Documentation Guidelines

• Documentation is typically needed in order to determine if a student is a student with a disability, eligible for reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  A disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Since reasonable accommodations vary from student to student, documentation is needed to describe the functional limitations of a condition on an individual student so that appropriate accommodations can be determined.  Accessibility Services may waive the requirement for documentation if the disability is readily apparent, such as blindness or paraplegia.  
• Documentation must substantiate the presence of a disability: a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.  Typically, a diagnosis alone without accompanying contextual information (how a provider arrived at that diagnosis or current functional limitations) may not be helpful in determining the need for accommodations. 
• Documentation must be written by an appropriate professional who is qualified to assess the functional limitations of the condition on the individual student and render conclusions about the need for accommodations.  
• Documentation should help Accessibility Services understand the relevant impact of the disability on common tasks in college, such as communicating, reading, writing, cognition, testing, using technology, and participating in the classroom environment. 
• Documentation should be reflective of the present-day status of a student’s functioning.  
• Types of records that may be helpful in identifying a disability and establishing the need for specific accommodations could include but are not limited to neuropsychological evaluations, psychoeducational evaluations, medical evaluations, and audiograms.  
• Types of records that may help establish that a student has a disability could include past accommodations and services from a public or private school, past accommodations and services from another college, past accommodations from a state or national testing organization, formal psychological or medical evaluations from a relevant licensed professional, documentation from the uniformed services, or letters from health, education, or service providers.   
• Please note that specific accommodations listed in Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 Plans from secondary education are not automatically approved in the college setting. 

While this documentation alone may be enough to establish that a student has a disability, Accessibility Services reserves the right to determine whether submitted documentation supports the need for reasonable accommodations based on the functional impact of the disability in the college environment. When necessary, additional documentation may be requested. 

Documentation can be submitted over email to accessibility@husson.edu or fax at 207-992-4926.  Documentation can also be provided directly to Accessibility Services by a student, or delivered in the mail.