Accommodating Students with Disabilities

True or False?

1. When a student is over the age of 18 and has a disability, you are required to discuss the student's accommodation requests with his/her parents.
   
   
2. A student with paraplegia who uses crutches is probably not entitled to extended time on his tests.
   
   
3. It is your responsibility to design your online instructional activities so that they may be read using a screen reader.
   
   
4. A student who is absent from class for a third of your class meetings due to a disability-related condition is automatically entitled to an incomplete contract.
   
   
5. An instructor is entitled to deny an extended test time accommodation because it is unfair to the other students in the class.
   
   
6. A student with an obvious visible disability attends your class accompanied by a personal attendant who is helping the student with class work. The attendant explains they are hired by a community agency to assist the student. You are required to allow the personal attendant to stay.
   
   
7. A student who failed your final exam claims you discriminated against her because she was not given test accommodations for her learning disability. Prior to receiving a grade of "F" the student had not informed anyone at the college that she had a learning disability. The Office of Civil Rights decision would be to reject the student's allegation.

Answers

1. False. FRPA protects the privacy of the student.
   
   
2. True. The fundamental limitations of paraplegia involve mobility but do not necessarily interfere with sitting and taking a test.
   
   
3. True. The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act mandate that persons who are blind/low vision must be able to access your online instruction by listening to their screen reader.
   
   
4. False. Attendance is typically a fundamental requirement for a letter grade. One third of the class is typically too much missed information to make up in an incomplete contract. The student should request a late "W" and retake the class at a later date.
   
   
5. False. This is not a reason to deny extended time as an accommodation. Extended time levels the playing field for the student with the disability. An instructor who refuses a legitimate request for extended test taking time as being unfair to non-disabled students, places her institution in legal jeopardy.
   
   
6. False. The student is required to follow the SBCC procedure for requesting accommodation. The student cannot simply bring another person as an attendant into your classroom expecting there to be an extra seat.
   
   
7. True. The college had no knowledge of the student's disability until after the grade was assigned. The student has the responsibility to disclose and make the formal request before the test.

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