Individuals with disabilities can be subject to discrimination.  By treating information about students with disabilities as confidential, faculty will help ensure that students are not singled out on the basis of disability.  Below are guidelines to ensure that information regarding students with disabilities is kept confidential:

• Use information that a student shares regarding their eligibility for accommodations only and specifically for that purpose.
• Refrain from discussing a student’s disability status and accommodations among others who do not have an “educational need to know.”
• Do not assume that students with disabilities are aware of other students’ disability status. Send separate emails to students so that they are not privy to other students’ information.
• At no time should a student’s disability status be shared with other students in the class.
• All conversations regarding implementation of accommodations or issues pertaining to the student’s disability should be done privately. Make yourself available by email, during office hours or by appointment.
• Requesting specific information about a student’s disability is inappropriate, as is requesting documentation from a medical provider. Should a student try to give you disability related documentation (other than the Accommodation Notification Letter), decline to read or accept it. Refer the student to the Disability Center, the office which has responsibility for maintaining records related to students’ accommodations.

All information about students’ eligibility for accommodations is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).