FAQs | Disability Services
DRS at Rio Salado College provides registered students with documented disabilities with accommodations including:
- Testing accommodations appropriate for the disability
- Interpreters
- Computer software and voice recognition
- Textbooks in alternative format
- Temporary accommodations for temporary impairments
To register for accommodations, you must complete an online application at DRS Connect and provide documentation to the DRS office that verifies the existence of a disability as defined under Section 504 and under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
Your documentation must:
- Verify the existence of a disability as defined under Section 504 and under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and
- Establish a clear connection between the accommodations being requested and the effects of the disability.
For more information, see forms and resources
You must first register with the DRS Office to receive accommodations. After you have registered and submitted the verification documentation, a DRS Staff Member reviews the file and then contacts you to schedule an intake appointment.
- Accommodations must be requested on line at DRS Connect for each semester.
The Instructor Notification letter with the approved accommodations is emailed to each assigned instructor for the course.
Unlike high school institutions, Rio Salado College does not provide psychoeducational evaluation services. If you require an evaluation to provide proper documentation, you must acquire the evaluation from a licensed professional such as your doctor. The DRS office can also provide you with a list of doctors who offer this service.
Please note that prices doctors charge for this type of service vary and you are responsible for paying for this service. For more information on the psychoeducational evaluation, please look under the Documentation Guidelines on the District Students with Disabilities Page.
The DRS office functions under the laws of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99). The information provided can only be discussed with you as a service recipient. However, if you want to have the information released to someone else (a parent or spouse, for example), you are required to complete a release of information form before DRS discusses any information with anyone other than you.
If you transfer to another school, the documentation does not automatically transfer with you.
However, if you are transferring from Rio Salado College to a different school and would like DRS to forward your documentation, you must:
- Sign a release of information form, and
- Provide information about where you would like the documentation sent
If you are transferring to Rio Salado College from a school where you are already receiving accommodations, that school can send their information to DRS at Rio. The documentation that you provide remains in our files up to three years after the last time you attended Rio Salado.
The DRS staff is happy to meet with you to discuss our available services at the college. Services are available to qualified students at no additional charge. Please contact us by phone or email to schedule a meeting.