Student Disability Services

The New School seeks to foster an environment that encourages all students to reach their highest level of achievement. Through various student services and programs, the university emphasizes the importance of recognizing and embracing individual differences.

In keeping with this philosophy, Student Disability Services (SDS) is committed to helping students with disabilities obtain equal access to academic and programmatic services. SDS assists students with disabilities in need of academic and programmatic accommodations as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

What constitutes a disability?

According to the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, the term “disability” includes any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities or a record of a physical or mental impairment that substantially limited a major life activity.

What does “substantially limits” mean?

While there is no hardline legal definition of “substantially limits,” the term is meant to be broadly interpreted to refer to any limitation of any major life activity, including but not limited to caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.