Prospective Students and Families

Documentation for SAS must be provided by a licensed or certified professional familiar with the student's qualifying condition. It should include a statement detailing how the disability limits major life activities and participation in courses, programs, services, or activities, both with and without mitigating circumstances. The documentation must be current (within five years), clearly stating the diagnosis and the condition’s impact on the student. While helpful, the university does not accept 504’s or IEP’s as documentation.

• For Learning Disabilities (Autism, Dyslexia, etc.):
  • The full diagnostic report from the medical provider or psychometrist.
• For all other qualifying diagnoses:
  • Documentation must be a letter from the provider, signed and dated on their letterhead within the past 5 years that clearly states their diagnosis. 
• For Housing Accommodations:
  • Documentation must specifically request the type of housing accommodations they are applying for and must contain the reasons why they would benefit from those specific housing accommodations. Note: housing accommodations are subject to availability within the residence halls. Requests are filled on a first come, first served basis.
  • Effective May 1, 2024, students requesting housing accommodations and their medical provider must complete and submit the Housing Accommodation Verification Form. Housing Accommodation requests will not be considered until this form is completed in its entirety. Students will recieve this document upon application for Housing Accommodations. 
• For Emotional Support Animals (ESA):
  • The University ESA form must be filled out in its entirety by someone licensed in the state of MS, or the student’s home state if that is a different state. 
• For Pregnancies:
  • We will need a letter from your provider that clearly states the beginning and ending dates of your maternity leave. It must contain the specific dates, not just a blanket “6 weeks” by the provider. 
  • Students are given the same amount of time that they are absent to complete any missing assignments
  • For more information, refer to the Title IX office.
• For temporary diagnoses (broken bones, surgical recovery, etc.): All the same guidelines as regular diagnoses apply.

What is a qualifying condition and Functional Limitation?

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a qualifying condition for college students is any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include functions such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, and performing manual tasks. Additionally, conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, chronic health issues, and mental health disorders may qualify if they substantially limit a student's ability to participate in academic or other major life activities.

At the collegiate level, functional limitations refer to challenges or restrictions that students may face in carrying out various academic and non-academic activities due to health conditions, disabilities, or other qualifying conditions. These limitations can impact a student's ability to participate fully in the college experience, including attending classes, completing assignments, engaging in extracurricular activities, and accessing campus facilities, including housing.

What are some examples of qualifying conditions?

Qualifying conditions include (in no particular order), but are not limited to:

• ADD/ADHD
• Anxiety/Depression
• Low Vision/Blindness
• Low Hearing/ Deaf
• Mobility Conditions
• Dyslexia
• Chronic conditions such as POTS or Diabetes
• Psychological conditions such as Autism, Asperger’s, and Tourette’s.
• Pregnancy
• Temporary Conditions such as broken bones, surgical recovery, etc.

What are some commonly prescribed accommodations?

• Extended Testing Time
• Testing in the SAS testing center
• Electronic copies of notes/ lectures
• Volunteer notetaker services
• Captioning and Interpreter services
• Housing Accommodations

NOTE: This list only contains the most common accommodations and is not representative of all offered services.

What is not approved by SAS?

• Excuses for absences
• Extended Deadlines
• Reduced Assignments or assignment requirements
• Study Guides
• Alternative assignments or assistance with assignments

Service Animals

• As defined by the US Department of Justice, a service animal is a dog that has been individually trained to perform a specific task, or tasks, for those with disabilities. There are no restrictions on the breed or size of a service dog.
• With an exception for reasonable health and safety issues, service animals may accompany their handler to any environment in which the public is allowed. Service animals are not required to be registered or certified by any entity and handlers are not required to submit documentation indicating the animal is a service animal. They are also not required to wear identifying service animal vest or to carry a service animal license.
• Service animals are NOT pets and should not be treated as such. Service animals are working animals and must be able to focus on their jobs. Service animals should not be petted, played with, or fed without the express permission of the handler. Service animals must be always present with their handler on campus.
• Unlike service animals, emotional support animals are not recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Instead, they are recognized by the Federal Housing Act and the Air Carrier Access Act.  This means that emotional support animals or comfort animals are allowed in campus housing but are not allowed, as are service animals, access to public spaces, except public spaces also available to pets. Emotional support animals can also accompany owners on airplanes. Also, unlike service animals, people with emotional support animals are required to submit documentation from a qualified medical professional confirming a disability-related need for an emotional support animal to SAS.

Emotional Support Animals

• ESAs are also known as comfort or assistance animal and they provide companionship, comfort, and may help to alleviate the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Emotional support animals are not limited to dogs, as are service animals. Emotional support animals can be any animal that does not create a danger or hazard to the living environment or to those residing in the living environment.

Where can a Service Animal or an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) be excluded? 

Service animals and emotional support animals or comfort animals can only be excluded from an allowable environment if:

• The handler is not in full control of the animal. A service animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered while in a public place, except when the use of such hinders or interferes with the duties of the service animal. In these situations, the handler must use voice commands, hand signals, or other means to control the animal. Handlers may not allow the animal to wander an environment.
• The animal is disruptive or out of control and the handler does not take action to control the animal’s behavior. Examples of disruptive behavior include excessive barking and/or whining, damaging the property of the University or others, and threatening behavior including growling, snapping, or lunging.
• The animal is not house trained.
• The animal poses a health or safety risk in a particular environment. For instance, a service animal may be allowed in a patient’s hospital room but not in a surgical suite or it may be allowed on the deck of a public pool but not in the pool itself.
• The presence of a service animal or emotional support/comfort animal fundamentally alters a program or environment. In most settings, a service animal will not create a fundamental alteration of a program or environment. For example, a service animal may create a fundamental alteration if a residence hall has set aside an area specifically for students who have allergies to dogs.

How to register an Emotional Support Animal:

• Students should follow the same application process for an ESA. In addition to the application, the University ESA form must be filled out in its entirety by someone licensed in the state of MS, or the student’s home state if that is a different state. This form must be submitted to both Student Accessibility Services and Housing and Residence Life.

• Student Accessibility Services (SAS) respects students’ privacy and keeps information related to students’ disability confidential. Communication with other campus offices or instructors is limited to providing guidance on how to implement approved accommodations.
• With a student’s permission or request, SAS will consult with parents, spouses, faculty, staff, and relevant professionals. SAS does not disclose information about a student’s disability or the nature of the disability unless the student specifically requests SAS to do so. Student records are kept electronically encrypted and only SAS staff have access.
• Students may request that more information be shared with parents or spouses by completing a FERPA Consent Form. For questions about FERPA or the FERPA Consent Form, please contact the University Registrar's Office at 266.5006 or registrarFREEMississippi. The completed FERPA Consent Form should be sent to the University Registrar's Office directly.