DSPS Information for Faculty and Staff

Updated Thursday, May 13, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.

LACCD Stay Safe Campaign

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If you are feeling stressed, depressed, or anxious and need to talk
with someone contact:

L.A. County Dept. of Mental Health 24/7

Access Line: (800) 854-7771

Text: "LA" to 741741

Additional Online Resources for Mental Health Assistance:

https://dmh.lacounty.gov/covid-19-information/

To learn more about COVID-19 testing, and to see if you are eligible, please visit:

https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing

https://coronavirus.lacity.org/Testing

Since the semester began, many faculty have been supporting our students with disabilities both online and in the classroom through accommodations established by their DSPS office. It is of paramount importance that we continue collectively working together to ensure we can provide an equitable learning environment for our students who need those accommodations in order to have the opportunity to succeed in your classrooms.

In the newly online environment, different or additional support for your student(s) with disabilities may be necessary. Your District and College colleagues are here to help! You should immediately reach out to your local DSPS office if you have questions or anticipate any difficulties accommodating your students in a remote manner.

A link for DSPS contacts is posted on at end of this message and available by this link: https://tinyurl.com/laccddsps.

Alerting your college contact for available resources at the earliest opportunity is key to obtaining the assistance you need.

ONLINE INSTRUCTION

Online instruction creates additional important considerations for any instructor in their presentation of course content in Canvas for users with disabilities. The following areas highlight some of the most common accessibility issues to be aware of so you can ask for help on as soon as you identify or anticipate an issue based on your own course content:

Adding texts, documents or images in course files that have not been checked or adapted by the uploader to ensure they accessible to all users, with or without assistive technology. Examples include insufficient color contrast on materials, lack of alternative text describing images, links lacking a complete URL, using flashing or blinking materials and organizing content in a layout that is difficult to navigate or read using assistive technologies.
Failure to include captioning and/or sign-language interpretation on either live or uploaded prerecorded videos, and associated prevention of students obtaining video transcripts.
Extra time for students with disabilities on assignments or examinations, as approved by DSPS.

LACCD and the State Chancellor’s office are in the process of identifying all available tools and resources, including BlackBoard Ally, to serve as a safety net to help you ensure your content can be converted or adapted for accessibility purposes as needed. The District is also establishing a hotline and email address where you can alert us to urgent issues, including if you believe you need your content reviewed or converted and don’t know where to start.

If you learn that your DSPS student, or any other student, has encountered difficulty accessing your online course information, seek assistance in the meantime by contacting your local DSPS office (https://tinyurl.com/laccddsps) or emailing disabilityaccess@email.laccd.edu.

If you want to learn more about how to create accessible content from the outset, the State Accessibility Center is hosting hour-long trainings on the schedule noted below intended for instructors teaching face-to-face who are transitioning to Canvas to maintain instructional continuity for DSPS and accessibility.

The sessions include quick steps to create accessible pages in Canvas by organizing content, adding accurate heading styles, tables, alt text for images, lists, and accurately captioned videos. All faculty are welcome to join and ask questions about Canvas and accessibility.

Sessions will be the following:

Tuesday March 24; Wednesday, March 25 and Thursday, March 26
Morning session: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Afternoon session: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Zoom Meeting URL: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/141190650
Phone one-tap (US Toll): +16699006833, 141190650# or +13462487799, 141190650#

All sessions will use the same Zoom meeting information.

Lastly, you should anticipate there may be circumstances where, due to this sudden involuntary shift in learning environment, a student with a disability will determine that their approved accommodations cannot adequately support their success in your course. If a student elects to seek an incomplete because, even with their accommodations, they determine they are unable to successfully complete your course for this term, you should accept their request and direct them to your local DSPS office for further processing.

Thank you for your attention to this critical component in our transition to instruction online. We are here for you and wish you continued success as the semester progresses.

DSPS OFFICE CONTACT INFO

ELAC

Phone: (323) 265-8787

Email: dsps@elac.edu

Web: https://www.elac.edu/Student-Services/DSP-S

LACC

Phone: (323) 953-4000 x2270

Email: oss@lacitycollege.edu

Web: https://www.lacitycollege.edu/Resources/Office-Special-Services/Department-Home

LAHC

Phone: (310) 233-4629

Email: Sps@lahc.edu