University of Minnesota Extension Service Disability Policy

The University of Minnesota Extension Service and The Americans with Disabilities Act

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) went into effect January, 1992. It states that no qualified individuals with a disability shall be excluded from participation in programs or activities of a public entity or be subjected to discrimination because of their disability.

The University of Minnesota Extension Service is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to ensure equitable access to our programs, educational materials, and services for all qualified clients with disabilities.

This means more than offering programs in buildings without architectural barriers. It may mean providing interpreters or readers. It may also mean making logical adjustments in the instructional process that are necessary and feasible to ensure full educational opportunity.

Any educational media or method can have multiple options for being made accessible to people with disabilities. Some options are at the production end (e.g. producing video tapes that are closed captioned) and some are at the delivery end (e.g. providing a qualified sign language interpreter).

Requests for accessibility from disabled clients occur most often at the delivery end. It seems reasonable, therefore, to address most options at the delivery point when the disability is identified. Most often the contact at the delivery point is the county extension office.

The University of Minnesota Extension Service believes it is important to create an infrastructure that permits anyone in the organization to respond to a specific request to have a program or product made available in an alternative format. The intent of this policy is to support a culture in which all staff are sensitive to the individual needs of our clients and willing to be creative in meeting those needs.

Providing Programs, Educational Materials, and Services for Disabled Clients

Section One - Policy for All Extension Staff

Extension will meet the educational needs of a diverse clientele in an equitable manner. Requests for accommodating disabled people will be met in accordance with suggestions in Recommendations for Ensuring Access for Disabled Clients, or by offering an effective alternative solution.
No one will be turned away because of a disability, and no one will be charged for reasonable accommodations.
It is the responsibility of staff who have the initial contact with a client to obtain information regarding the disability and to arrange to provide the support that is requested in a reasonable length of time.
All publicity for programs or services will mention accessibility. This will encourage people to ask for accommodations before the delivery of a program rather than to assume Extension is not accessible to them. Someone in each local Extension office should be designated to handle such requests. Use the following statement, naming the local contact for a program and the phone number.
To request disability accommodations, please contact (name of contact), (county name) County Extension Office (area code/phone number).
Or
To request disability accommodations, please contact (name of campus contact) at 1-800-(phone number).
All educational materials will carry a statement indicating that the material can be made available in alternate formats, such as Braille, large print, tape, or electronic delivery. Use the following statement, naming the local contact for a program and the phone number:
This material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact the (county name) County Extension Office at (area code/phone number).

Materials produced for the Extension Distribution Center will carry a different statement because those materials are sold to clients outside of Minnesota as well as being distributed through county extension offices. The following statement will appear on them, in keeping with the principle that accommodations should be addressed at the point of delivery:

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact your Minnesota county extension office or, outside of Minnesota, contact the Distribution Center at (612) 625-8173.
. Staff, in consultation with Disability Services/Extension Liaisons, will provide reasonable accommodations to the learner on an individualized and flexible basis.
If the disability is not evident, Extension should request documentation of disability conditions from the student/client. For confidentiality, the official receiver of documentation in Disability Services, who will consult with Extension on what is a reasonable accommodation, and file the documentation for future reference if needed. Have the client send documentation to Disability Services with a copy of the "Release of Information" form (http://ds.umn.edu). The Extension staff may want to provide a pre-addressed envelope. Extension should proceed to arrange accommodations for the request while awaiting the documentation or consultation from Disability Services.
It is the responsibility of the disabled client to seek available assistance, to make his/her needs known to Extension staff, and to give adequate time for Extension to make reasonable accommodations.

Section Two - Information and Resources

Extension Resources: Extension staff who have questions about documentation, reasonableness of requests and Extension's disability policies should contact:
Office for Equal Educational Opportunity and Affirmative Action at (612) 625-5252.
Local Resources: In anticipation of requests from people with disabilities, Extension staff should proactively identify a pool of local volunteers and paid resources in the county or cluster who could provide reader/scribe, note taking, and other disability-related services. Disability Services staff may assist Extension staff in identifying appropriate local resources if needed.
The University of Minnesota's Disability Services: Extension staff may use these services through our Disability Services at (612) 626-1333. Sign language, oral, or tactile interpreters may be obtained for University-sponsored courses or events by contacting the liaisons at least 10 days in advance ( http://dds.umn.edu).
Disability Services also offers a service in which standard print materials are converted to alternative formats (audio tape, Braille, electronic and large print). This service is offered free to Extension and other University departments upon requests. Disability Services only converts materials that are used or produced by the University. Extension is responsible for distributing the converted material.

Disability Services provides the fastest service if you can provide an electronic document. Use Pegasus Mail e-mail to send the word processing file to Disability Services, or mail a disk and the form. Please call Document Conversion Services (612) 624-6899 for further assistance.

If the document to convert was produced in EDS (it probably was if it has the Extension visual identifier and/or you received it from the Distribution Center), EDS may be able to provide the electronic file. Call EDS information at (612) 625-2787 with the title and item number. They can make arrangements to have it converted by Disability Services and sent to you or the client.

Recommendations for Ensuring Access for Disabled Clients

This document suggests several options for accommodating clients with a variety of disabilities. Extension staff will work with clients to determine the most effective, efficient, and reasonable solution and provide it. All options may not be available or reasonable, and other accommodations not suggested here may actually be more appropriate.

It is expected that the disabled individuals will allow adequate time for Extension staff to make reasonable accommodations and that those accommodations will be made.

The University of Minnesota Extension Service expects anyone in the organization to accommodate a specific request from a client with a disability. All staff must be sensitive to the individual needs of our clients and be willing to be creative in meeting those needs.

