The Interamerican University School of Law (IUPR) maintains its policies of no discrimination based on race, gender, disability, ethnicity, social condition, political ideas or religious ideologies. It intends to provide equal educational and participatory opportunities for people with disabilities as stated under local and federal laws (e.g., “The Rehabilitation Law of 1973” and “American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008” (ADAAA)). The IUPR has established guides, norms, and procedures to asses requested applications for reasonable accommodation presented by the students: Policy Document E-1213-005 entitled in Spanish, Guías, normas y procedimientos para atender solicitudes de acomodo razonable a estudiantes.
This document and its content have been drafted with the intention to ease the application process of reasonable accommodation. It must be read and interpreted in the light of the Policy Document E-1213-005.
Procedures to apply for reasonable accommodation.
- The application for reasonable accommodation is voluntary. It is recommended that services for reasonable accommodation be requested at the office of the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (hereafter, CSSD) within the first four weeks of the academic semester.
- The petition for reasonable accommodation should include the appropriate documentation that provides sufficient evidence supporting the requested accommodation. Copies of the appropriate documentation can obtained here or contact the CSSD at (lborri@juris.inter.edu).
- The documentation must fulfill the following:
- Should be recent (no more than three years). Chronic or fluctuating conditions may justify for an update of the information to evaluate the accommodation’s suitability.
- Must be certified by the corresponding qualified professional or practitioner.
- Contain a complete evaluation of the condition, including its actual manifestations and its consequential functional limitations.
- Include information about the diagnostic(s) and accurate explanation of manifestations or functional limitations imposed by the condition(s).
- Must indicate how at least one essential daily activity is affected by condition(s).
- Justify the requested accommodation.
Note. Unless the condition requires so, this documentation will not be required again. However, from the on, the initial petition for reasonable accommodation can be renewed at the beginning of each semester by an e-mail with the following information: name of each professor, the titles of corresponding courses, days / hours and classroom of classes.
- The student will provide a written consent allowing the CSSD to disclose relevant information about his or her condition(s) only when such disclosure is necessary to obtain the corresponding accommodation(s).
Note: The request for reasonable accommodation will be considered after all required documentation has been summited and verified by the CSSD. While CSSD evaluates the documentation, a provisional accommodation can be granted. If considered necessary, once concluded with the evaluation of the documentation, the CSSD may adjust the accommodation.
- Once all documentation has been submitted, the CSSD will determine the student’s eligibility in a period of no more than ten (10) business days.
- This determination will be informed to the student in writing. Depending on the accommodation(s), the CSSD will also inform the corresponding faculty members or any other official of the institution. Here on, the determination is official.
- If the accommodation modifies the administration of tests, the student will have five (5) working days prior to the dates for test taking, to inform the CSSD in writing the name of the professor, course, date, time and room of the exam. This information can be sent via email. The electronic mail of the CSEI is: lborri@juris.inter.edu.
- If the applicant does not agree with the recommended accommodation(s) or with a denial of his/her petition, the student can appeal this determination following the indications of the document entitled Procedimiento para atender querellas – attachment 8 of Policy Document E-1213-005 entitled in Spanish, Guías, normas y procedimientos para atender solicitudes de acomodo razonable a estudiantes. If the student has difficulty in obtaining or understanding the document, please contact the CSSD as soon as possible.
- Unless the condition or conditions require an ongoing evaluation of the accommodations, the renewal for the services is done in the following manner. At the beginning of each semester, the student must inform the CSSD in writing the names of their professors and the corresponding courses and sections. This information can be sent via email. The electronic mail of the CSEI is: lborri@juris.inter.edu. If the CSSD does not receive this information, it will be assumed that the student has decided not to renew his/her request for a reasonable accommodation.
