Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) (Education
Code, Section 84850 and Title 5, California Code of Regulations (5
CCR) Sections 56000-56076) were enacted in 1976 through the passage
of Assembly Bill 77 (Lanterman), which funds support services and
instructional programs for students with disabilities in the
California Community Colleges. DSPS assists colleges to
provide services and accommodations for students with disabilities
to support their student success and to meet the requirements of
federal and State non-discrimination laws, including Sections 504
and 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), and State Government Code Sections
11135-11139.5.
Technically, operating DSPS is voluntary on the part of
each college. Colleges are governed by the Title 5 regulations
regarding DSPS only because they accept the DSPS funds allocated to
them every year. A college could refuse the DSPS funds and not be
subject to the requirements of Title 5 regarding DSPS. However, by
refusing Title 5 funds, the college would not reduce or eliminate
its obligations under state and federal law regarding the civil
rights of people with disabilities and the need to provide services
and accommodations to ensure that the college's programs and
services are accessible to, and usable by, students with
disabilities. In fact, DSPS assists greatly in providing the
funding and the mechanism through which the college meets these
federal and state requirements.
In many cases, it is very complicated to determine if a
specific service is required by state and federal law since
accommodations should be provided on an individualized basis, after
engaging in an interactive process with the student with a
disability. The critical requirement is that, as a result of
the interactive process, disability related accommodations are
provided to students in order to
provide equal access to the educational process and to eliminate
discrimination. As DSPS has evolved, some services and
approaches have developed as efficient and successful strategies to
meet the legal requirements for providing accommodations and
services based on student need. So, while there may be no
direct legal or regulatory requirement to provide a specific
service, there may be an institutional standard and general
programmatic expectation that has developed regarding such
services. These services have grown out of a long-standing
and substantial history of serving the diverse needs of students
with disabilities attending California Community Colleges. Examples
of such services are Learning Disability Assessment, Special
Classes and High Tech Center services. None of these three services
is specifically required by state or federal law or regulation to
be provided by colleges to students with disabilities, but the
contribution they make to meeting student needs and to ensuring
accommodations are provided in an effective manner is the key
reason colleges choose to provide them. They provide the means to
the end.