The SON Bruin Brief
From Academic Affairs
December 3, 2021
Student Disability & Accommodations
We are not going to be a country that is truly democratic if all [students] are not able to receive the education that they need, whether they are white, Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled or not. Judith Heumann
Disability and Higher Education. About 20% of college students have a disability, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. At UCLA, students begin a process to secure educational accommodations through the Center for Accessible Education (CAE). To be eligible for accommodations, students must have a physical, psychological, or perceptual impairment that limits one or more major life activities, have a history of such an impairment, or be regarded as having an impairment. Those are the legal requirements in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the ADA of 1990, and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. That disability legislation came about through the work of people with disabilities who fought for their civil rights.
Judy Heumann played a major role in disability rights. Watch her 15 min TEDTalk, to hear tell funny and brave stories about her life. After surviving polio as a toddler, she was denied access to an elementary school education because the principal said she was a ‘fire hazard.’ Eventually, she received tutoring for 2.5 hours per week. She learned from her mother that “if you don’t demand what you believe in for yourself, you’re not going to get it.” Her advocacy work was highlighted in an 8 min Drunk History skit from Comedy Central. It took years of advocacy, but Judy graduated from college and started her professional life as a teacher. She served both President Clinton and President Obama in high-level disability rights positions.
Judy Heumann will be our guest at the School of Nursing from February 7-11 through the support of a UC Regents Lectureship. She will meet with nursing students. She will talk with the SON Student Affairs Committee about our admissions and student support policies. Through various class guest appearances and a major public lecture, Judy will help us reimagine what it means to be a nurse and redefine ‘normal’ for patients and providers.
Let’s review some key points about disability policy and higher education to prepare for this upcoming event.
What does it mean to be a qualified student with a disability?
Our School of Nursing SAC has established what it means to be academically and technically ‘qualified’ for admission to the School of Nursing. Students with disabilities meet those standards and are competitively admitted. After that, they may choose to disclose their disability to CAE if they are seeking accommodations.
What is a reasonable accommodation?
A reasonable accommodation is a modification or adjustment to a course or program of study. Accommodations allow a student equal access to learning opportunities while maintaining curriculum standards.
What is beyond the scope of a reasonable accommodation?
Reasonable accommodations do not fundamentally alter or eliminate essential course requirements. All students must meet course outcome objectives with passing grades, with or without accommodations. Any student who does not meet course requirements at a passing level will fail, as specified in course syllabi and program handbooks.
What does our School of Nursing strategic plan say about disability?
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Goal for our school is to ‘promote excellence in nursing education and research by creating a sustainable culture of mutual understanding and respect for the culturally diverse individuals, families and populations as well as those living with disability.’
How can we improve faculty support and student-centered services and for neurodiverse nursing students?
The UCLA Tarjan Center in collaboration with Santa Barbara City College will host a webinar on Neurodiversity on Campus: Student-Centered Services and Faculty Support on Tuesday, December 7th from 2:00 P.M. to 3:15 P.M. (PST). Registration is required. While the increase in the number of students on the autism spectrum that are entering college is encouraging, statistics show that they continue to have lower completion rates than their peers (Jackson, Hart, and Volkmar, 2018). The webinar will highlight how Santa Barbara City College improved student success through a package of supports that embrace a neurodiversity perspective, student-centered approaches, and faculty and staff training.
Thanks to all of our faculty and staff for being allies with disabled Bruins as our colleagues, peers, and students.