Working with Students with Disabilities
- It is illegal to ask any student what his/her disability is. Instead ask how his/her disability affects the learning process for them and how you can be of assistance.
- It is important to province a student with a disability a sense of understanding that he/she may need some special accommodations. It is illegal to “single out” a student with a disability, ridicule, or treat him/her in a negative manner.
- It is illegal to disclose to anyone that a student has a disability, even if it is very obvious. If the student shares with you his/her disability, you are still legally bound to keep this information confidential.
- Providing accommodations does not give an unfair advantage to a student with a disability, rather it helps to “level the playing field” for the student to learn as any student does without a disability.
- It is illegal to refuse to provide accommodations to a student with a disability that provides you with an accommodation letter. If you have a concern about a student’s accommodations, please call the office (ext. 1372). You may first want to talk with the student and discuss your concern about an accommodation and attempt a compromise. e.g. If a student is permitted to use notes for a test you could ask that he/she limit the notes to an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, using both sides of the paper.
- It is illegal to suggest to a student with a disability that he/she “should not be in college or should change his/her major.”