In January 2025, CUNY implemented a new student disability management system, CUNY Accommodate. This system simplifies the accommodation request process for all students. Please see instructions below:
As a new student at CUNY, or a student new to the process of receiving accommodations please CLICK HERE and complete the CUNY Accommodate Intake application. This will connect you to the Student Disability Services (SDS) Office at Lehman College. On this application you will be asked to upload documentation of your disability. Although not required, we encourage you to have documentation ready to upload as it will be needed in order to approve your accommodations. Once your application is submitted, someone from the SDS office will contact you via your student CUNYfirst email to schedule an intake appointment.
If you are a continuing Lehman student and you want the SDS office to send out accommodation letters to your professor, please CLICK HERE to complete the Semester Request Form. Here are the instructions:
- Click on Student button and log in using your CUNY First login
- Click on Accommodation on the left side of your screen. If you are on your phone or tablet, you will find this by clicking the three lines at the top left corner
- Select “Semester Request”
- Click “Add new”
- Select the semester you are requesting accommodations for
- Click “Submit”
If you are a CUNY student who received accommodations at another campus and are transferring to Lehman College, you will already have an active Accommodate account. Please CLICK HERE to complete the Semester Request Form. The SDS Office will be notified of this request and reach out to you to inform you of the specific supports and services that Lehman’s SDS Office offers.
If you need any assistance with any part of this process please feel free to reach out to the SDS Office at: disability.services@lehman.cuny.edu
Compliance
Lehman College maintains compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which states:
“No otherwise qualified individual with disability in the United States... shall solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
About Section 504
Under Section 504, an individual with a disability is defined as a person who:
- has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity
- has a record of such an impairment; or
- is regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities include such functions as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.”
Reasonable accommodations defined
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 requires an institution of higher education to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified individual with a documented disability, provided that accommodation does not create an undue hardship.
An undue hardship refers to any accommodation that would be unduly costly, expensive, substantially disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature of the program.
CUNY Reasonable accommodations
The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to ensure students with disabilities have equal access to courses, programs, services, and activities. Under the ADA and Section 504, institutions of higher education must consider requests for academic adjustments and auxiliary aids and services on an individualized basis to determine what is appropriate and effective for the student's disability-related barriers. In higher education, accommodations generally address how a student accesses course content, participates, or demonstrates knowledge, while preserving the essential academic requirements, learning outcomes, and standards of the course or program. Colleges and universities are not required to approve requests that would fundamentally alter an essential requirement, change the substantive nature of an assessment or course, lower academic standards, or impose an undue burden. When a particular request is not appropriate for these reasons, the institution should consider whether there are alternative accommodations that would provide equal access without altering the essential nature of the requirement.
Unlike high school, where students are automatically provided with testing, accommodations and services and do not have to provide documentation in order to receive accommodations, in the college environment, documentation from a physician or other appropriate licensed professional must be provided to the designated office.
This documentation must consist of a current report or evaluation prepared by the appropriate professional, along with the completed application form.
Clinical documentation should:
- Specify the diagnosis, including when the diagnosis was made and the likely duration of the condition if not ongoing.
- Describe in detail the student's functional limitations created by the diagnosis; and
- Indicate accommodations that are recommended for the student, along with explanations as to why these accommodations would be useful.
- Individual Education Programs (IEPs) can be provided in addition to any appropriate psychological/educational report or medical documentation.
Students are encouraged to include appropriate medical reports, relevant medical history, and any other medical or educational records or data that would be useful in determining and providing appropriate reasonable accommodations and services.
In some cases, the office of disability services may ask you or your physician/evaluator to submit additional information.
*All information about a student's disability is considered confidential and will remain within the Office of Student Disability Services.
