The AHEAD online Community has been full of robust conversations about the implications for students with disabilities of the return to in-person instruction that most schools are contemplating will occur this summer and fall. It is agreed that there is no one-size-fits-all model for making determinations about accommodations in these uncharted waters—every school will need to make decisions that best suit its teaching, students, and values. However, there is a clear need for space to talk through all the implications to provide various perspectives and options, identify potentially problematic approaches, and offer guidance for schools to consider what should be their own best practice.
AHEAD convened two separate panels early this summer to come together to talk through how campuses may approach the thorny questions that returning to campus means for those with disabilities. Neither panel presented “Here is how your school should do this.” Instead, panelists with differing backgrounds and approaches offer multiple perspectives on the considerations and processes schools might apply to reach the conclusion that is the best fit for them. These webinars were hosted in Zoom and include captioning with the recordings. If you purchased access to the live webinars in this series when they were originally presented, you can still access the webinar resources and recording links after signing into your eLearning account. Please contact eLearning@ahead.org if you have any additional questions.
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Moderator: Jamie Axelrod, Northern Arizona University
Panelists: Paul Grossman, OCR Chief Regional Attorney, Retired; Jane Jarrow, Disability Access Info and Support (DAIS); Scott Lissner, Ohio State University; Michael Masinter, Shepard Broad College of Law, Nova Southeastern University
Panelists: Adam Crawford, Ohio State University; Enjie Hall, University of Toledo; Ian Kunkes, Virginia Commonwealth University
This panel examined the logistics of creating COVID-related accommodations. Representatives from the disability offices of several schools offer their perspectives on issues such as: What medical documentation may be required to support COVID accommodation requests? Could there be a separate form/process for COVID requests, apart from other disability requests? How might requests for exemptions to vaccine and mask policies be handled? Are housing accommodations for COVID-related reasons ever warranted? And any other accommodation issues and questions you face.
The processes and procedures underlying how disability offices should handle these decisions were discussed, with the inherent assumption that in many cases there is no one right decision: different conclusions may be reached by different schools depending on particular circumstances. The important part is that the proper process was followed to get there!
Enjie Hall, M.R.C. is the Director of Campus Accessibility and Student Disability Services at the University of Toledo in Ohio, the University’s ADA Compliance Officer, and and a Director At-Large on AHEAD’s Board of Directors. Enjie previously worked at The Ohio State University in the Student Life Office for Disability Services and is a licensed professional counselor. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences on a variety of topics relating to services for disabled students, moving beyond compliance to full inclusion, and assistive technology.
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