Rights and Responsibilities

Rights and Responsibilities to Ensure Educational Access for Students with Disabilities

Introduction

Educational access is the provision of classroom accommodations, auxiliary aids and services to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students regardless of disability. Creating equal educational opportunities is a collaborative effort between the student, the faculty member, and Disability Support Services (DSS) at CSUF.  DSS is available at 657-278-3112 or at fullerton.edu/dss. 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 protect students with disabilities from discrimination that may occur as a result of misconceptions, attitudinal barriers, and/or failure of the institution to provide appropriate accommodations, auxiliary aids, or services. Examples of accommodations and auxiliary aids include, but are not limited to:  qualified interpreters, note takers, extra time for exams, and educational materials in alternate format (i.e. Braille, captioned videos, electronic format, large print materials).  

Faculty Rights and Responsibilities

Faculty have the right to :

  • Request verification of a student’s eligibility for any requested accommodations. Such verification will be in the form of a letter provided by a DSS counselor and delivered by email. DSS is the only office designated to review disability documentation and determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations. Faculty should not require students to show documentation beyond their Course Accessibility Letter.

  • Expect the student to initiate accommodation requests. 

  • If the student is taking their tests at DSS, expect DSS to administer exams in a secure and monitored environment.

Faculty have the responsibility to:

  • Identify and establish essential functions, abilities, skills, and knowledge of their courses and evaluate students on this basis. Students with disabilities should meet the same course expectations as their peers.

  • Provide disability-based accommodations only to students who are registered with DSS.

  • Use a syllabus statement and class announcements to invite students to disclose their needs. . 

  • Meet with student to discuss implementing accommodations and consult with DSS as needed.

  • Treat and protect all disability-related information as confidential.

  • Clearly communicate your testing procedures with the student and with DSS by completing the Titanable exam information.  DSS requests exams and instructions at least 24 hours prior to the exam.

PLEASE NOTE: Faculty do NOT have the right to ask students if they have a disability.  For those students with documented disabilities, faculty do NOT have the right to ask about the nature of the disability.  However, if students choose to disclose their disability, this information should be treated confidentially.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Students have the right to:

  • Expect all disability-related information to be treated confidentially. 

  • Receive appropriate accommodations in a timely manner from faculty or DSS.  Students should have the opportunity to meet privately with faculty to discuss needed accommodations and any other concerns.

  • Appeal decisions regarding accommodations. 

  • Request assistance and advocacy from DSS as needed.

Students have the responsibility to:

  • Self-identify with DSS with a qualified disability.

  • Provide DSS with appropriate documentation of the disability.

  • Provide a Course Accessibility Letter to the faculty and initiate requests for specific accommodations in a timely manner, preferably early in the semester. 

  • Notify faculty/DSS immediately when an accommodation is not being provided completely or correctly.

  • Submit timely requests for note taking, testing taking, and alternative texts.  These request forms can be found on the DSS website.

DSS Rights and Responsibilities

DSS has the right to:

  • Receive the appropriate documentation from the student prior to the services being initiated.

  • Expect students and faculty to work with DSS to facilitate academic accommodations. 

  • Deny accommodations if they impose undue hardship to, or fundamentally alter, a program or activity of the college.

DSS has the responsibility to:

  • Meet with the student privately in an accessible location to discuss disability-related needs.

  • Review and maintain confidential records.

  • Proctor exams as directed in a secure and monitored environment.

  • Provide appropriate accommodations in collaboration with the instructor and student.

  • Provide materials in accessible format upon request.

Information was adapted from a publication funded by the U.S. Department of Education.