Division of Campus Life
Residential Life

Documentation Guidelines for Disability-Related Housing Accommodation Requests

Documentation Questions?

Please contact SAS at 401-863-9588 or sas-housing@brown.edu

Students requesting accommodations and/or services under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 must provide documentation of the existence of a disability and evidence of the need for disability-related accommodations. 

In addition to completing the request form for your disability-based housing accommodation, you must provide documentation from a credentialed health provider in support of your request. You and your health provider should review the following documentation guidelines together to provide information that will be used to assess your request for accommodation. We encourage you to submit as much documentation as is needed to fully describe and support your request.

All requests are reviewed on a case by case basis and accommodations are determined based on the submitted request and any accompanying documentation. Documentation of a specific disability does not translate directly into specific accommodations. Accommodations are connected to the particular functional limitations associated with the disability and these can vary greatly among individuals with the same condition. Documentation must be current and relevant, but may not need to be recent. 

Documentation Guidelines

Documentation from third parties must describe the condition, diagnosis, or underlying need and should not include a recommendation for a particular housing arrangement. If an accommodation is approved, housing assignments will be made by the Brown University Office of Residential Life based on the approved accommodation and in partnership with the approving office. Documentation from third parties should include (though not necessarily be limited to) the following items and should address the topics below:

  1. The credentials of the evaluator(s). Documentation should be provided by an appropriate licensed or otherwise properly credentialed professional who has relevant experience and no personal relationship with you.
  2. A diagnostic statement identifying your disability and the diagnostic methodology used. Documentation should include a description of the diagnostic criteria, evaluation methods, procedures, tests, and dates of administration, along with a clinical narrative, observation, and specific results.
  3. A description of the current functional limitations. Documentation should address how the disabling condition(s) currently impacts your living environment or prevents you from accessing certain features of your living environment. Documentation should provide a clear sense of the severity, frequency and pervasiveness of the condition.
  4. A description of the expected progression or stability of the disability. Descriptions of the chronic, cyclical or episodic nature of the disability and known or suspected environmental triggers to episodes provide opportunities to anticipate and plan for continuing as well as varying functional impacts. Recommended time lines for re-evaluations can also be helpful.

Disability-related information is treated in a confidential manner and will only be shared on a need to know basis. Written documentation should be as complete and legible as possible. We request that written documentation be typewritten letters or reports, signed on letterhead and that they be sent by mail, fax or emailed as a non-editable file directly from the provider. Please contact SAS at 401-863-9588 or sas-housing@brown.edu if you have questions about what is needed.

Documentation Questions?

Please contact SAS at 401-863-9588 or sas-housing@brown.edu