileges, advantages, and opportunities afforded to others 28 CFR Section 35.130 34 CFR Section 104.4 Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Provide Auxiliary Aids – Section 504 The recipient shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that no handicapped student is denied the benefits of, excluded from participation in, or subjected to discrimination because of the absence of educational auxiliary aids for students with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills. 34 CFR Section 104.44(d) Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Provide Auxiliary Aids – Title II ADA A public entity shall furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, a service, program, or activity conducted by a public entity. In determining what type of auxiliary aid and service is necessary, a public entity shall give primary consideration to the requests of the individual with disabilities. 28 CFR Section 35.160 Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Legal Overview - Auxiliary Aids Qualified interpreters, notetakers, transcription services, written materials, assistive listening devices, open and closed captioning, videotext displays, or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments; Qualified readers, taped texts, audio recordings, Braille materials, large print materials, or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to individuals with visual impairments; Classroom equipment adapted for use by students with manual impairments Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices 34 CFR Section 104.44(d) 28 CFR Section 35.104 Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Legal Overview - Exam Accommodations In its course examination of students with disabilities that impair sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the recipient shall provide a method for evaluation that will best ensure that the results of the evaluation represents the student's achievement in the course, rather than reflecting the student's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills. 34 CFR Section 104.44(c) Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Legal Overview - Program Alteration The recipient shall modify its academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate, or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of disability. Modifications may include: Extending the time permitted to complete the degree Substitution of required courses Adaptation of the manner in which courses are conducted However, academic requirements that the recipient can demonstrate are essential to the instruction or are part of a licensing requirement need not be waived, altered, or modified 34 CFR Section 104.44(a) Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Accommodating Students with Disabilities

Student Responsibilities Provide Verification of Disability to SSD Office Meet with SSD Counselor to discuss and request appropriate disability-related accommodations and services EVERY SEMESTER Inform SSD if there are facilitation issues with accommodations Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

The Interactive Process Because we must treat each student with a disability as an individual case, we are required by law to engage in an interactive process to determine the appropriate accommodations for each student. Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

During the Interactive Process Determine Educational Limitations Discuss and identify appropriate solutions; Selecting an appropriate solution under the ADA, (presumes the method of accommodation preferred by the student if reasonable and not a fundamental alteration) Implement the accommodation Follow up as necessary to ensure the success of the accommodation Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Common Accommodations and Services Enrollment assistance Priority registration Student educational planning Special parking privileges Sign language interpreters Note-taking assistance Tutoring referrals Equipment loans Specialized academic and vocational counseling Recorded Class Lectures Test-taking accommodations Special classes Liaison with the Braille Institute Access to assistive technology Alternate text formats Learning disability assessment Adjustable Tables Cushioned Chairs Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017 Recording of Lectures Education Code Section 78907: The use by any person, including a student, of any electronic listening or recording device in any classroom without the prior consent of the instructor is prohibited, except as necessary to provide Reasonable auxiliary aids and Academic Adjustments to disabled students. (see Lecture Recording Contract) Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Fundamental Alteration (Title 5 IG) An accommodation that requires a change that is so significant that it alters the essential nature of the approved course outline of record and the objectives of an individual course or course of study. There may be times when a student requests an accommodation that a professor believes may compromise the academic integrity or create a fundamental alteration of the course. In such cases the college must objectively seek to determine whether an accommodation fundamentally alters the nature of a course. To undertake this process faculty and DSPS staff will need to work together. Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017 SSD Responsibilities Collect and Assess Verification of Disability Identify reasonable accommodations and services Facilitate certain accommodations Support students (may involve enhanced advocacy) Serve as a resource for Faculty (provide information, advice and guidance) Promote best practices of inclusion for students with disabilities across campus Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Faculty Responsibilities Put a statement on your syllabus about disability accommodation Design with access in mind Provide and/or Facilitate Accommodations as specified on Student Accommodations Letter to Instructor Contact SSD if you have any questions or issues Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Faculty Responsibilities Sample Syllabus Statement If you are a student with a disability and require classroom accommodations, and have not contacted SSD, do so in a timely manner. SSD is located in the Student Services Annex, Room 175 or call SSD at (818) 947-2681 or TTD (818) 947-2680, to meet with a SSD counselor. If SSD has already sent the memo to instructor confirming accommodations required by student for this class, please meet with me to discuss arrangements. This document can be made available in alternate format upon request from SSD at (818) 947-2681. Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

SSD Documents for Faculty Letter to Instructor Note Taking Assistance Testing Accommodations Forms Sign Language Interpreter Information Adjustable Tables and Cushioned Chairs Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017 Keep Access in Mind Instructional Materials Textbooks Are there online supplements? Are they accessible? Alt Tags? Captions? Websites – Are they accessible? Film and Video - Are they captioned? Forms/Handouts – Will they need to be enlarged? Brailled? Labs and Testing Accommodations Co-curricular Activities Field Trips Is the location physically accessible? Will the student need auxiliary aids or services? Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Online/Hybrid/Web Enhanced Classes All instructional materials must be accessible. This includes photos, videos, and audio files posted online. Photos posted online must be tagged with alternative text (Alt Text or Alt Tag). Videos posted online must be captioned (synched) Audio files posted online must have an accompanying transcription (unless there is synced video or slides – these must be captioned). PDFs and Word Documents Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Online/Hybrid/Web Enhanced Classes – Accessible Documents Accessible Documents Officially Defined Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/ www.w3.org/WAI/ WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) http://webaim.org/ Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Online/Hybrid/Web Enhanced Classes – Accessible Documents Practical Definition of Accessible Documents Perceivable Operable Understandable Robust Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Online/Hybrid/Web Enhanced Classes – Accessible Documents Perceivable Provide text alternatives for non-text content. Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia. Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning. Make it easier for users to see and hear content. Operable Make all functionality available from a keyboard. Give users enough time to read and use content. Do not use content that causes seizures. Help users navigate and find content. Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Online/Hybrid/Web Enhanced Classes – Accessible Documents Understandable Make text readable and understandable. Make content appear and operate in predictable ways. Help users avoid and correct mistakes. Robust Maximize compatibility with current and future user tools.

Upcoming Accessible Documents Trainings Presented by Gaeir Detrich, Director of the California Community Colleges High Tech Center Training Unit Thursday, October 12th at LAVC Friday, October 13th at the 3rd Annual LACCD Disability Summit (LACC)

How to request materials be Captioned or Transcribed Consider DIY options MovieCaptioner (available in the Professional Development Center) Youtube captioning DECT GRANT Contact Israel Ortiz in Virtual Valley Office – x2397 http://www.lavc.edu/virtualvalley/captioning-1.html for more information Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Case Study: Louisiana Tech University Settlement – July 2013 Louisiana Tech Settles With U.S. DOJ Over Claims That It Violated Disabilities Act Louisiana Tech University will pay a student a total of $23,543 in damages and make its Web sites and course materials more accessible in order to resolve allegations that it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act. This stems from the complaint of a blind student who alleged that he was unable to participate in a University course based on the professor’s adoption of an internet-based application (used for numerous aspects of coursework) that was inaccessible to him. More information at http://www.ada.gov/louisiana-tech.htm Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

Contact the SSD Got Questions? Call, email, or drop by Services for Students with Disabilities Student Services Annex 175 (818) 947-2681 ssd@lavc.edu Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017