DISABILITY SERVICES

Legal Mandates

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states that "no otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States, as defined in section 706(6) of this title, shall, solely by reason of his/her handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, learning, breathing, working; or having a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having one." The first part of the definition covers persons who actually have physical or mental impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities. The second and third parts of the definition cover persons who may not have an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, but who have a history of having such a substantially limiting impairment, or who are perceived as having such a substantially limiting impairment.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 expanded the civil rights protection in Section 504 to give individuals with disabilities civil rights that are similar to those provided to all individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion. The act guarantees equal opportunity in a wide range of entities, both public and private.

Consistent with the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Wayne Community College is committed to seeing that students with disabilities have equal access to and participation in all programs of study. Students with documented disabilities will receive reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to all programs and activities.