Office for Civil Rights Seattle Office

1. Academic Adjustments & Auxiliary Aids& Documentation Office for Civil Rights US Department of Education April 2011

2. Office for Civil RightsSeattle Office Henry M. Jackson Federal Building 915 Second Avenue, Room 3310 Tim Sell and Noel Nightingale Seattle Main Number – 206-607-1600 http://www.ed.gov/ocr/ April 2011

3. What’s New with OCR • OCR now posting compliance review and selected complaint letters on website accessible to public, see:.  http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/publications.html • Newly Effective ADA Regulations, eff. March 15, 2011 (28 CFR Part 35), available at: • http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm • Service animals, accessibility standards (path of travel, existing facilities), direct threat, qualified interpreters, video-remote interpreting, ticketing April 2011

4. What’s Happening with OCR Seattle • Stop by OCR Seattle’s TA Table at AHEAD conference in Seattle in July • By the Numbers: • FY 2009 – 524* complaints • FY 2010 – 425 complaints • FY 2011 – 397 (thru April 12, 2011) • FY 2011 (projected) – 680 complaints* • FY 2011 – 7 pending Compliance Reviews April 2011

5. Legal Jurisdiction • Disability - Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973/Title II of the ADA of 1990 – 50% • Race, Color, National Origin - Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – 15% • Sex - Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 – 7% • Multiple Jurisdictional Bases – 15% • Age - The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 - 2% • Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act - <1% April 2011

6. Complaints – By the Numbers • Nationally – Section 504/Title II - 50% • Seattle OCR – 48%-50% are disability • Seattle OCR - 20% of disability cases are post-secondary • Seattle OCR – FY 2011 – 8 - Academic Adjustment/Auxiliary Aids, 4 – Harassment, 5 - General, 3 - Accessibility, 3 - Financial Aid April 2011

7. OCR resolves complaints conducts compliance reviews provides technical assistance How does OCR enforce the law? April 2011

8. Complaint Evaluation • Jurisdiction • Timeliness • Sufficient information to proceed with complaint resolution • Basis for dismissal or administrative closure April 2011

9. Complaint Resolution • Early Complaint Resolution • Investigation • Resolution Agreement (to settle the matter) • Letter of Findings and Enforcement April 2011

10. Section 504 No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States … shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…. April 2011

11. Section 504 ”Program or activity" means all of the operations of - * * * (b)(2)(A) a college, university, or other postsecondary institution, or a public system of higher education; April 2011

12. Title II of the ADA • Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities, including state colleges and universities, regardless of whether they receive Federal financial assistance • Section 504 and Title II of the ADA have similar compliance standards. April 2011

13. Person with a disability • Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity or • Has a record of such an impairment or • Is regarded as having such an impairment. April 2011

14. ADA Amendments Act of 2008 • Effective Jan. 1, 2009. • Amends ADA and conforms definition of disability in Section 504 with Amendments Act. • Retains the elements of the term “disability,” but changes the meaning of • “substantially limits a major life activity” and • being “regarded as” having an impairment. • Requires “disability” to be construed broadly. April 2011

15. Academic Adjustments • College must make modifications to academic requirements necessary to ensure requirements do not discriminate on the basis of disability against a qualified person with a disability. • Examples of possible modifications are: • change in length of time to complete a program • substitution of courses • adaptation of manner in which courses are conducted April 2011

16. What Is Not Required • College is not required to change academic requirements that are essential to • The instruction being pursued by the student; or • Any directly related licensing requirements. • College is not required to alter the fundamental nature of its program. • OCR gives appropriate deference to the academic discretion of a college. April 2011

17. Examples of Possible Auxiliary Aids • Taped texts • Notetakers • Interpreters • Readers • Adapted classroom equipment • Braille versions of written materials April 2011

18. Auxiliary Aids Colleges must take such steps as are necessary to ensure that no student with a disability is denied the benefits of, excluded from participation in, or otherwise subjected to discrimination because of the absence of educational auxiliary aids for students with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills. April 2011

19. What Is Not Required • College is not required to provide auxiliary aids or services that it can demonstrate would result in • A fundamental alteration in the nature of its program; or • Undue financial or administrative burdens. April 2011

20. What Is Not Required • Colleges are not required to provide devices or services of a personal nature. • Examples: • Attendants • Individually prescribed devices • Readers for personal use or study April 2011

21. Accessible Communications & Auxiliary Aids (ADA) • Communications must be “as effective as” communications with non-disabled persons. • Public entity must furnish “appropriate” auxiliary aids and services where necessary for equal opportunity. • Public entity must give “primary consideration” to requests of person with disability but is not required to honor preference if effective alternative available. April 2011

22. Tests & Examinations • Test format and administration should measure a student’s achievement, not the student’s impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where such skills are the factors the test purports to measure). • Examples: • tape vs. print • extended time • reader April 2011

23. Basic Principles—Academic Adjustments, Auxiliary Aids, and Testing • If a college student wants an academic adjustment or auxiliary aid or service, the student is responsible for notifying the college of his or her disability and need for academic adjustments or auxiliary aids or services. • Academic adjustments and auxiliary aids and services must be provided in a timely manner. April 2011

24. 2 Steps to Making Decisions One: Determination of whether individual has an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity (is it a disability?) Two: Determination of whether academic adjustment or auxiliary aid or service is required and, if so, what April 2011

25. Initiating the Process If a student wants an academic adjustment, he or she has the initial obligation to provide notice of a disability and need for academic adjustment or auxiliary aid or services. April 2011

26. Documentation • Postsecondary schools may establish reasonable standards for documentation. • Some schools require more documentation than others. • The following list identifies the type of documentation some schools require. April 2011

27. Documentation Some Schools Require • Diagnosis of physical or mental impairment. • Evaluation by a qualified professional. • The name, title, and professional credentials of the evaluator, including information about license or certification as well as the area of specialization, employment, and state in which the individual practices. April 2011

28. Documentation cont’d • Current testing and evaluation data. Documentation demonstrating existing disability. While some disabilities may be life-long, documentation may be required to demonstrate the current impact of those disabilities. April 2011

29. Documentation cont’d • Demonstration of the need for services based on the individual’s functional limitations and current level of functioning in the educational setting. • Comprehensive and complete documentation. April 2011

30. 3 C’s of Documentation • Students should attempt to provide documentation that is: • Current • Comprehensive • Complete April 2011

31. Paying for Evaluation • Colleges are not required to conduct or pay for a new evaluation to document a student’s need for an academic adjustment. This may mean the student must pay or find funding to pay an appropriate professional to do it. • An institution may choose to conduct its own evaluation at its own cost. • In order to clarify the documentation and obtain needed information, it is often helpful for the school to simply talk to the student’s diagnostician with the student’s permission. April 2011

32. Interactive Process The school and student should engage in an interactive process to determine whether an academic adjustment is required and, if so, what academic adjustment is appropriate. April 2011

33. OCR Contact Information • http://www.ed.gov/ocr/ • ocr@ed.gov • Tim Sell, 206-607-1639, timothy.sell@ed.gov • Noel Nightingale, 206-607-1632, noel.nightingale @ed.gov April 2011