Documentation Guidelines

U.S. disability laws define a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities and requires documentation to demonstrate this.

Documentation...

• Establishes a student's disability status
• Aids in understanding how the disability may impact a student
• Provides adequate information on the functional impact of the disability so effective reasonable accommodations can be identified

Reasonable accommodations are individually determined and may vary from student to student.

Purpose of Documentation

Penn State’s Student Disability Resources (SDR) office requests documentation of a disability for the purpose of demonstrating that a student is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These laws define a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

The documentation requested by Student Disability Resources establishes a student’s disability status, aids in understanding how the disability may impact a student, and provides adequate information on the functional impact of the disability so that effective reasonable accommodations can be identified.

Reasonable accommodations are individually determined and may vary from student to student.

Acceptable Documentation

Documentation submitted to Student Disability Resources supporting a student’s request for reasonable accommodations must indicate that the student’s disability substantially limits one or more major life activities.

The documentation should reflect functional limitations that are currently impacting the student as determined by the appropriate professional who is qualified to evaluate or treat the functional impact of the disability and render conclusions about the need for accommodations.

Student Disability Resources has not adopted a documentation currency requirement, but documentation will only be accepted if it reflects the present-day status of the student’s functional limitations.

Student Disability Resources may waive documentation requirements for a student whose disability is readily apparent or obvious (e.g., paralysis, total blindness, deafness).

For students whose disabilities or need for accommodations are not readily apparent, Student Disability Resources has established a Third-Party Verification Form to obtain current information about functional areas of impact that assist in making determination for service.

The Third-Party Verification Form serves as one option (not the only option) for providing disability documentation to Student Disability Resources. The Third-Party Verification Form can be submitted with or in lieu of other types of disability documentation, including neuropsychological or psychological evaluations, medical or diagnostic reports, audiology reports, or a physician’s letter on letterhead and signed.

Student Disability Resources reserves the right to determine whether submitted documentation supports the need for reasonable accommodations based on the functional impact of the disability in the college environment.

Getting Documentation

Student Disability Resources provides verification forms for all disabilities to facilitate the documentation process. Many of the forms can be used independently to document the functional limitations associated with a disability or they can be used to supplement current documentation.

Some verification forms, where noted, cannot be submitted alone and must accompany additional documentation as indicated. 

How to Submit Documentation

Submit your disability documentation and verification forms to us online.

Documentation can also be delivered in-person to the disability services office at the Penn State campus the student is attending.

Disability documentation submitted to Student Disability Resources is treated in a confidential manner according to all pertinent state and federal regulations.

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