What is a disability?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act define a disability as a physical or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities. These civil rights laws protect students with disabilities from discrimination. The ADA and Section 504 protections also extend to students who have a record of, or are regarded as having such an impairment.

Below is a partial list of disabilities typically identified by students:

Attention Deficit
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Blindness and Visual Impairments
Chronic Health Impairments
Communication Impairments
Deafness and Hard of Hearing
Intellectual Disabilities
Learning Disabilities
Mobility Impairments
Psychiatric Disabilities (Depression, Bi-polar, Anxiety, etc.)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Temporary Disabilities such as broken limbs
Traumatic Brain Injuries

How to refer students to Student Accommodations and Support Services?

Faculty and staff are encouraged to refer students, who may meet the definition of a disability or may have an undiagnosed disability. Student Accommodations and Support Services does not offer disability evaluation. However, SASS can provide a list of practitioners in the Spokane area so that students can seek identification/documentation of a disability.

For more information on how a student can register with SASS, please visit Requesting Accommodations.

Policies and Forms Commonly used by Faculty

Arranging for Accommodations - Student Process

Students with disabilities or suspected disabilities will need to complete the SASS registration process by following the steps located under Requesting Accommodations. Once the student has completed the New Student Application and submitted documentation to the SASS office, the student will then schedule an intake appointment to meet with an Accommodation Specialist (SASS Advisor).

During the intake meeting, the SASS Accommodation Specialist determines how the disability impacts the academic work of the student. This is accomplished through discussion with the student and review of documentation. Students with insufficient documentation may be referred to physicians, psychologists or other qualified diagnosticians for complete assessment before accommodations are granted.

After the disability and its functional limitations are verified, SASS provides information about the various reasonable accommodations which address the student's functional limitations.

The student then chooses the reasonable accommodations that best apply to them. Frequently, students arrange follow-up meetings with the Accommodation Specialist to assist with ongoing problem solving.

Once the student has been officially assigned accommodations, the student will need to login to MyDSS Student Portal to request accommodations per class, per term. When a student completes an accommodation request through MyDSS for an specific course, the faculty will receive a notification letter via email.

It is the responsibility of the student to meet with the professor and discuss accommodations, even if a notification letter has been sent to the faculty.

A student can identify with SASS at any time during a quarter, if this happens, the student still needs to meet with each professor to arrange accommodations.

What if an accommodation can't be made?

Faculty are required to implement accommodations approved through the SASS office. If a faculty member believes a requested accommodation is an undue hardship or fundamentally alters an education program or activity, the Accommodation Review Form can be completed within three days of receiving the Faculty Notification Letter of Accommodations.

Once this form is completed, the SASS Manager and Academic Department Chair will meet to review the accommodation and concerns. If the decision is not agreeable, the ultimate decision will be determined by the Dean of the College and Dean of Students or designee. Please complete this form within 3 days of receiving the Instructor Notification Letter for accommodation.