Federal law states that . . .

"No otherwise qualified person with a disability in the United States ... shall, solely by reason of ... disability, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

A person with a disability includes . . .

"any person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment."

A "qualified person with a disability" is defined as one . . ."who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the educational program or activity. Federal law protects the rights of qualified individuals who have disabilities generally including, but not limited to:

• Blindness/visual impairment
• Cerebral palsy
• AIDS
• Deafness/hearing impairment
• Arthritis
• Epilepsy or seizure disorder
• Cancer
• Orthopedic/mobility impairment
• Cardiac disease
• Specific learning disability
• Diabetes
• Speech and language disorder
• Multiple sclerosis
• Spinal cord injury
• Muscular dystrophy
• Tourette's syndrome
• Psychiatric disability
• Traumatic brain injury

Under the provisions of Federal law . . .

Northeast Community College may not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, educational process, or treatment of students. Students who have self-identified, provided satisfactory documentation of disability, and requested reasonable accommodations are entitled to receive reasonable accommodations, appropriate academic adjustments, or auxiliary aids and services that enable them to participate in and benefit from all educational programs and activities.

Federal law specifies that colleges and universities may not . . . limit the number of students with disabilities admitted, make preadmission inquiries as to whether or not an applicant has a disability, use admission tests or criteria that inadequately measure the academic qualifications of qualified students with disabilities because required accommodations were not made, exclude a qualified student with a disability from any course of study, or establish rules and policies that may adversely affect qualified students with disabilities.

(Note: Federal law referred to includes Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.)

More Information

Maureen Baker
(402) 844-7258
maureen@northeastcollege.com