Working with Students with Disabilities – Legal and Pract - PowerPoint Presentation

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Working with Students with Disabilities – Legal and Practical Considerations for Faculty

Angie Millman

Director, Disability Support Services

Michael Taylor

Associate Professor – Political Science and Public Affairs

Seton Hall University

September 29, 2016Slide2

Overview of DSS and Accommodation ProcessFaculty Rights and Responsibilities

Universal Design

Legal Disclaimer: We are not lawyers, and this should not be considered legal advice.

Outline of WorkshopSlide3

The mission of Disability Support Services (DSS) is to provide students with disabilities equal access to all University programs and

activities.

DSS seeks to foster an inclusive learning environment for all students. Development

of individualized accommodation plans

Assistance obtaining textbooks in alternate formats and/or document conversionCoordination of interpreting and captioning servicesProctoring extended-time and alternative location examsAdvocate for accessibility of all university programs and activities to ensure equal access Referrals to on and off-campus resources

About Disability Support ServicesSlide4

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), reauthorized in 2008

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of

1973Both laws are about ACCESS to facilities, programs and services

Education is not a right; students who are “otherwise qualified” are ensured “equal educational

opportunity”Disability LawsSlide5

What is a disability?

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, including walking, breathing, learning, and communicating.

Examples: autism, cancer, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, learning disabilities, ADHD, major depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, sensory disordersSlide6

DSS Caseload DistributionSlide7

Complete a Self-Identification form.

Provide comprehensive information from a licensed professional who can document

their disability. Meet with a DSS Administrator for an intake appointment.

If approved for accommodations, pick up a Faculty Letter of Accommodation each semester.

Student Registration ProcessSlide8

Sample Letter of AccommodationSlide9

Extended time on examinations - 50%

50% more time for tests, quizzes, and exams given in class or online.

Professors provide this accommodation by allowing a student extended time directly before or immediately after a scheduled exam time, during office hours, or at any other mutually agreed upon time. If there is a scheduling conflict because the student and/or professor have classes directly before and after the course administering the quiz/exam, the student will need to take the quiz/exam at another time that does not conflict with a class. This time should be agreed upon by the student and professor. DSS may be able to assist by proctoring the test for the accommodated student in our testing room.

A Closer Look at Common AccommodationsSlide10

Occasional AbsencesStudent has a disability that may cause absences when symptoms are acute. Please allow student to make up work whenever possible. Class attendance may be considered an essential requirement in your course. The course instructor and/or academic department have academic authority to set attendance policies. All students are expected to attend class and adhere to the

professor’s

attendance policy. However, this student has a documented condition that may cause absences when symptoms are acute. Therefore, a modified attendance policy is appropriate in this

student’s

situation. To accomplish this, you are requested to allow the student to make up missed work whenever possible. In addition, it may be necessary to modify attendance expectations while still maintaining the fundamental requirements of the course. To help identify how this can be achieved, please review the attached material. For further assistance, a joint meeting between you, the student, and the DSS Office can help to clarify expectations in advance and determine what is reasonable. Please contact the DSS Office to arrange this.Slide11

Alternate format (i.e. electronic text, large print, Braille)

Text

books, required readings, and all instructional materials provided in accessible electronic format. This student must have all reading material provided in accessible electronic format to be able to fully engage in the course and meet all requirements. DSS can assist the student in obtaining electronic formats of textbooks when available. Professors are required to assure that all instructional materials provided during the course are accessible. For assistance in meeting this requirement, please review the enclosed material, Quick Facts about Accessible Instructional Materials, also available on our

website.Slide12

The number of students with disabilities entering higher education increasing with each yearFaculty need to be well-informed about the roles, rights, and responsibilities associated with supporting students with disabilities

Faculty Rights & ResponsibilitiesSlide13

Maintain the rigor and the fundamental nature of their course contentDetermine course content and how it will be taught

Require students to demonstrate their knowledge of crucial course content

Award grades appropriate to the level of the student’s demonstration of mastery of material, including failing a student who does not perform to passing standards

Confirm a student’s request for accommodations and ask for clarification with DSS

Faculty rights remain unchanged:Slide14

Refuse to provide an approved accommodation for a documented disability, UNLESS it compromises an essential standard of the courseChallenge the legitimacy of a student’s disability

Review a student’s documentation, including diagnostic data

Faculty do not have the right to:Slide15

Providing handouts, videos, and other course materials in accessible formats upon requestProviding requested accommodations to students with documented disabilities in a timely manner

Implementing best practices in teaching to reach a diversity of learners

Including a statement on their syllabus that informs students with disabilities about how to request accommodations through DSS

Awareness of campus resources available to students and faculty

Understanding University/DSS procedures for implementing accommodationsMaintaining appropriate confidentiality of records concerning students with disabilitiesFaculty responsibilities include:Slide16

Accessibility refers to the practice of designing products, services, and content in a manner that ensures everyone is able to access and benefit

from them.

