DSPS Policies and Procedures

In accordance with current Federal and State legislation, the Disability Support Program for Students (DSPS) program at Feather River College (FRC) strives to ensure that each student with a disability, whether permanent or temporary, is afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the mainstream of college classes and programs.

The Federal Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the California Education Code

Eligibility for DSPS program participation is determined in accordance with guidelines established through the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA and ADA Amendments), and the California Education Code. In Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities. People who have a history of, or who are regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of these major life activities, are also covered. Major life activities include caring for one's self, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks, and learning.  For our purposes, a "student with a disability" is a person enrolled at our community college who has a verified disability which limits one or more of the major life activities and which imposes an educational limitation as defined in section 56001 in Title 5 of the California Education Code.

Disability Categories

The disability categories served by California Community Colleges include:

• Physical Disability - A limitation in locomotion or motor function that limits the student's ability to access the educational process.

• Deaf and Hard of Hearing - A total or partial loss of hearing function that limits the student's ability to access the educational process.

• Blind and Low Vision - A level of vision that limits the student's ability to access the educational process.

• Learning Disability (LD) – A persistent condition of a presumed neurological dysfunction which may exist with other disabling conditions. The dysfunction is not explained by lack of educational opportunity, lack of proficiency in the language of instruction, or other non-neurological factors, and the dysfunction limits the student's ability to access the educational process. To be categorized as a student with a learning disability, a student must meet the following criteria through a psycho-educational assessment completed by a qualified specialist certified to assess learning disabilities:

  • Average to above-average intellectual ability; and
  • Statistically significant processing deficit(s); and/or
  • Statistically significant aptitude-achievement discrepancy(ies).
     

• Acquired Brain Impairment (ABI) – A deficit in brain functioning which results in a total or partial loss of cognitive, communicative, motor, psycho-social, and/or sensory-perceptual abilities, and which limits the student's ability to access the educational process.

• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - A neurodevelopmental disorder that is a persistent deficit in attention and/or hyperactive and impulsive behavior that limits the student's ability to access the educational process. 

• Intellectual Disability (ID) – Significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior that affect and limit the student's ability to access the educational process. An individual may have an intellectual disability when:
   
  • The person's functioning level is below average intellectual ability; and
  • The person has significant limitations in adaptive skill areas as expressed in conceptual, social, academic, and practical skills in independent living and employment; and
  • The disability originated before the age of 18.
     

• Autism Spectrum Disorder - A neurodevelopmental disorder described as a persistent deficit which limits the student's ability to access the educational process. Symptoms must have been present in the early developmental period and must cause limitation in social, academic, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.

• Mental Health Disability - A persistent psychological or psychiatric disability, or emotional or mental illness, that limits the student's ability to access the educational process. . 

• Other Health Conditions and Disabilities – Includes all other health conditions and/or disabilities that affect a major life activity which are otherwise not defined but which limit the student's ability to access the educational process. These include, but are not limited to: Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Conditions, Morbid Obesity with Underlying Medical Issues, Epilepsy, Arthritis, Asthma, Fibromyalgia, Narcolepsy, Degenerative Disc Disease, and more.

Getting Started

A student's first appointment with the DSPS Director is called an intake appointment. Ideally, a student should bring verification of their disability (such as a letter from a physician/mental health therapist, 504 Plan, or Individual Education Plan (IEP), etc.) to this first appointment. If this information is not received during intake, the student will be asked to provide verification as soon as possible as these documents are necessary to determine the student's educational limitations which will then guide what academic accommodations are appropriate.

An Academic Accommodation Plan (AAP) will be generated through an interactive process between the student and the DSPS Director regarding the academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, services, and/or instruction necessary to provide the student equal access to the educational process, given the educational limitations resulting from the student's disability. The student will need to meet with the Director at least once each semester thereafter to ensure that specific accommodations are provided for each course as is deemed necessary/appropriate.