Each educational media or method can have multiple options for being made accessible to people with disabilities. Some options are at the PRODUCTION end (e.g. producing captioned video tapes) and some are at the DELIVERY end (e.g. providing a qualified sign-language interpreter).

Requests for accessibility from disabled clients occur most often at the delivery end. It seems reasonable therefore to address most options at the delivery point when the disability is identified. Most often the contact at the delivery point in the county extension office.

The following are examples of solutions. Not all solutions need be made available, nor is Extension limited to these options. Each unique case will be handled individually at the point of request.

PUBLICATIONS
1. Production
  1. Publications and printed materials produced in EDS could be available in electronic format within one week of a request (longer for a large publication). Electronic files could then be used to produce Brailled or large-print formats and used as well with screen readers and speech synthesizers.
2. Delivery
  1. Audio tapes of materials could be made if requested within a reasonable length of time. For technical material, consult with the disabled person to determine his or her need for tables, graphs, etc., to minimize unnecessary work.
  2. Volunteers should be identified who are willing to read and/or explain publications.
  3. Use a copy machine to enlarge print materials if requested by a visually impaired individual.
  4. Each county could have a magnifying glass for clientele to use in the office, or identify a local library which has a print enlarger (CCTV).
VIDEO
1. Production
  1. Captioning a visual text of an entire soundtrack (dialogue, music, sound effects), appears on the screen simultaneously with the visual portion of the production. Although "closed captioning" is currently a more common method, "open captioning" is gaining acceptance. Video producers bear the cost of captioning, about $2,000 to $5,000 per production.
    1. Open captioning appears on the screen without the use of a decoder. For closed captioning a decoder is required at the delivery point.
    2. Closed captioning is the best choice for video that will be broadcast (all television equipment manufactured after July 1993 has decoding capability).
    3. All public service announcements funded by the federal government must be captioned.
  2. Scripts may be used if captioning is not possible or affordable. They may be made available for uncaptioned videos currently in the Distribution Center when requested. Additional time is needed for transcription of scripts that are not on file.
2. Delivery
  1. Decoders and television
    1. To use videos that are closed captioned, know where to rent or borrow a decoder locally on adequate notice when requested by a deaf or hard-of-hearing client.
    2. Determine whether a television has a built-in decoder. Generally the decoder is turned on by the on-screen programming; consult the owner's manual. Before purchasing a new television, make sure the built-in decoder is operational.
  2. Qualified sign language interpreters (who also understand the subject matter)
    1. Interpreters may be desirable for videos that are not captioned.
    2. Interpreters are appropriate when videos are part of a program and qualified interpreters can be made available upon request for the entire program. It may be desirable to have an interpreter at the origination site when a program is broadcast to several locations.
    3. Since lights are usually dimmed during viewing, provide adequate lighting of the interpreter (e.g. a portable lamp).
  3. Descriptions
    1. Identify local volunteers who would be available to view videos with a visually impaired person and describe visual aspects of the production (action, characters, scenes, etc.).
    2. For visually impaired people, enhanced description of the videos may be considered in future (PBS Service) as a long-term goal.
  4. Large screen
    1. For visually impaired individuals, you should know where to obtain a large screen monitor or video projector.
SHORT COURSES, PROGRAMS, WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES.
1. Production.
  1. Ensure all facilities are wheelchair accessible during planning and contracting stages. Individuals with a disability may not be carried as a method of providing program access.
  2. All course advertising, including news releases and other informational material, should give a contact name and telephone number for people with disabilities who require accommodations. (See #4 in the policy.)
  3. Printed handouts should be available in alternative formats such as electronic, Braille, large print, and audio tape when requested within a reasonable length of time.
2. Delivery
  1. Qualified sign language interpreters should be available if requested within a reasonable length of time.
  2. Provide note takers and/or readers for written tests (FFA, for example), and one-on-one consultation as necessary to accommodate educational needs of disabled participants.
  3. Guidelines for all other media also apply.
AUDIO TAPES
1. Production
  1. Scripts for audio tapes should be kept on file for future requests. All Extension Distribution Center tapes should have scripts in their file.
2. Delivery
  1. The producer of tapes should be able to supply a copy of the script upon request. Transcriptions of tapes can be produced within a reasonable length of time if the script is not already available.
SLIDE SETS
1. Production
  1. Scripts of slide sets should be kept on file for future request. They are available from the Extension Distribution Center for deaf or hard-of-hearing people to read before of after viewing the slides.
2. Delivery
  1. Qualified sign language interpreters could interpret the presentation.
  2. Descriptions could help a disabled person understand what is being shown on screen.
ELECTRONIC DELIVERY
1. Production
  1. Electronic versions of Extension publications are available on-line (www.extension.umn.edu/).
  2. Info-U audio scripts are available on-line (www.extension.umn.edu/).
2. Delivery
  1. Info-U is implementing "Fax Back" technology so users with a touch-tone phone can request that written information be sent to a convenient fax. Deaf and hard-of-hearing clients can benefit from this service as well.
  2. Send the electronic version to the clients electronically (via the Internet or modem) if they are able to access it. Refer them to the Extension website (www.extension.umn.edu/).

The University of Minnesota Extension Service wishes to thank the following for their advice in the development of its Americans with Disabilities policy and guidelines:

Sue Kroeger, Director, Disability Services, University of Minnesota

Barbara Blacklock and Roberta Juarez, Extension/Disability Services Liaisons, University of Minnesota

Wayne Cunningham, Technical Assistance Coordinator, Post-secondary Education Division Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Chicago, Illinois.

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The information given in this publication is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the University of Minnesota Extension is implied.

Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of Minnesota Extension.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, this material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact your University of Minnesota Extension office or the Distribution Center at (800) 876-8636.

University of Minnesota Extension is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.