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Winter ’09 Online WorkshopsThree online professional development courses are to be offered during the first three months of 2009. BACK TO BASICS: WHAT *IS* THE ACCOMMODATION… DEVELOPING TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA THAT ARE APPROPRIATE AND LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE UNDERSTANDING THE LEGAL MANDATES These three courses each run as FULL day workshops (7 _ hours of contact time) when offered onsite. Experience suggests that if online offerings are spaced out over too much time, I lose your attention (because life intervenes!). So, in an effort to provide the same depth of information as the onsite workshop: 1) Each online class will run in a very intensive fashion over the course of eight days (or a little more – see description of workshop #3 re: Legal Mandates) 2) The class interaction will be through a private listserv. Each class will be asynchronous – you do not have to be online at a specific time for a real-time discussion; rather, you can read and respond within your own time constraints. 3) Supportive materials will be provided through a secure download site, written assignments will be exchanged by email, and the possibility exists for phone consultation with the instructor (me!) a least once during the week of the class. 4) The final workshop, Understanding the Legal Mandates Without Being an Attorney, has been expanded both in content and in time in order to incorporate information about the new ADA Amendments Act and the Proposed DOJ regulations update. 5) Reduced prices will be offered for multiple workshops ($175 for 1st and 2nd workshop of your choosing, $150 for the 3rd!), or multiple registrants from the same institution (contact JaneJarrow@aol.com to discuss costs). BACK TO BASICS: WHAT *IS* THE ACCOMMODATION… This innovative workshop tackles a new problem in an old way. Lately it seems that, not uncommonly, all the students with "X" diagnosis/label on campus are receiving the same accommodations in all settings. Something is wrong with this picture! This workshop provides an opportunity to step back and look at what accommodations are available/used in higher education, why they were brought into use, and what circumstances should be evident before accommodation is assigned. If you have never had the chance to consider "why" (or "why not!!!) -- or if it has been too long since you thought about it -- this workshop is for you. Simply put, if we, as service providers, don't start doing a better job of assigning accommodations based on demonstrated need in order to assure access (rather than as a privilege associated with disability status or as a benefit assigned out of a misguided sense of obligation), we will soon find that the credibility of the accommodation process, as a means of assuring access, may be significantly damaged. Section 504 and the ADA do not, for the most part, discuss specific mechanisms (accommodations) for providing equal access to education. WE, as service providers, developed these options a long time ago because they seemed to be necessary and appropriate to meet the access needs of students. But as the profile of students with disabilities has shifted, and the numbers have grown dramatically, we somehow seem to have lost sight of the REASON for the accommodation in our bandaid approach to meeting the demand. This workshop isn't about the "how-to" of accommodations -- it is about the "WHY!!!" After setting the stage with a brief discussion of the legal, philosophical and practical issues surrounding accommodation, we will review as many as possible of the accommodations that are routinely provided on college campuses today, discussing (as appropriate): Topics to be presented/discussed: SPECIFIC ACCOMMODATIONS DEVELOPING TECHNICAL STANDARDS This session will provide immediately practical and useful information on the most common issues, concerns, and solutions in working with faculty to develop appropriate standards/criteria for selection, inclusion, and successful completion of technical and professional programs. Moreover, it will include specific direction for engaging faculty in the kind of studied review of technical requirements that will allow them to focus their technical standards on the curriculum to be mastered, rather than some arbitrary list of physical skills and abilities that are presumed to assure competence. The development of eligibility criteria and technical standards has been a recurring topic at institutions of higher education in recent years. The ADA requires that eligibility criteria (and, by extension, technical standards) not be implemented that screen out, or tend to screen out, persons with disabilities on the basis of that disability. The law does not say that technical standards cannot be applied to persons with disabilities, even if those standards involve physical requirements that may be impossible for someone with certain disabilities to meet. It simply says that the criteria/standards applied must not focus on disability or on being/not being disabled. Developing standards/criteria that are based on appropriate evaluation of necessary skills, rather than historical precedent, is not always easy – but is very necessary. This workshop takes disability services personnel one step beyond the traditional discussion of direct service delivery; it explores a critical element of creating a campus climate that is conducive to the involvement and participation of students with disabilities throughout the institution's educational programming. An architecturally accessible campus, with a terrific disability support service office, may still be a dismal experience for a student with a disability who encounters daunting attitudinal barriers in the form of eligibility criteria or technical standards that exclude participation on the basis of bias or stereotype, no matter how kindly meant. This workshop seeks to prepare disability services personnel to confront such attitudinal barriers with studied argument, grounded in the legal mandates for access. Topics to be presented/discussed: • Why are eligibility criteria/technical standards a common "battleground" in higher education, and why is it so important to get involved in this issue? • What do "otherwise qualified" and "reasonable accommodation" mean as applied to technical standards and eligibility criteria? • What types of college programs typically have (or should have!) standards/criteria in place and the common problems they pose; type of college programs that DON'T lend themselves to the development of such standards/criteria> • What common mistakes are encountered in framing eligibility criteria or technical standards? • What general arguments made for development of criteria/standards and for insistence on questionable wording or requirement? How to combat stereotypes and bias. • Court cases and OCR Letters of Finding dealing with issues of standards/criteria; Case-in-Point: Casey Martin -- this is what it’s all about!!! A NEW WAY OF THINKING ABOUT (AND DEVELOPING) TECHNICAL STANDARDS: GROUP THINK: Trouble-shooting existing requirements, implementing new practices +x+x+x+x+x+x+ UNDERSTANDING THE LEGAL MANDATES An old adage reminds us that, "you can't tell the players without a scorecard." By the same token, in the field of DSS, you can't answer your own questions, or examine/explain/defend your policies, practices, and procedures without a firm understanding of the legal mandates that guide our efforts. This workshop will provide an introduction/review of the key legislation and court cases relevant to students with disabilities in higher education. What are the differences between ADA, 504, and IDEA — and why is it important for service providers to understand those differences? How are key terms defined in the law, and what practical examples from higher education will help to better understand the intent and the impact of those definitions on support/service programs in postsecondary education? Why/How can different authorities read the same case law and have such different opinions? All this and more!... THE CONTENT FOR THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ADA AMENDMENTS ACT AND THE NEW DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REGULATIONS. We will discuss, in depth, how these changes in statute and regulations will impact on higher education, and what changes in policy and programming may be appropriate for disability service providers (and their institutions!) to consider. Topics to be presented/discussed: ADA Amendments Act and Updated DOJ Regulations Most confusing Myths Regarding the Law: Picking Apart the Definitions/Language of the Law(s) Primary Applications of the ADA (and 504) to Higher Education What ISN'T Addressed by 504/ADA? Related Laws of Note: Back to the Legal Landscape +x+x+x+x+x+x+ |
Welcome to the NEW Home of DAIS!Disability Access Information and Support (DAIS) is an important resource to the higher education community, providing a menu of services for those concerned with disability and access in higher education. Institutions and organizations can contract for help from DAIS, in the person of Jane Jarrow, Ph.D., for a variety of services. The growing list of DAIS publications and activities includes resource materials to assist in interpreting/fulfilling legal mandates, a variety of professional development opportunities, policy/procedure reviews, consultation regarding quality assurance and compliance, and information to aid in understanding the philosophical underpinnings of providing quality service to people with disabilities in the postsecondary environment. Check out the site orientation given on the home page under the heading of, "Where to look, and what you'll find at daisweb.com!" |