Santa Monica College's commitment is based on the belief that students with disabilities should have equal opportunity to participate in all the academic and extracurricular activities of the college. As national studies have documented, people with disabilities, as a group, occupy an inferior status in our society, and are "severely disadvantaged socially, vocationally, economically, and educationally." Such findings prompted Congress, in 1990, to pass legislation to include civil rights protection for people with disabilities.
The principle of equal opportunity is not a guarantee of equality of results. Nor does equal treatment, by itself, wholly constitute equal opportunity. In the case of students with disabilities, auxiliary aids, adapted or adaptive equipment, flexible policies and procedures, and other techniques may be necessary to provide equal opportunity.
Effective provision of appropriate support services and/or academic adjustments for students with disabilities requires effort by a team comprised of the student, the faculty, the staff and Disabled Student Services.