Documentation Supporting a Request for Accommodation

Documentation provided by a student is our indicator of the needs and background of the specific student. The following guidelines serve as a baseline for what is required.

It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator and to provide appropriate documentation of the disability and related functional limitations for which he or she is requesting accommodations.

This process follows the guidelines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the ADA Amendment Act of 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and is designed to ensure that reasonable, appropriate accommodations are provided to all qualified students in a timely manner.

A diagnosis of a disorder/condition/syndrome in and of itself does not automatically qualify an individual for accommodations. In order to meet the criteria of a person with a disability under federal law, a person must demonstrate how their impairment substantially limits one or more daily life activities.

The following documentation guidelines are used to verify the student's disabling condition(s):

• A clear diagnostic statement that describes how the condition was diagnosed, information about the functional impact, and suggestions of appropriate accommodations provided by a licensed or otherwise properly credentialed professional who has undergone appropriate and comprehensive training, has relevant experience, and has no personal relationship with the individual being evaluated.
• All documentation must be on official letterhead, typed, and signed by the professional. Diagnosis written on prescription pads, handwritten, or stamped with a signature will not be accepted.
• Documentation should be current. Common sense and discretion will be used in accepting older documentation of conditions that are permanent or non-varying.

Student Disability Services has developed guidelines and verification forms to assist students in gathering the information needed for certain specific disabilities. You may find the guidelines and verification forms here.

Requests for any and all accommodations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with approval being based on two factors: (1) Is the accommodation requested appropriate? and (2) Is it reasonable? Accommodations are designed to allow the student to meet the same essential elements of their selected program that are required of all students, with or without a disability.  

When a student provides documentation of their disability, the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator will make a copy of the documentation and will return the original back to the student if requested. Students may also scan the documentation and email it to ada@udallas.edu.  Both of these processes allow for the student to keep their original documentation.