Disability Defined

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 of their disability.

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.

Students with documented disabilities may request accommodations that will enable them to 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, Palo Alto College must ensure that its programs, activities and facilities are accessible to qualified students with disabilities.

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