The Office of Disability Services is responsible for receiving and maintaining disability-related documentation and information for students with disabilities at Suffolk University. The Office of Disability Services ensures full confidentiality for all information regarding a student's disability as required under federal law. The documentation may include:

  • Diagnostic information
  • Medical records
  • Psychological, psychoeducational and/or neuropsychological evaluations
  • Individualized Education Plans and/or 504 Plans
  • Case notes
  • Other disability-related information necessary to document and provide appropriate accommodations to students with disabilities

The Office of Disability Services has adopted the following guidelines to ensure confidentiality of disability-related information in student records

  1. Student files and student informationis protected by FERPA and are only released to others with a written release from the student
  2. Disability-related documentation is maintained in a secure location and separate from individual student files on campus
  3. A student must give written consent for disability-related information to be released to others within the campus community or external to Suffolk University.
  4. Written notification of a disability for purposes of providing reasonable accommodation does not entitle the reader access to disability documentation or additional disability-related information.

Information may be released, without student consent and in accordance with federal and state laws, to protect the health and safety of a student or other persons and/or comply with a judicial order or a subpoena.

  • Faculty and staff are notified of reasonable accommodations that they are required to provide students with disabilities. Students requesting in-class accommodations or faculty assistance acknowledge that some level of disclosure may be necessary to provide requested accommodation(s). This does not, however, furnish faculty with the right to view a student’s disability-related information or discuss it with others.

The Law

The Office of Disability Services is governed by three federal laws designed to protect the interests of students with disabilities.

  1. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability. Individuals with documented disabilities are entitled to receive reasonable accommodations, appropriate academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids that will enable them to participate in and have the opportunity to benefit from all campus educational programs and activities.
  2. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, Title III prohibits discrimination based on disability by private colleges and universities. Under provisions of Title III of the ADA, private colleges and universities must provide modifications in policies, practices and procedures to accommodate individuals with disabilities, must provide auxiliary aids and services when necessary, and examinations and courses must be given in a place and manner accessible to individuals with disabilities or be made accessible through alternative means.
  3. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."