Accommodation of Students with Disabilities

This policy outlines the process by which enrolled and prospective Earlham students request and receive reasonable accommodations for disabilities in order to participate in the academic, social, and residential life of the institution.

Earlham College is committed to providing equal access to its programs, activities, residences, and services in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), the Fair Housing Act of 1988, and Indiana code 16-32-3. Earlham provides reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities to ensure their full participation in and enjoyment of the institution’s academic, social, and residential life.

• Individual with a disability – Per the ADA, “Any individual with a disability who: (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; or (2) has a record (or past history) of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment.”
• Major life activities — The ADA defines major life activities as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, interacting with others, and working. Under the ADA Amendments Acts of 2008, major life activities have been expanded to include major bodily functions. These are functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
• Reasonable accommodations — A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course, program, service, or activity that enables a qualified student with a disability to have an equal opportunity to access and use the available benefits, privileges, and services to similarly-situated students without disabilities.
•  Responsible Office – The college office responsible for ensuring students receive reasonable accommodations and/or modifications to allow them to participate in the academic, social, and residential life of the college.
•  Qualified student with a disability – Per the ADA, a qualified student with a disability is a student with a disability who meets the academic and technical standards requisite for admission or participation in the institution’s educational program or activity.

For the Undergraduate College and the Graduate Programs in Education:

Jennifer James
Director of Disability and Accessibility Services
ADA & Section 504 Coordinator
Lilly Library, Room 230
Phone: 765.983.1390
Email: [email protected]

For the Earlham School of Religion:

April Vanlonden
Joint Seminaries Registrar
Disability Services Coordinator
Earlham School of Religion
228 College Ave, Richmond, IN 47374
Phone: 765.983.1816
Email: [email protected]

A. Undergraduate College and the Graduate Programs in Education

The Disability and Accessibility Services (DAS) provides reasonable accommodations in the following areas:

• Academic and Classroom Space Accommodations
• Assistance Animals in College Housing Accommodations
• Housing Accommodations
• Meal Exemptions
• Second-Language Course Substitutions

DAS engages in an individualized, collaborative, and interactive process with students to determine reasonable accommodations.

Accommodations for housing and academic achievement are determined through the following process:

1. The student will fill out a Disability Disclosure form to alert DAS of the need for accommodations.
2. The student will provide appropriate documentation to DAS for review. If the provided documentation is not sufficient to determine disability status, students may be asked to use the Certification of Disability form available online or in the office. See Documentation Criteria below.
3. DAS will review documentation and associated materials, and perform a student interview to determine the most appropriate and reasonable accommodations.
4. DAS will provide the student with a letter of accommodation. The student may then provide the letter to faculty or staff of their choice. Residence Life will be provided with a letter of housing accommodations (including animals).
5. Once accommodations have been provided, the student will need to renew their accommodations each semester by completing a Letter of Academic Accommodations request.

B. The Earlham School of Religion

Accommodations for students in the Earlham School of Religion are determined through the following process:

1. The students will contact the Joint Seminaries Registrar regarding their need for accommodations.
2. The student will provide appropriate documentation to the Joint Seminaries Registrar for review. If the documentation is insufficient to determine disability status, students may be asked to provide additional documentation. See Documentation Criteria below.
3. The student may be asked to sign a form allowing limited release of information.
4. The Joint Seminaries Registrar will review the documentation and associated materials, and perform a student interview to develop an academic accommodations plan.
5. The Joint Seminaries Registrar will provide the student with a copy of the accommodation plan. The student may provide copies of the letter to the instructors of their choice. Ideally, this process will take place before the end of the first drop/add period of the student’s first term of study. Otherwise, the student is expected to inform their instructors as early in the session as possible.

C. Documentation Criteria:

Appropriate documentation to support a request for accommodations must:

• prepared by a licensed mental health or medical professional who is not related to the student;
• printed on either official letterhead or provided on Earlham’s Certification of Disability Form;
• include the provider’s name, signature, and contact information;
• include a clear statement of diagnosis identifying the disability;
• Be completed within the last five years and reflect the present-day status of your limitations (For sensory or mobility conditions unlikely to change over time, documentation that is more than five years old may be acceptable if it appropriately demonstrates limitations); and
• contain information that supports your request for specific academic supports, auxiliary aids, and reasonable accommodations.

Students are responsible for any cost associated with obtaining documentation.

Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or 504 plans may assist Earlham in the determination of appropriate and reasonable accommodations. However, their submission alone may not meet Earlham’s documentation criteria to determine disability and reasonable accommodations.

Per federal regulations, there are some circumstances in which a request for accommodation cannot be approved.

