Student Life

Rights and Responsibilities of College Students with Learning Disabilities (LD)

Academic accommodations are required by law for eligible college students with LD. Accommodations are changes in the learning and testing environments that give college students with LD an equal opportunity to learn. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its amendments (ADAAA) require that reasonable accommodations be made available to college students who have current documentation of learning disabilities and who request learning and/or testing accommodations.

Student responsibilities include the following:

To self-identify as a person with a disability to the disability services office at the college or

To provide up-to-date documentation of the disability to the disability services

To request academic accommodations that will insure access to information and testing on an equal level with students who do not have

To self-identify to faculty as a student with a disability and provide them with a copy of the Individual Student Profile developed with the disability services

To remind faculty in a timely manner of academic accommodations required for tests and

To ultimately accept responsibility for his or her successful education. This includes maintaining satisfactory academic levels, attending classes, completing assignments, behaving appropriately, and communicating regularly with the appropriate office and/or individual regarding specific needs.

Disability Services Office Responsibilities

To assess students' requests for accommodations using the current disability documentation provided by the

To provide information regarding policies, procedures, rights and responsibilities to students with disabilities in accessible formats upon request.

To recommend appropriate learning and testing

To provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids for students with disabilities who meet the college or university criteria for eligibility.

To ensure confidentiality of all information pertaining to students' disabilities.

To assist students in communicating with faculty about their disabilities and required accommodations, if needed.

Faculty Responsibilities

If students request instructional and/or testing accommodations in a class, they must disclose the need for the accommodations to the instructor and give the instructor any documentation provided by the disability services office, typically a letter from that office validating the need for the specified accommodations. Students do not have to disclose their disabilities to their instructor, only the need for accommodations.

The instructors' responsibilities include the following:

To allow students to disclose their disabilities in an appropriate and confidential

To acknowledge the rights of students with dignity and

To maintain the integrity of academic standards.

To maintain student confidentiality at all

To provide reasonable instructional and/or testing

© 2014 Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA). LDA encourages the distribution of this information. Please provide appropriate credit if portions are cited. Information may not be reprinted for the purpose of resale.

Learning Disabilities Association of America • 4156 Library Road • Pittsburgh, PA 15234-1349

Ph (412) 341-1515 • Fax (412) 344-0224 • Email: info@LDAAmerica.org • Web: www.LDAAmerica.org