R765-264-5. Institutional Policy Minimum Requirements

(1) In accordance with Section 53H-7-903 and this rule, USHE institution policies or procedures shall: (a) For any course, reasonably accommodate a student's absence from an examination or other academic requirements for reasons of the student's religious or conscience belief or the student's participation in an organized activity conducted under the auspices of the student's religious tradition or religious organization; (b) For a course that the institution mandates for graduation or for an academic major, reasonably accommodate a student's objection to a required examination or assignment by offering an alternative examination or assignment for reasons of the student's sincerely held religious or conscience belief if the requested accommodation does not create a fundamental alteration; (c) Designate a point of contact for information about an accommodation as described under this rule; (d) Designate neutral arbiters and describe the process for the neutral evaluation of a denial of a religious or conscience belief accommodation; and (e) Be published on the institution's website. (2) In addition to all requirements in Section 53H-7-903, USHE institution policies or procedures shall comply with the following minimum requirements to provide parameters for a requested accommodation and guidance for protecting a student's sincerely held religious or conscience beliefs: (a) A student shall provide written notice to the instructor of the course for which the student is seeking an accommodation that identifies the requested accommodation based on the student's sincerely held religious or conscience belief. (b) To ensure proper record keeping, an institution may require students to complete a religious or conscience belief accommodation request form provided by the institution. (c) To help facilitate the accommodation process, instructors are encouraged to include detailed information about course deadlines and requirements in their syllabus. (d) A student requesting a religious or conscience belief accommodation must notify the instructor in advance. Requests should be made as early as possible, and generally, absent good cause, no later than 30 days before the accommodation is needed. The instructor may deny a student's accommodation request if sufficient notice is not provided and no good cause exists. (e) The instructor shall respond to a student's request for an accommodation within a reasonable time based on the facts and circumstances but no later than five business days from the date of receiving the written accommodation request. (f) The instructor will determine whether they can implement the requested accommodation without creating a fundamental alteration to the course. The instructor may explore other possible reasonable accommodations to address the student's religious or conscience belief. When more than one accommodation is feasible, the instructor may select any of the feasible accommodations, provided the accommodation will effectively eliminate the conflict with the student's sincerely held religious or conscience belief. (g) Institutions must establish an interactive process between the student and instructor to assess whether a requested accommodation is a reasonable accommodation and can be provided or whether the accommodation creates a fundamental alteration to the course. The instructor and student are expected to participate in the interactive process. (i) USHE institution employees engaging in the interactive process will be offered training annually on legal and policy requirements for this process. (h) If an instructor denies the student's request for an accommodation, the instructor shall inform the student in writing and provide information about next steps in the process, the institutional policies governing religious and conscience belief accommodations, and the contact information for the designated neutral arbiter. (i) An instructor who denies a student's accommodation shall notify a designated point of contact at the institution about the denial within a reasonable time but no longer than five business days after the denial and provide a written explanation of why the instructor denied the request. (j) An instructor who receives a written request for an accommodation shall keep the student's request confidential unless disclosure is permitted by law. (k) The institution shall provide a process for students to appeal an accommodation request denial to a designated neutral arbiter. The institution's designated neutral arbiter shall have the academic and subject matter expertise to review a denial of an accommodation and determine whether the requested accommodation constitutes a fundamental alteration. (l) The neutral arbiter must issue a decision to the student and instructor within a reasonable time but no longer than within five business days after receipt of the appeal. (m) A reasonable accommodation allowing a student to be absent from an exam or other academic requirement to accommodate the student's sincerely held religious or conscience belief may not adversely impact a student's academic opportunities. (n) The institutional policy must prohibit retaliation against a student for requesting an accommodation based on the student's religious or conscience belief. (o) The institutional policy shall include information about how to file a complaint if a student believes they have experienced retaliation, harassment, or discrimination based on the student's religious or conscience belief. (p) The institution shall address any failure to comply with Section 53H-7-903 and this rule.