[nabs-l] Accommodation Rights and Not Using Disability Services

[Karl Martin Adam]

You have to go through DSS if you want accommodations.  This is 
because its the job of DSS to verify that you have a disability 
and that the accommodation in question is reasonable for that 
disability.  So if you ask a professor for an accommodation, what 
they will do (if they do what they're supposed to do) is to tell 
you to get a letter from DSS and get back to them.  (This is why 
nearly every syllabus includes a line saying if you have a 
disability contact the DSS to arrange accommodations.)  That 
being said, just because you get accommodations from DSS does not 
mean that you can't take tests in the classroom.  Taking your 
test in the testing center is an accommodation, and you, of 
course, don't have to accept that accommodation.  That being 
said, if you want accommodations like extra time or a reader, 
that isn't really compatible with taking your test in the 
classroom.

HTH,
Karl

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Ellana Crew via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: NABS-L at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 18 Dec 2016 13:03:51 -0500
Subject: [nabs-l] Accommodation Rights and Not Using Disability 
Services

Hi there,

I am a community college student about to start another semester 
of classes, but more recently, I have been thinking of breaking 
away from using the disability services office at school because 
of all of the troubles I have had in the past with DSS offices 
and mixups and failures on their end. However, before I decide to 
go through with this, I'd like to have some more information on 
what exactly I'm entitled to still as far as accommodations and 
the law if I choose not to go through disability services and 
give my professors the official letter requiring their 
compliance.

Is there anybody who may be able to give me a little information 
on if professors are still required to accommodate me reasonably 
if I do not go through disability services and give them an 
official letter from them, especially in regards to test taking? 
I am concerned that perhaps they may not be obligated to provide 
me any sort of accommodation at all without an official letter 
from disability services requiring them to, or that perhaps there 
is a limit on how much they are allowed to grant me, and 
especially if that limit is when it comes to tests.

I am particularly interested in being able to take my tests in 
the classroom with the rest of the class instead of going through 
the hassle of coordinating a scheduled time in the testing center 
and dealing with more failures to properly prepare my test or not 
prepare my test in time for the scheduled appointment in the 
testing center, and being forced to automatically be at a 
disadvantage by having to take my test in a different setting 
while the rest of the class is able to take their test in the 
same environment in which they learn the information which has 
been proven many times to improve the persons ability to retrieve 
the information they learned in that environment, and I have 
known some people who have talk to the professors and been able 
to take their tests in their classrooms in this way, but I want 
to be sure that I would not be in violation of anything in that I 
know my rights when it comes to this if my professor does not 
know themselves if it is OK or is hesitant to work with me on 
this particular factor.

If there is anybody here who may be able to give me some useful 
information or connect me with somebody who may have that 
information, I would be incredibly grateful.

Thank you!

Ellana Crew, Vice President
Maryland Association of Blind Students

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not 
the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we 
raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations 
create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can 
live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
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