LUOA ODAS Purpose & Process

Our Purpose

The Liberty University Online Academy Office of Student Support (LUOA Student Support) exists to coordinate support services for its students with disabilities. Pursuant to applicable disability laws and regulations, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, LUOA seeks to provide reasonable disability accommodations and to create equal access to its programs and activities for its students with disabilities in its LUOA K-12 courses and the Liberty University college-level courses offered through LUOA’s dual enrollment program. LUOA Student Support also provides disability accommodations to students of LUOA-affiliated schools who are enrolled or participate in LUOA programs and activities but only to the extent that such students are enrolled or participate in LUOA programs and activities and the accommodations relate to such enrollment or participation in LUOA programs and activities. LUOA Student Support works in conjunction with faculty, students, and their parents or legal guardians to ensure that reasonable accommodations are provided for students with disabilities in accordance with LUOA policies and processes.

Definition of Disability

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual.

1. Major Life Activities: The phrase major life activities refers to normal functions such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.
2. Physical Impairment: A physical impairment includes any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory and speech organs, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin and endocrine.
3. Mental Impairment: A mental impairment includes any mental or psychological disorder such as neurocognitive disorders, emotional disorders or mental illness.
4. Learning disabilities: A learning disability is a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. These disorders occur in persons of average to very superior intelligence and are presumed to be due to central nervous system dysfunction.

Specific disabilities include, but are not limited to, the following: blindness or visual impairment; chronic illnesses; psychiatric and emotional disabilities (ADHD, anxiety and related disorders, depression, etc.); deafness or hearing impairments; epilepsy or seizure disorders; orthopedic impairment; specific learning disability; speech disorder; spinal cord or traumatic brain injury; and neurological and neuro-muscular disorders.

Reasonable Accommodations

LUOA is committed to providing its students with reasonable accommodations in policies, practices, and procedures when accommodations are needed to provide equal access to LUOA programs and activities, and to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability, unless making the accommodations would fundamentally alter the nature of the program or activity or would result in undue financial or administrative burden on LUOA.

Parents and guardians of new and prospective LUOA students are encouraged to review the information presented in the Overview of LUOA Disability Support Processes to become familiar with the policies, processes, requirements, and expectations of the LUOA ODAS office. If your child has a disability and would like to know what types of accommodations he or she may be eligible to receive at LUOA, please contact LUOA Student Support at luoastudentsupport@liberty.edu with the following information:

1. Notification that your child is a new or prospective LUOA student requesting information regarding accommodations
2. Documentation from your child’s healthcare provider that identifies the disability
3. Your child’s intended start date for class (if known)

Our office will email you a list of possible accommodations that your child may be eligible to receive. Please note, however, that this list of accommodations is not exclusive. The disability services process is interactive in nature, and LUOA Student Support will carefully consider all requested accommodations in an effort to provide individually-tailored accommodations that best fit your child’s educational needs.

Requesting Disability Accommodations

Parents or legal guardians requesting disability accommodations for an LUOA student must first contact LUOA Student Support by submitting a Notification of Need form.

Submitting Medical Documentation

In order to receive disability accommodations, a student must also submit appropriate medical documentation to LUOA Student Support. Costs associated with documentation of a disability (e.g., costs for medical appointments, diagnostic procedures, and treatment; medical record transfers; and other related costs) are the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian.

Specific documentation requirements:

• ADD/ADHD
• Head Injury/Traumatic Brain Injury
• Hearing Impairment
• Learning Disability
• Physical Disability
• Psychiatric Disability
• Visual Impairment

Privacy

LUOA and LUOA Student Support respect student privacy and comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Information obtained during the disability services process will be disclosed only to the extent necessary to determine and implement accommodations or in compliance with FERPA. Documentation for the student will be kept on file for the entire period of enrollment at LUOA and/or Liberty University.