Access Services
Documentation Requirements

Why the college needs documentation

Colleges devote resources to provide equal educational opportunities to persons with disabilities. The college defines a person with a disability according to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The ADA defines a person with a disability as someone with a physical or mental impairment who has a substantial limitation in a major life activity. Major life activities include walking, talking, seeing, hearing, speaking, performing manual tasks, caring for one’s self, learning and working. Thus, disability has both medical and functional elements. A diagnosis of a physical or mental condition does not equal a disability.  The degree of functional limitations determines whether a condition is a disability. The goal of services and accommodations is to minimize the functional impact of the disability in an educational environment.

In order for Central Florida Community College to evaluate fully the need for academic adjustments, auxiliary aids or services, a student's documentation must include the following:

• a diagnosis of a physical or mental impairment
• the student's current functional limitations as related to major life activities
• the impact of this student's condition on functioning in an academic environment

If the documentation submitted does not sufficiently address the student's current functional impairment or describe how the disorder/impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities, additional information will be required.

The student is responsible for obtaining and submitting this documentation to Access Services.An Individualized Education Plan (IEP), a 504 Plan or school transition plan does not automatically qualify a person to register with Access Services.

The following guidelines are for assuring documentation is appropriate to verify eligibility and to support requests for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids. The Coordinator of Access Services is available to consult with diagnosticians regarding any of these guidelines.

The office of Access Services makes the final determination regarding reasonable and appropriate accommodations in the college environment.

Confidentiality

To facilitate accommodations, Access Services staff may need to consult with other CF staff. Access Services shares only general information, as needed, with appropriate college personnel (e.g., Office of Student Financial Aid, Academic Advisement, faculty or staff members). Faculty members do not have access to disability documentation. Otherwise, all Access Services records remain strictly confidential, except as may be required by law.

 

Keeping records

Once submitted to Access Services, documentation of disability becomes an educational record and is subject to the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Florida state records regulations. After three years of non-enrollment, the documentation submitted to Access Services will be destroyed in accordance with Florida state regulations.

Instructions

All students:

• Select the checklist matching your disability. You may use more than one checklist if two or more disabling conditions exist.
  
  
  • Checklist for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders
  • Checklist for Hearing Impairments or Deafness
  • Checklist for Learning Disorders or Cognitive Impairments
  • Checklist for Physical or Other Health Impairments
  • Checklist for Psychological or Mental Disorders
  • Checklist for Speech Impairments
  • Checklist for Visual Impairments or Blindness
    
    
• Share the checklist with the doctor, psychologist or other licensed professional who will be providing you with documentation.

• If you already have documentation, use the checklist to make sure it includes all of the necessary information and is in the necessary format.