About Us
Disability Support Services coordinates accommodation
services for students with permanent or temporary disabilities
enrolled at Palo Alto College.
Disability Support Services Goals
- To provide reasonable
accommodations that enables qualified individuals with disabilities
to participate in and benefit from all Palo Alto
College programs, activities and services.
- To ensure that all programs, services and
facilities are accessible and provide equal opportunities
for education to all students.
- To encourage students to become
independent and self-reliant.
- To provide information
and consultation about specific disabilities and accommodations
to the Palo Alto community.
Our Mission Statement
The office of Disability Support Services is committed to coordinating reasonable
and appropriate accommodations, facilitating access to Palo Alto's
programs and services, in addition to, promoting a campus environment
that encourages individual achievement for students with disabilities.
We will serve our community with professionalism, compassion, and
respect.
Definition of Disability
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states:
"No otherwise qualified individual ...shall solely 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." Federal
law guarantees all qualified students with disabilities a learning
environment that provides reasonable accommodations for
their disability.
Federal Law Defines a Disability as:
"any mental or physical impairment, that substantially
limits an individual's ability to perform one or more major life
activities." A mental or physical impairment includes: physical
disabilities, visual or hearing impairments, psychological disabilities,
learning disabilities, communication disorders. Major life activities
include: walking, seeing, hearing, sitting
standing, breathing, reading/math, learning thought processing,
concentrating, interacting with others Section 504 of 1973, as
well
as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, prohibits
discrimination in the recruitment, admission or treatment of students.
Under ADA,
Palo Alto College must ensure that its programs, activities and
facilities are accessible to qualified students with disabilities.
The ADA requires each academic accommodation to be made on an individual
or case-by-case basis.
To Establish Eligibility for Support Services:
- Students self-disclose and Request
Accommodations through the DSS office.
- Provide current documentation including
a specific diagnosis, functional limitations, and requested accommodations.
- For phyiscal disabilities documentation must not be more than
5 years old.
- For psychological disabilities documentation must not be more
than 1 year old from date of request for accommodations.
- Compete documentation for requested accommodations is required.
- After complete documentation is received, 10 to 14
days is required to review documentation before an intake interview
will
be scheduled to discuss reasonable accommodations..
- Confidential
Letters of Accommodation are issued
to and delivered by the student to the instructor(s).
- A Renewal
of Services Form is required each semester the
student seeks accommodations.
At the time of your Intake Interview and for each semester you
request
services, you will complete a Request for Services form and meet
with the Coordinator. At the time of your appointment, the
documentation
will be reviewed and accommodation services will be determined.
These letters are given to the instructors by the students requesting
academic accommodations once eligibility is established.
The letters indicate which academic accommodations the student
is eligible to receive. The student's disability is not disclosed.
Please Note: The College DOES NOT
provide Personal Attendant Care Services. Service Animals are welcome!
What does Appropriate Documentation of Disability Mean?
To determine eligibility for accommodations, potential
students must provide Disability Support Services with one or
more of the
following up to date proof of disability.
- A signed statement by a licensed professional, on that person's
professional letterhead, whose license or credentials are appropriate
to diagnose the disability. The statement must indicate the
disability for which accommodations are being requested.
- A Certificate
of Deafness from Texas Commission for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing (TCDHH).
- Audiogram from an up to date hearing
test performed by a professional Audiologist.
- A Certificate
of Blindness from Texas Commission for the Blind (TCB).
- Results
from a Comprehensive Individual Assessment.
- All evaluations
must be up-to-date, administered and interpreted by a qualified
professional whose license or credentials are
appropriate
to diagnose that disability, such as: State Licensed Psychologist,
School Psychologist, Educational Diagnosticians, State Licensed,
Professional Counselors, Vocational Rehabilitation Division
Diagnosticians. Professional must hold these degrees: M.Ed.,
M.S., M.A., Ph.D,
Ed.D., M.D., Psy. D., Ed.D., M.D., Psy.D.
- Degrees must be in these fields of study:
counseling, education, psychology, neuropsychology, special
education, medicine. ALL
DOCUMENTATION MUST BE DATED AND SIGNED BY THE PROFESSIONAL
MAKING THE DIAGNOSES.
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