Information Related to Appeals and Grievances

The Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) provides academic accommodations and auxiliary aids to qualified undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students with diagnosed learning differences; psychiatric disorders; hearing, visual, and mobility impairments; medical conditions; and temporary disabilities.  All students requesting accommodations should register with the Office of Accessibility Services by reaching out to accessibilityservices@curry.edu or calling 617-333-2385 schedule an appointment. Please be prepared to submit any relevant documentation that supports the request being made.

Appealing a Decision Related to Approval of Accommodations

If a student wishes to appeal a decision related to the denial of an accommodation request by the Office of Accessibility Services, they should fill out this form within 5-business days of the detail decision.

Filing a Grievance Related to Discrimination, Harassment, or Retaliation on the Basis of Disability

Student Disability Grievance Policy and Procedure

Curry College is committed to preventing any discrimination, harassment or retaliation on the basis of disability, and to correcting its effects, as appropriate. This is grounded not only in the law, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and the ADA Amendments of 2008 but also in Curry’s own commitment to the inclusion of all members of the community. Curry College has adopted an internal grievance procedure that provides for the prompt and equitable resolution of concerns regarding the accommodation process on the basis of disability.

Students who believe they have been subjected to discrimination may file a complaint, referred to as a grievance, under this procedure. This procedure may be used to address concerns involving:

• Disagreement regarding the determination and/or the delivery of a requested academic accommodation, auxiliary aid or service, assistive technology, or non-academic accommodation;
• Failure to provide modification of a Curry policy, practice or requirement in an effective or timely manner, or refusal to provide such modifications;
• Denial of a requested academic or non-academic accommodation;
• Inaccessibility of a Curry program, service or activity;
• Timing of the accommodation process;
• Implementation of academic or non-academic accommodations; and
• Any other instance in which a Curry student believes that they have been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability.

There is a separate Sexual Misconduct Policy to address incidents related to sex, including sexual harassment and sexual violence, which is a form of sexual harassment. There also is a separate Nondiscrimination Policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on any legally protected characteristic, although concerns regarding the accommodation process or failure to accommodate claims are addressed through this Grievance Policy and Procedure. 

The College will investigate the grievance and if there is a finding that prohibited conduct occurred, it will take steps to prevent recurrence of any further prohibited conduct and address any resulting discriminatory effects on the complaining party or others, as appropriate.

Grievance Relating to Accommodations

Prior to initiating the formal grievance procedure outlined below, the student is encouraged to see if the issue can be resolved in an informal manner:

• If the issue is with the implementation of an accommodation via a course instructor, the student should first discuss his/her issue with the instructor of the course or appropriate department representative directly, unless extenuating circumstances make this approach not feasible.
• If a conversation with the course instructor or department representative does not resolve the situation, the student should contact the Director of the Office of Accessibility Services to coordinate an amicable resolution. This may include but is not limited to direct outreach, information gathering, discussions, and exploration of potential alternatives with faculty and/or departments (Housing & Residential Life, Parking, etc.) involved in the implementation of the accommodation. OAS will also communicate with the student during this process.
• If the issue still remains unresolved or if the problem involves a determination made by the Director of the Office of Accessibility Services, either in the initial granting of accommodations or in any resolution process navigated via an above issue with implementation, the student may file a formal grievance.

Formal Grievance Procedure

The grievance may be submitted online via Curry College’s Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, Bias & Discrimination Incident Report Form, or may be in the form of a detailed written document filed with Juan Hernandez, the Interim 504 Coordinator, Curry College, 1071 Blue Hill Avenue, Milton, MA 02186-2395. The grievance must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the alleged act of discrimination and must contain the following:

1. A clear and concise statement of the issue to be reviewed and a summary of steps taken, if any, by the grievant to resolve the issue prior to filing;
2. A reasonably detailed description of the relevant facts, including the grievant's alleged disability, names of persons with information, a description or copies of relevant documents or other evidence relevant to the grievance (i.e. , and a chronology of events;
3. The name, contact information, date, and signature of the grievant initiating the grievance.

Upon receipt of the grievance, the 504 Coordinator will review the grievance for timeliness and appropriateness, and will provide the grievant with written notice acknowledging its receipt. The 504 Coordinator will promptly initiate an investigation and will gather the relevant information for review. This includes the accommodation request, the medical documentation submitted, the letter that assigned the accommodation(s), and any other communications. This investigation will generally include interviews with the grievant and the individual(s) alleged to have discriminated against the grievant on the basis of disability. The grievant and the individual(s) alleged to have discriminated against the grievant on the basis of disability, will be given the opportunity to identify other individual(s) who may have information relevant to the grievance and to identify documents that are relevant to the investigation of the grievance. A preponderance of the evidence standard will be used in all determinations under this Policy and Procedure. A preponderance of the evidence standard means that, based on the information gathered, a thing is more likely than not to be true.

Upon completion of the investigation, the 504 Coordinator will inform the grievant, and the individual(s) against whom the grievance is directed, of the outcome of the investigation. Absent exceptional circumstances, an investigation is to be completed no later than forty-five (45) working days of the initial filing. The 504 Coordinator’s determination is final.

Confidentiality

Curry College will strive to maintain the confidentiality of information shared throughout the grievance process. However, disclosures may be required for the purpose of fact-finding or efforts to resolve the grievance. In the limited instances where disclosures must be made, disclosures will be limited to those individual(s) necessary to proceed in the fact-finding process or to otherwise address the grievance. All individual(s) involved in the grievance will be advised of the importance of confidentiality in the process and the identity of the grievant.

Privacy

All persons involved in the grievance process will be advised of the importance of privacy as it pertains to the information discussed and information about the complainant; however, it may be necessary for the 504 Coordinator to share relevant details of the complaint with stakeholders on a need to know basis for the purpose of fact-finding and efforts to resolve the grievance. All parties in a formal complaint, including witnesses, will be notified of the expectation that they keep information about the case – including any documents that they may receive or review – confidential. They will also be notified that sharing such information might compromise the investigation or may be construed as retaliatory

Prohibition against Retaliation

Curry College prohibits retaliation against any person who: requests accommodations, voices concerns about discrimination, files a grievance alleging disability discrimination, or participates in the grievance process. Guidance for addressing concerns about retaliation is addressed through the Non-Title IX process.

Alternative Avenue for Redress of Grievance

While students are encouraged to utilize Curry College’s process toward resolving disability-related grievances, all students have the right to file a complaint directly with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR office for Massachusetts is located at:

Washington DC (Metro)
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-1475

Telephone: 202-453-6020
FAX: 202-453-6021; TDD: 800-877-8339
Email: OCR.DC@ed.gov

To learn more about the grievance policy and procedure, please visit the following link:

Student Nondiscrimination Policy