People with disabilities are often subject to discrimination, stigma and misunderstanding. To protect the student from mistreatment, please keep the following in mind.
Information pertaining to the student’s disability and the accommodations provided are personal and confidential in nature and should be handled in the same way you would want your personal information handled.
Students with disabilities may choose to disclose details of their disability. However, instructors are expected to maintain confidentiality and avoid unnecessarily drawing attention to the student’s disability.
We recommend the following guidelines:
• Information a student shares is to be used specifically for arranging reasonable accommodations .
• Don’t leave student disability information visible on your computer or in any printed format that others can see. Please dispose of it securely at the end of the semester.
• Do not discuss a student’s disability status and accommodations in public with or others who do not have an “educational need to know.”
• Don’t assume that students registered with Student Disabilities Services are aware of other students’ disability status. Blind copy (BCC) students so they are not privy to other student’s information, or better yet, send separate emails to each student.
• Do not tell other students that a student has a disability.
• Discuss accommodation letters and logistics of implementing accommodations with students in private. Make yourself available by email, during office hours, or by appointment to discuss.
Questions?
Contact Scott Laurent at (816) 235-5696 or laurentr@umkc.edu.
