It is the obligation of the student with a disability to request reasonable accommodation. Enrolled students must submit a request-for-accommodations form to the Director of the school, prior to the beginning of each quarter. Submission of documentation does not guarantee accommodations. Qualified students with a disability must provide recent documentation from a qualified, licensed professional that addresses the specific disability and the requested accommodation. Requests for accommodations must be supported by specific medical documentation. Once a student’s request(s) for accommodation have been in-putted for accommodation and program access, it is the student’s responsibility to request accommodations each quarter that s/he is enrolled.
Accommodations may include, but are not limited to provisions of or usage of assistive devices, extended time for taking tests or quizzes, oral testing, private room for testing and/or special seating arrangements and so on.
Students must provide documentation of a disability in order to receive Section 504 services. The documentation must be current and from a professional who has expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of the disability. At a minimum, the documentation should include diagnosis of the disabling condition, its effect upon the students learning and/or academic endeavors, and recommendations for appropriate accommodations for access to programs and benefits.
The date of the testing must have been within three (3) years of the request for accommodation if it was completed prior to the student’s eighteenth birthday. Testing completed after the student’s eighteenth birthday may be considered valid for five (5) years. The testing must have been completed by a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, neuro-psychiatrist, school psychologist, or psychometrist working under a licensed psychologist.
Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) are not acceptable forms of primary documentation. IEP’s are plans which were structured and agreed to with the particular school at the time they were written. On the other hand, IEP’s may be helpful in determining the level of support and types of accommodations which were provided to a student in the past, and they may provide insight regarding successful support.