Introduction to AccessibilitySlide17

Universal DesignSlide18

Curriculum designed to be usable by all students, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for special accommodationScott, McGuire, and Shaw (2001) applied universal design to higher education in nine principles

Universal Design in InstructionSlide19

Visual disability covers a wide spectrumConducted focus group with students with visual disabilities

Six undergraduate students

Low vision (4), blind (2)5 men, 1 woman5 majors

Focus GroupSlide20

Written Word

“… braille is for elevators and bathrooms”

Low cost and convenience of software have made “text to speech” screen readers and screen magnifiers primary tools

How do visually disabled students access your course materials?Slide21

Note taking

Volunteer Note taker

Audio RecordersLaptop

“For some of us, we learn to take notes while listening to the reader. Sighted people get it easier than we do, but we developed skills that let us multitask better. Skill sets differ among [us

]”How do visually disabled students access your course materials?Slide22

Most common barrier discussed was non-accessible course materials (course readings and instructor created content)PDF files need to be properly formatted

PPT is a visual presentation tool and is not well structured for assistive technology

Word is highly accessible

Perceptible InformationSlide23

“The more descriptive a faculty member can be in their presentations, the better it is”

Faculty often fail to realize that images included in course materials, Word and PowerPoint, cannot be processed by screen readers.

Need to annotate all images using ALT TEXTWhen using an image, graph, or chart in class the instructor must describe what is being displayed

If handing out printed material in the class, be sure to send it electronically beforehand to visually disabled students

Size and Space for Approach & UseSlide24

Providing course lectures in various formatsTextbook publishers have been making advances with digital formats of printed editions that work with assistive technologies

Supplemental materials are often not accessible and the faculty replacements lack the quality of those created by the publisher

Equitable UseSlide25

“skim reading using a screen reader is not possible…”

Tasks that require the search and reference of written texts (term papers and open book exams) present unique challenges for students with visual disabilities

Varying the ways that content is disseminated and the types of assignments that provide assessment accommodates the different learning styles and abilities of all students

Flexibility in UseSlide26

Most common accommodation given to students with visual disabilities is extra time on assignments and examsWhile assistive technologies can make the written word accessible, it can be time consuming

Provide flexibility in timing of assignment submissions

Breaking assignments into smaller pieces to assist with time management and to provide time for observation of learner progress

Tolerance of ErrorSlide27

“the biggest problem is if the professor is not prepared to have me in the class”Well planned and organized course is important

Having course materials ready and available at the start of class crucial

LMS are compliant with assistive technology, but need to be used properly“PDF Inception Problem”

Simple and IntuitiveSlide28

“If faculty want to use third-party programs, use should not be mandatory… [they] need to allow flexibility”Nonessential physical or mental effort can lead to fatigue and distract from the learning experience.

Software and/or web services that are bug prone or difficult to operate with assistive technology cause student fatigue.

Low Physical EffortSlide29

“There is still this mentality, I guess, that maybe we don’t know what is going on… I will be doing a group project and [the instructor] will point out <whisper> ‘she is blind’… it is like they treat you like a child”

Peer perception can be impacted by the way the instructor interacts with a student with a visual disability

Can be overt or subtle

Community of LearnersSlide30

“it is better off for both of us, the professor can teach it the way he wants and I can drop the class and take it with someone else”

Faculty can be uncomfortable or anxious about discussing student disabilities

Depends on a willingness of the instructor to openly communicate and engage with the student regarding expectations and plans for accomplishing them

Not unusual for faculty to feel that accommodations undermine academic integrity or give an unfair advantage

Instructional ClimateSlide31

Faculty need to take responsibility for both the technology we choose to use and that which we choose not to use – both decisions can have a large impact on student accessibility

Faculty should construct their courses with UDI principles in mind. It will provide benefits for students with diverse learning styles, as well as promoting accessibility for students with disabilities

Research methods courses and the technology they tend to rely upon (e.g., statistical packages, online databases) pose particular problems for students with visual disabilities.

Take-

aways