Chapter 8 - Section 21 - Student Religious Reasonable Accommodations/Absence for Reasons of Faith or Conscience Policy

Policy

Per RCW 28B.10.039 (resulting from 2019 Senate Bill 5166), Renton Technical College will grant reasonable accommodation so that grades are not impacted for students who are absent for reasons of faith or conscience, or for an organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious organization.

Procedure

I. Students must coordinate an absence with their instructor within the first two weeks of the course, unless the purpose of the absence was not known until later. All requests for authorized absences under this policy must be in writing. The faculty member shall forward a copy of the request to the Academic Dean’s office to be kept on file.

II. All absences under this policy must be approved by the Academic Dean’s office in advance of the The college will not authorize an absence for a student after the absence occurs without compelling circumstances.

III. In order to ensure that their absence does not negatively affect their grades, the student must comply with directions for notifying their instructors within the first two weeks of the quarter of the specific dates the student requests accommodation regarding examinations or other activities. The student is solely responsible for ensuring the documentation authorizing the absences is provided to each of the instructors whose classes or assignments will be affected by the absence.

IV. After an instructor is notified by the student of an upcoming absence, the instructor will determine what accommodations, if any, will need to be made to the student’s scheduled classwork or The instructor shall inform the student of these adjustments within two days of receiving the student’s notification.

V. Reasonable accommodation means coordinating with the student on scheduling examinations or other activities necessary for completion of the class or program and includes rescheduling examinations or activities or offering different times for examinations or activities. If the student’s desired absence date is on a day when a test was scheduled or an assignment was due, the instructor may require that the student take the test or submit the assignment before or after the regularly assigned.

VI. Regardless of an instructor’s class expectations or grading policies, absences authorized under this policy shall not adversely impact a student’s grade.

VII. Students will not be required to pay any fees for seeking reasonable accommodations under this policy.

VIII. If a student fails to notify any of their instructors of an authorized absence, the instructor is not obligated to make any accommodations for the student’s absence or treat the absence as authorized under this policy or the law.

IX. Students seeking redress regarding a failure to receive an accommodation under this policy or retaliation for use of this policy may file a complaint with the instructional dean. Should there not be resolution that meets the accommodation needs of the student, a formal complaint may be filed with the Vice President of Human Resources with a copy to the Vice President of Instruction.

X. Notice of this policy shall be maintained on the College’s website and will be included in program syllabi.