Registering with Disability Services

Registering with Disability Services

To register with DS, students should follow these step-by-step instructions. Required materials may be submitted via email ([email protected]), fax (212-854-3448), or dropped off in person at Wien Hall Suite 108A. Students are not required to submit copies of records to Columbia Law School. Should a student be approved for reasonable accommodations, the CLS Accommodations Team will receive your accommodation letter directly from Disability Services. 

As a brief overview, the steps consist of:  

• Completing and submitting a registration form.
• Gathering and submitting disability documentation for all disabilities for which you’re seeking accommodations. Review both the General Guidelines for Disability Documentation and the Disability-specific documentation guidelines to ensure you submit what is required.
• DS will begin its review process - which takes about 3 weeks - only when your application is complete.
• Meeting with a DS Case Manager to review your eligibility for accommodations and the policies and procedures for accessing any such accommodations.  
• DS will produce an “Accommodations Letter” which they will send to the Disability Liaison

Registration Form

DS requires a Registration Form. In addition to biographical information, the Registration Form requests a student narrative/statement on impact. The purpose of this section is to serve as a supplement to the disability documentation you submit by way of self-report. This section helps Disability Services understand your reason(s) for requesting accommodations at Columbia. The Registration form also asks you to specify the accommodations you are requesting. 

Documentation

Disability Services has established the following disability documentation guidelines:

General Guidelines for Disability Documentation requires that documentation must:

1. Be recent enough in order to assess the current impact on learning or a major life activity. Please see disability-specific guidelines for more information. Please note that students requesting accommodations due to a chronic medical condition (e.g., sporadic absences from class) must submit documentation dated within 6 months as well as annually updated documentation.
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 in order to access University 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. The University reserves the right to require that a certified copy of the report be transmitted directly from the evaluator to the University.

Documentation also must include:

1. The student’s history of receiving reasonable accommodations and academic adjustments, if such history exists.
2. Specific recommendations for accommodations as well as an explanation as to why each is recommended as necessary.

Documentation must also meet the disability-specific documentation guidelines:

• Psychiatric Disabilities
  • Verification of Disability Form for Mental Health Treatment Providers
• Sensory Disabilities
• Learning Disabilities
• AD/HD
• Concussion
  • Concussion Verification Form
• Allergies and Asthma
  • Verification of Disability Form for Asthma and Allergy Conditions
• Chronic Medical Conditions
  • Verification of Disability Form for Medical Providers