A request for accommodation may be made orally to an employee’s direct supervisor, building principal, superintendent or the 504/ADA Coordinator. Once the district becomes aware of the request for accommodation, the district will provide the employee with a reasonable accommodation request form, which form is used to enable the district to keep accurate records regarding requests for accommodations. The reasonable accommodation form (Policy 401F1) can be found on the district’s website. Requests should include an explanation of how the disability affects job duties and the accommodation(s) the employee is seeking.
Requests for accommodation made to persons other than the 504/ADA Coordinator shall be turned over to the 504/ADA Coordinator within three (3) business days for further action. After the 504/ADA Coordinator receives notice of a request for accommodation, the Coordinator will, within seven (7) business days, initiate the interactive process with the employee or applicant to address one or more of the following:
- Determination of whether the employee or applicant is a “qualified individual with a disability” under the ADA;
- Request the individual to provide reasonable documentation about his/her disability and functional limitations, where the need for accommodation is not obvious;
- Clarify what accommodation the individual is seeking; and/or
- Determine whether reasonable accommodations would allow the individual to perform the essential functions of the job.
The 504/ADA Coordinator may request additional information (including seeing a health professional at the district’s expense) to verify that the employee has a disability under the ADA/Section 504 and the limitations that disability imposes on the employee’s ability to perform essential job functions.
The district will make reasonable efforts to notify the individual with the disability that it has granted or denied his/her request for accommodation within fifteen (15) business days the request was received by the Coordinator. When there are extenuating circumstances that require longer than fifteen (15) business days, the Section 504/ADA Coordinator will notify the individual regarding the status of his/her request and provide an estimated time to resolution. The Section 504/ADA Coordinator will notify the individual at least once every ten (10) business days thereafter regarding the status of the request and any revised estimated time to resolution. Notifications required by this paragraph may be satisfied through any of the following forms of communication with the individual: face to face meeting, telephone, first class mail, inter-office mail, email or other similarly effective forms of communication.
When the request is granted, the district will promptly provide the accommodation. The district may choose among reasonable accommodations as long as the chosen accommodation is adequate to enable the individual to perform the essential functions of the relevant position. As part of the interactive process, the district may offer alternative suggestions for reasonable accommodations and discuss their effectiveness.
An accommodation may be denied if it would cause an undue hardship. Undue hardship must be based on an individualized assessment of current circumstances that show that a specific accommodation would cause significant difficulty or expense.
An accommodation may be denied if it would cause a direct threat to the employee or applicant making the request or others in the workplace and the threat cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation.
An employee or applicant who has questions regarding this policy should contact the 504/ADA Coordinator. An employee or applicant who believes that he/she has been discriminated against based on a disability may submit a complaint using the grievance procedures in Policy 294P1. All inquiries regarding requests for accommodation and complaints will be treated as confidential to the extent permissible by law.
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LEGAL REFERENCE:
Americans with Disabilities Act,
42 USC 12101
28 CFR §35.107(a)
28 CFR §35.107(b)
28 CFR §35.130(a)
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act
29 USC 794
ADOPTED: April 20, 2016
AMENDED: