•There are 23 Campus
Disability Offices, e.g. CSI’s Center for Student Accessibility, Hunter’s Office of AccessABILITY, Baruch’s Disability Services. Resource Centers for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, are located within these offices.
- Institutions of Higher Education are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) not the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). ADA covers public accommodations, places of employment, and government services. The accommodation cannot fundamentally change the nature of the program or service (i.e., course) nor can it place an undue financial burden on the institution.
•Student Disability offices provide reasonable accommodations and services to students who 'self-identify' with a 'documented' disability to receive adaptive resources (i.e., assistive technologies), modifications in the classroom, and other support services. Only students who are registered can receive 504 accommodations (e.g., extended test time, test proctor, note taker), auxiliary aids such as CART services, alternative or large print texts/ scanning, and assistive technologies (e.g., LiveScribe, Kurzweil 3000, JAWS, ZoomText, DragonNaturally Speaking). Do not provide any modifications for your students without first being informed by or consulting your disability office. A student, even with adaptive technologies or modifications, still needs to be able to function in a classroom environment or any type of course setting.
- Offices of Disability Services will be unable to discuss a specific student circumstances or record with anyone (including parents or guardians) without that student's express permission, due to protection under FERBA. You can not ask a student if they have a disability or ask what disability they have. Students can only self-disclose.
•Campus Office of Diversity and Compliance ensure compliance with federal, state, city laws, and CUNY policies. Consult this office when you have a concern about a legal issue with a student who is disabled.
•Human Resources assists with reasonable accommodations for staff or faculty disability issues. If you are a supervisor or employee, consult this office for guidance.
•Some campuses have committees, made up of various departments, to discuss accessibility issues before major decisions (i.e. academic programs or infrastructure) are made. In libraries, having a library liaison to your local disability office or library committees (or sub-committees) devoted to the multitude of accessibility issues, is essential. Does your library have one?
- Each campus hosts CUNY Disability Awareness Month in April, to generate awareness of the population and various support services. This is a CUNY wide initiative.
•Project REACH (Resources and Education on Autism as CUNY’s Hallmark) has been developed to promote the successful and full participation of students on the autistic spectrum at the university. Each campus has REACH directors. The
Autism Training Deck was created at CSI for individuals not on the Autistic spectrum, through this program.
•CUNY LEADS (Linking Employment, Academics & Disability Services) program provides career readiness services to assist students with disabilities. Each campus has a LEADS advisor that partners with various agencies/businesses to provide employment opportunities. Interview and resume writing skills are also provided.
