HCC’s Disability Support Services is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its amendments; the provision of reasonable accommodations is determined on an individual basis. HCC’s Director of Cohorts, Compliance, and Intervention acts as the College’s 504/ADA Coordinator. Minimally, the 504/ADA Coordinator is responsible for ensuring compliance with Section 504 and Title II of the ADA, overseeing state civil rights regarding discrimination and harassment based on disability, overseeing prevention efforts to avoid Section 504 and ADA violations from occurring, and implementing HCC’s discrimination complaint procedures with respect to allegations of Section 504/ADA violations, discrimination based on disability and disability harassment. Pertinent records to this grievance procedure are confidentially retained by the College for a minimal period of seven years. 

The grievance procedure for a student unsatisfied with their receipt of disability support accommodations is outlined below.  Students who believe they have been a victim of discrimination based on a disability or disability harassment not related to a provision of accommodations should start at Step 2.

Informal Grievance Procedure (Steps 1 & 2)

Step 1:
Student should contact their assigned Disability Support Services (DSS) Advisor to attempt resolution. If resolution is not achieved, proceed to the next step.

Step 2:
Student should contact the Director of Student Cohorts, Compliance, and Intervention and HCC’s ADA/504 Coordinator to request review of their complaint. The Director will work with the student, their DSS Advisor (if applicable), and others relevant to the complaint to attempt resolution. An outcome should occur within 10 work days of receipt of the original request. HCC’s ADA/504 Coordinator is Ms. Jaime Bachtell and may be reached at 240-500-2273 or  jlbachtell@hagerstowncc.edu. If the student is satisfied with the resolution, no further action is needed.

Formal Grievance Procedure (Steps 3 & 4)

Step 3:
If the student remains unsatisfied with the outcome of Step 2 or they want to bypass the informal procedure, they may file a formal grievance with the College by providing the following information to the ADA/504 Coordinator in writing:   

• Description of the student’s specific issue leading to the complaint, including names of College employees involved.  
• Overview of attempted resolution and outcomes to date.
• Why the student remains unsatisfied with resolution to date.
• What the student would like to see occur for satisfactory resolution.

Upon receipt of the written disability grievance, the ADA/504 Coordinator will conduct a thorough, reliable and impartial investigation of the complaint. If the Step 1 & 2 were already completed, the ADA/504 Coordinator will issue a written report and decision of the outcome within 10 work days of receipt of the formal grievance. If the case began with Step 3, the ADA/504 Coordinator will issue a written report and decision of the outcome within 20 work days of receipt of the formal grievance.

Step 4:
If the student remains unsatisfied with the outcome of the formal written grievance procedure for disability support services and believes they have been denied reasonable accommodations or discriminated against or harassed based on disability, the student may file a written appeal to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Student Services (VPAASS) within 10 days of the decision of the ADA/504 Coordinator. The decision of the VPAASS or his/her designee is final. 

**The availability and use of the College’s internal grievance procedure for disability support services does not prevent a student from filing a complaint with external government agencies. Likewise, a student’s right to a prompt, equitable internal resolution of their complaint will not be impaired by a student’s pursuit of external remedy. External resolution may be sought from the Maryland Commission for Civil Rights (6 Saint Paul Street, Suite 900, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, Telephone: 410-767-8600, Email:  mccr@maryland.gov, Web: https://mccr.maryland.gov) and/or the Federal Office of Civil Rights, US Department of Education (400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, D.C.  20202-1100. Customer Service Hotline #800-421-3481, Facsimile: 202-453-6012, TDD# 877-521-2171, Email:  OCR@ed.gov, Web: www.ed.gov/about/ed-offices/ocr)