1. Fundamental alteration: If the requested accommodation would change the nature of an academic program or the college’s curriculum, lower academic standards, or fundamentally alter what is required of the student to complete the course or program activities, the college cannot provide this accommodation. Note: This does not apply to the Second Language Course Substitution Policy, which permits course substitution(s) for students with certified disabilities that prevent access to language learning.
2. Undue financial hardship: If providing the requested accommodation would place the institution in a position of excessive financial hardship, the college cannot provide this accommodation. An undue financial hardship applies to the college as a whole. Lack of funds in a particular department, school, or program is not sufficient in the determination of financial burden.
3. Administrative burden: If the institution does not have enough time to respond to a request for accommodation or when the administration of the accommodation would be impossible, infeasible, or require excessive administrative time or resources.
4. Retroactive request: Students with disabilities are responsible for requesting accommodations in a timely manner. Earlham will not provide retroactive accommodations.
5. Personal service: If the requested accommodation is for personal service, Earlham cannot provide this accommodation. Examples of personal services may be personal care attendants, personal readers, or personal devices, including feeding, toileting, bathing, rehabilitation, and remediation. Personal services are those that a person with a disability must use regardless of college attendance; thus, a correlation between the disability’s functional limitation and program access cannot be established. For instance, Earlham does not purchase wheelchairs or other assistive technologies used in settings beyond the college to compensate for mobility impairments.

Earlham may offer another equally effective accommodation if these circumstances present themselves.

All disability and accommodation-related information, including certification documentation, educational plans, letters of accommodation, correspondence, and consultations are considered confidential and will be managed in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Earlham’s Confidentiality of Educational Records Policy. Please read these regulations carefully, as there are instances that may necessitate student documentation being released without consent. This includes electronic, paper, verbal, and other types of communication. To the greatest extent possible, Earlham will inform students in advance of information sharing.

Earlham will require an official Authorization for the Release of Confidential Information to be completed, signed, and dated by the student before the release of any disability or accommodations-related information.

Earlham offers the following guidelines for faculty and staff to ensure that confidential disability information is kept secure:

• DAS will not disclose the nature of the disability when a Letter of Academic Accommodations is issued to a faculty member.
• Should faculty have any questions regarding the implementation of accommodations, they should contact DAS.
• At no time should faculty disclose a student has a disability.
• If a student voluntarily discloses the nature of their disability to faculty, even if it is obvious, faculty should not disclose it to others.
• Faculty are asked not to leave student disability information visible on their computers or in any printed format that others can see.
• Wherever possible, a student’s disability status and accommodations should be discussed in private. This information should not be discussed with anyone who does not need to know a student’s disability status or accommodations in order to fulfill their duties as they relate to the student’s education or housing.
• If a student tries to provide faculty with their primary disability documentation, faculty should refer the student to DAS. Earlham has designated DAS as the repository of all disability and accommodation documentation for students of the undergraduate college and the Graduate Programs in Education. Earlham has designated the Joint Seminaries Registrar as the repository of all disability and accommodation documentation for students of the Earlham School of Religion.

Committed to equal access for all members of the campus community, Earlham College has adopted informal and formal resolution procedures providing for prompt, equitable, and impartial resolution of complaints alleging any action prohibited by the ADA or Section 504.

Students with disabilities who have a concern related to equal access are encouraged to reach out to the appropriate office for support (see Section IV. Responsible Offices). Concerns may be submitted in person, in writing, or electronically. The administrative faculty in the responsible office will evaluate the next steps for resolution.

Academic concerns may necessitate conversation with a course instructor; consultation with a Department Convener; support of the Associate Academic Dean for Students or Director of the Graduate Programs in Education; or intervention by the Dean of the Earlham School of Religion.

A. Confidential Campus Resources

For confidential communication, please contact one of the following on-campus or community confidential resources:

• Health Services: 765-983-1328
• Counseling Services: 765-983-1432
• Religious Life/Ombudsperson: 765-983-1413

B. Formal Complaints

Students wishing to file a formal complaint regarding disability accommodations should contact:

For the Undergraduate College and the Graduate Programs in Education:

Disability and Accessibility Services
Lilly Library, Room 230
Phone: 765.983.1390
Email: [email protected]

For the Earlham School of Religion:

Office of the Joint Seminaries Registrar
Disability Services Coordinator
Earlham School of Religion
228 College Ave, Richmond, IN 47374
Phone: 765.983.1816
Email: [email protected]

C. To appeal accommodations decisions or to file a complaint or concern regarding accommodation procedures that remain unresolved after discussing with DAS

For the Undergraduate College and the Graduate Programs in Education:

Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students
Earlham Hall #103
Call 765-983-1311
Email [email protected]

For the Earlham School of Religion:

Dean of the Earlham School of Religion
Call 765-983-1689
Email [email protected]

D. U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights enforces several statutes that protect the rights of beneficiaries in programs or activities that receive financial assistance from the Department. These laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964), sex (Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972), disability (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973), and age (Age Discrimination Act of 1975).

For further information, visit https://ocrcas.ed.gov/contact-ocr for the address and phone number of the office that serves your area, email [email protected],

or call 1-800-421-3481 / TDD: 800-877-8339.

The Disability and Accessibility Services is responsible for annually reviewing the contents of this policy for concurrence with federal and state law, as well as the accuracy of roles, titles, and responsibilities.

Amendments to this policy that go beyond minor corrections or amendments to specific roles, titles, and responsibilities require a review and approval by the president following review and approval by the faculties of Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion.

Final Approval by the President, September 21, 2023

Amendments Approved by Earlham College Faculty Meeting, September 20, 2023

Amendments Approved by the Earlham School of Religion Faculty Meeting, September 18, 2023

Approved by the Earlham College Faculty, May 3, 2000