1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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
34 CFR Section 104.4
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

6. 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 (d)
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

7. 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
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

8. 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 (d)
28 CFR Section
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

9. 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 (c)
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

10. 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 (a)
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

11. Accommodating Students with Disabilities

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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) or TTD (818) , 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)
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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)
WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind)
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

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

26. 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

27. 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.

28. 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)

29. 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
for more information
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

30. 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
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017

31. Contact the SSD Got Questions? Call, email, or drop by
Services for Students with Disabilities
Student Services Annex 175
(818)
Accommodating Students with Disabilities – Fall 2017