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ADA Title II Action Guide for State and Local Governments

Public Postsecondary Schools

Two students in college library

As with public elementary and secondary schools, public postsecondary schools have obligations specified in the U.S. Department of Education’s Section 504 regulations, in addition to the ADA Title II requirements, if the school receives federal financial assistance.  These requirements also apply to private postsecondary schools that receive federal financial assistance.  Subpart E of the Section 504 regulations is intended to ensure an equal educational opportunity for students with disabilities in postsecondary schools. Subpart E requires schools to make “academic adjustments” based on individual students’ disabilities and needs. Unlike in public K-12 schools, in the postsecondary setting it is students’ obligation to notify the school that they have a disability and need an academic adjustment. If it is not obvious that a student has a disability and/or needs the academic adjustment, schools may require that the student provide reasonable documentation indicating a current disability and need for the academic adjustment.

Academic adjustments may include:

  • Modifications to academic requirements.

  • Extended time for testing,

  • Reducing a course load

  • substituting one course for another

  • Priority registration

  • Note takers

  • Recording devices

  • Sign language interpreters

  • Auxiliary aids and services

  • Equipping school computers with screen-reading, voice recognition, or other adaptive software or hardware.

Postsecondary schools are not required to lower or substantially modify essential requirements. For example, a school may be required to provide extended testing time, but it is not required to change the substantive content of the test. Schools do not have to make adjustments that would be a fundamentally alteration to a course, activity or degree requirement; or that would result in an undue financial or administrative burden.  Unlike public elementary schools, postsecondary schools are not required to provide personal attendants, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a personal nature, such as tutoring and typing.

Postsecondary schools are encouraged to develop reasonable procedures to request academic adjustments. Many schools include information on the procedures and contacts for requesting an academic adjustment in their recruitment material, catalogs, student handbooks, and on their websites. Many schools have disability services offices or a designated staff person whose purpose is to assist students with disabilities. When conducting a self-evaluation the procedures should be reviewed.

Section 504 Education Regulations 34 § 104 Subpart E

§104.41 Application of this subpart:

Subpart E applies to postsecondary education programs or activities, including postsecondary vocational education programs or activities, that receive Federal financial assistance and to recipients that operate, or that receive Federal financial assistance for the operation of, such programs or activities.

§104.42 Admissions and recruitment:

(a) General. Qualified handicapped persons may not, on the basis of handicap, be denied admission or be subjected to discrimination in admission or recruitment by a recipient to which this subpart applies. (b) Admissions. In administering its admission policies, a recipient to which this subpart applies: (1) May not apply limitations upon the number or proportion of handicapped persons who may be admitted; (2) May not make use of any test or criterion for admission that has a disproportionate, adverse effect on handicapped persons or any class of handicapped persons unless (i) the test or criterion, as used by the recipient, has been validated as a predictor of success in the education program or activity in question and (ii) alternate tests or criteria that have a less disproportionate, adverse effect are not shown by the Assistant Secretary to be available. (3) Shall assure itself that (i) admissions tests are selected and administered so as best to ensure that, when a test is administered to an applicant who has a handicap that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the applicant's aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factor the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the applicant's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure); (ii) admissions tests that are designed for persons with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills are offered as often and in as timely a manner as are other admissions tests; and (iii) admissions tests are administered in facilities that, on the whole, are accessible to handicapped persons; and (4) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, may not make preadmission inquiry as to whether an applicant for admission is a handicapped person but, after admission, may make inquiries on a confidential basis as to handicaps that may require accommodation. (c) Preadmission inquiry exception. When a recipient is taking remedial action to correct the effects of past discrimination pursuant to §104.6(a) or when a recipient is taking voluntary action to overcome the effects of conditions that resulted in limited participation in its federally assisted program or activity pursuant to §104.6(b), the recipient may invite applicants for admission to indicate whether and to what extent they are handicapped, Provided, That: (1) The recipient states clearly on any written questionnaire used for this purpose or makes clear orally if no written questionnaire is used that the information requested is intended for use solely in connection with its remedial action obligations or its voluntary action efforts; and (2) The recipient states clearly that the information is being requested on a voluntary basis, that it will be kept confidential, that refusal to provide it will not subject the applicant to any adverse treatment, and that it will be used only in accordance with this part. (d) Validity studies. For the purpose of paragraph (b)(2) of this section, a recipient may base prediction equations on first year grades, but shall conduct periodic validity studies against the criterion of overall success in the education program or activity in question in order to monitor the general validity of the test scores.

§104.43 Treatment of students; general:

(a) No qualified handicapped student shall, on the basis of handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any academic, research, occupational training, housing, health insurance, counseling, financial aid, physical education, athletics, recreation, transportation, other extracurricular, or other postsecondary education aid, benefits, or services to which this subpart applies. (b) A recipient to which this subpart applies that considers participation by students in education programs or activities not operated wholly by the recipient as part of, or equivalent to, and education program or activity operated by the recipient shall assure itself that the other education program or activity, as a whole, provides an equal opportunity for the participation of qualified handicapped persons. (c) A recipient to which this subpart applies may not, on the basis of handicap, exclude any qualified handicapped student from any course, course of study, or other part of its education program or activity. (d) A recipient to which this subpart applies shall operate its program or activity in the most integrated setting appropriate.

§104.44 Academic adjustments:

(a) Academic requirements. A recipient to which this subpart applies shall make such modifications to its academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of handicap, against a qualified handicapped applicant or student. Academic requirements that the recipient can demonstrate are essential to the instruction being pursued by such student or to any directly related licensing requirement will not be regarded as discriminatory within the meaning of this section. Modifications may include changes in the length of time permitted for the completion of degree requirements, substitution of specific courses required for the completion of degree requirements, and adaptation of the manner in which specific courses are conducted. (b) Other rules. A recipient to which this subpart applies may not impose upon handicapped students other rules, such as the prohibition of tape recorders in classrooms or of dog guides in campus buildings,  that have the effect of limiting the participation of handicapped students in the recipient's education program or activity. (c) Course examinations. In its course examinations or other procedures for evaluating students' academic achievement, a recipient to which this subpart applies shall provide such methods for evaluating the achievement of students who have a handicap that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills as 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 (except where such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure). (d) Auxiliary aids. (1) A recipient to which this subpart applies shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that no handicapped student 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. (2) Auxiliary aids may include taped texts, interpreters or other effective methods of making orally delivered materials available to students with hearing impairments, readers in libraries for students with visual impairments, classroom equipment adapted for use by students with manual impairments, and other similar services and actions. Recipients need not provide attendants, individually prescribed devices, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a personal nature.

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