Disability-Based Grievance Procedures
The purpose of these procedures is to provide students with an opportunity to resolve grievances about OSD’s eligibility determination, OSD’s accommodations decisions, other OSD administrative outcomes, or issues related to the provision of approved accommodations.
Throughout these processes, OSD’s goal is to treat students with respect, provide students with a timely response, ensure that students do not experience any form of retaliation, and deal with the issues in a confidential manner to the greatest extent possible. The University expects students to bring up concerns early, give clear and detailed information, and be respectful of others.
Students are encouraged to bring their concerns to the attention of their OSD Specialist as soon as possible. The OSD Specialist will make every effort to work with students, faculty, and staff to resolve the issue informally in the most expeditious manner.
Should students continue to be dissatisfied with the outcome of the interactive process with their OSD Specialist, they may contact the Director of the OSD at jboval@ucsd.edu and provide the following:
- a detailed, written explanation of the situation or decision for which they are seeking remedy
- new or pertinent information relevant to the situation
- the relief being requested
The OSD Director will respond and provide an outcome of the complaint within 10 University business days.
If students believe they have experienced discrimination because of their disability, they should contact the
Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD). Disability discrimination may include the denial of a requested accommodation, the determination of ineligibility for an accommodation, the failure to implement agreed-upon accommodations, or a refusal to engage in an interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations.
The Office of the Ombuds can also provide students with confidential, neutral, and informal dispute resolution services.
If the concern involves an academic accommodation, students should refer to Appendix III of the Manual of the San Diego Division of the Academic Senate “Policy on Students with Disabilities and Steps for Academic Accommodations” which may be found at
their website.
Under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, students with disabilities also have rights to seek resolution through
- Office for Civil Rights
- Civil Rights Department – State of California
- U.S. Department of Education
- Private legal means