Federal law guarantees all students with disabilities a learning environment that provides reasonable accommodation of their ability. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states:
No otherwise qualified individual…shall by reason of…handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
Section 504, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008 (ADAAA), prohibits discrimination in recruitment, admission or treatment of students. Students with documented disabilities may request accommodations that will enable them to participate in and benefit from all educational programs and activities. The ADA requires each academic accommodation to be made on an individual or case-by-case basis. Under ADA, the College must ensure that its programs and facilities are accessible to all qualified students.
Students are responsible for self-identifying their need for accommodations to the Academic Success Center and providing adequate documentation of their disability. Students must submit a letter from their physician that verifies the disability.
Students with learning differences and/or disabilities must submit a full psycho-educational report. The assessment must be administered by a trained and qualified (i..e., certified and/or licensed) professional (e.g. psychologist, school psychologist, neuropsychologist, educational diagnostician) and have been completed, ideally, within the last three years. The diagnostic report must include:
- Relevant historical information, past and current academic achievement, instructional foundation, past performance in areas of difficulty, age at initial diagnosis, and history of accommodations used in past educational settings and their effectiveness.
- A diagnostic summary statement with the following information:
- A clear and direct statement that a learning disability does or does not exist.
- A clear statement specifying the substantial limitations to one or more major life activities.
- Recommendations and a rationale for accommodations.
- The signature, location, and license number of the diagnosing professional
A diagnosis of specific learning differences and/or disabilities without psychoeducational measures may not be used for determining eligibility for academic accommodations. For example, school plans such as Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 Plans often do not provide adequate information. However, they may be included with the required evaluation, as they can prove helpful. Please read the complete Berry College Documentation Criteria at http://www.berry.edu/asc/. Accommodations do not automatically carry over from semester to semester, nor are they retroactive; therefore, each semester, the student must submit a request to have accommodations activated for the upcoming semester. Requests should include a class schedule and be emailed to Katrina Meehan, Associate Director for Accessibility Resources, at kmeehan@berry.edu. Students can also come to the Office of Accessibility Resources located in Evans 106. The accommodation letter serves as a tool to assist students in communicating with faculty about their accommodations. The letter verifies that the student is registered with the office and outlines the approved accommodations.
Please refer to the Division of Student Success Website at http://www.berry.edu/asc/ for more complete information about accessibility resources.