Eligibility for alternate media is determined by the SASS Director and the SASS Counselors and is based on the professional documentation of verified disability(s) provided by the student. Requests for materials in alternate format will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Once a request is made, the following factors are considered in determining a reasonable accommodation: (a) functional limitations of verified disability(s) supplied by student, (b) the recommendation of SASS professionals, and (c) format preference of student. 

Submit requests for alternate media to Jason Brewer (jason-brewer@redwoods.edu or 707-476-4557) as soon as you know your textbook needs. The following book information is needed for each book requested: Type of media requested, book title, edition, author, and ISBN number. 

Submitting your requests early is strongly recommended so that your materials are available by the start of the semester. At a minimum, your requests should be submitted at least four weeks prior to the start of the semester. 

You may submit a request for alternate media before you have a copy of the original textbook version in your possession. You need to own a copy of the original textbook before we can provide you with an alternate media version of the textbook, but orders for alternate media may be placed before you purchase a copy of the textbook.  

Once the requests from Step 2 have been received an Alternate Media Agreement form will be created and sent to the student for signature.  Signing is a requirement for receiving alternate media. 

Each textbook must be purchased or rented by the student or by a third party on the student's behalf.  Proof of purchase is required for each book requested, such as a receipt or order confirmation that ideally shows the book titles purchased.  These documents can be dropped off at the SASS office or emailed to Jason Brewer (jason-brewer@redwoods.edu).  Please note that “free” Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks do not need proof of ownership.

Alternate media will be sent to the student or be available for pickup at the SASS office as they become ready, depending on the media type. 

Electronic files will be sent to the student via a shared One Drive folder and, if the student uses Kurzweil 3000, preloaded to the student’s Kurzweil Cloud account.

Large Print will be available for pick up in the SASS office.

Braille and tactile graphics are shipped directly to the student. 

Completion times are determined on a case-by-case basis and can range from 1 week to 12 weeks, depending on the requirements and complexity of the request. Timeframes may include obtaining source files from the publisher, as well as time to receive, breakdown, and convert the textbooks. Requests are completed in the order they are received. 

• Alternate media must be requested each semester as soon as the student learns of their need.
• In order to ensure that alternate materials are ready by the start of the semester, the student should use priority registration and make the accommodation request as soon as possible after registering.
• Requests will be completed in the order they are received.
• All correspondence to students will be conducted using student email accounts (@mycr.redwoods.edu) and not personal email accounts.
• The student is prohibited from copying or reproducing any alternate media material provided by SASS, or allowing anyone else to do so. Misuse of this material, such as reproduction or distribution of the alternate media, is an infringement of copyright laws and a violation of the Alternate Media Policies and Procedures which may result in disciplinary action by SASS and/or the College. The alternate media must be destroyed or relinquished once the book is no longer in the student’s possession. 

Digital voice recorders are to aid students in taking notes. 

A note-taking aid for students, the LiveScribe Pen records a lecture and synchronizes with the handwritten notes made by the student for easy recall. 

Intended for hearing impaired, a Personal FM Listening System transmits a speaker’s voice to a listener wearing a headset to overcome speaker distance and background noise. 

CCTVs magnify physical documents for the visually impaired and displays them on an enlarged monitor.  

JAWS enables access to a computer for the blind and visually impaired by vocalizing everything presented on the screen and providing keyboard commands to control the computer. 

Intended for the visually impaired that still have some usable vision, ZoomText enlarges and provides customizable display modifications and tools to help navigate the computer. 

Kurzweil 3000 is a document reader that speaks out loud (text-to-speech) typewritten electronic documents, as well as providing a variety of reading and study tools. Some versions of Kurzweil can make use of an attached scanner to scan and read paper documents. Access to Kurzweil 3000 is granted through the SASS counseling process. 

Dragon Naturally Speaking converts the user’s speech into text or commands for the computer. A microphone is required, and a quiet environment is recommended for best results. 

Glean is an online audio note-taking software that will record a lecture from the student’s device and provide a caption/transcript of the session along with notetaking tools. There are a limited number of licenses available and access to Glean is granted through the SASS counseling process.