Students with Disabilities

Students diagnosed with physical and/or mental impairments qualify as persons with disabilities when their conditions substantially limit them in one or more major life activities. JTS provides reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities with consultation from their academic programs. Reasonable accommodations are adjustments to policies, practices, or procedures that facilitate equal access and opportunity for students with disabilities to JTS’s programs, activities and services. In order to ensure that students’ needs are directly linked to these accommodations, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allow higher education institutions to require disability documentation to verify disability status and the need for reasonable accommodations.

The dean of the respective school at JTS at which a student is enrolled is the ADA/504 coordinator. Students can locate each dean in the respective school’s office. Students may check the website for the dean’s telephone number and email address.

The following documentation guidelines apply to List College as well as graduate-level students. Specific instructions for List College and graduate-level students are described below.

Documentation must:

1. Be based on a report from a licensed health care provider from within the past five years. If the available evaluation report is more than five years old, then a note is required from a licensed health care provider attesting to the continued presence of the previous diagnosis and recommendations.
2. Be sufficiently comprehensive to establish clear evidence of a substantial impact on one or more major life activities.
3. Be sufficient to establish a direct link between the underlying impairment and the requested accommodations.
4. Include a description of what mitigating measures the student has used and whether with such use the student may still require accommodation to access JTS programs, activities and services.
5. Be issued by a medical or other qualified, licensed professional, unrelated by birth or marriage to the student, printed on letterhead, dated, signed, and including the professional’s licensing information. No information may be redacted. JTS reserves the right to require that a certified copy of the report be transmitted directly from the health care provider to JTS.
6. Include the student’s history of receiving reasonable accommodations and academic adjustments, if such history exists.
7. Include specific recommendations for accommodations as well as an explanation as to why each is recommended as necessary.

• Note: Students must complete the application process and submit necessary documentation before they may receive accommodation and services. JTS reserves the right to deny services or reasonable accommodation while the receipt of appropriate documentation is pending.

List College Students

1. List College students submit to their JTS dean the accommodations letter they received from Columbia University’s Office of Disability Services or Barnard’s Center for Accessibility Resources and Disability Services. List College students will receive this letter after submitting the necessary documentation in accordance with either of those schools’ policies.

2. Students need to include with this letter any other documentation that JTS requires in support of a student’s request for reasonable accommodation, as described above, even if this was already submitted to Columbia/Barnard. In addition the student should submit the Student Request for Accommodation Form below.

3. Upon receipt of a complete request, the student will receive confirmation of receipt from the dean’s office. Should further information or clarification be needed from the student and/or health provider, this information will be requested of the student and/or the health care provider. It may be necessary for the dean and student to discuss what reasonable and appropriate accommodations can be made.

4. After consideration and review, the dean will inform the student in writing regarding the student’s request for accommodations.

Graduate-Level Students (Cantorial, Davidson, Kekst, and Rabbinical Schools)

1. Any student who plans to request an accommodation for a disability must email their dean within one month of acceptance of an offer of admission to inform the dean that a request for accommodation is forthcoming. Should a disability emerge at a later point, the student should inform the dean as soon as possible.
2. Requests for accommodation should be completed no later than eight (8) weeks before the beginning of the upcoming semester.
3. To make a request for accommodation, please submit the Student Request for Accommodation Form and the Provider Questionnaire for Reasonable Accommodation Request Form, both linked below.
4. Upon receipt of a complete request, the student will receive confirmation of receipt from the dean’s office.
5. Completed requests will be reviewed. Should further information or clarification be needed from the student and/or health provider, this information will be requested of the student and/or the health care provider.
6. After review and consideration, the dean will notify the student in writing regarding the request for accommodations. It may be necessary for the dean and student to discuss what reasonable and appropriate accommodations can be made.