March 1, 2025

Dear Editor,

Lori Slicton and Friend

As we speak our union is fighting for faculty with disabilities and the need for a fair, expedient accommodation process that is codified in our contract. I am writing to share an excerpt of my recent comments to our Board of Trustees on February 26 with my union colleagues.

“The Coldest Winter”:

Good evening and thank you for this opportunity. I am Lori Slicton, AFT Rep, and I’m in my 32nd year of teaching Anthropology at Skyline. I’ve the very best job and the most amazing students! They deserve everything that I can provide for them and more!

However, this is the coldest winter in memory—I’m not referring to my thermostat but to our national political climate. It’s frigid.

Presidential campaign promises to purge federal support for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access are being kept and reified. Offices for DEIA are being closed and their employees fired or placed on leave.

Longstanding, bold federal laws, Sections 504/508 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973 and the ADA, signed into law in 1990 with bipartisan support are now at risk of “evisceration” according to the Disability Rights Education Defense Fund (DRDF). 

In 2023, 22.5 percent of people with a disability were employed–the highest recorded ratio since comparable data were first collected in 2008. Employment is the heartbeat of Diversity Inclusion, Equity and Access.

There are no “third rails”—nothing off limits in this political climate and faculty with disabilities are extremely vulnerable. I am one of those faculty members and yet, I am hopeful. 

I am hopeful because AFT made progress [on faculty accommodations] in our last round of contract negotiations. But now we need to shore up—build on the support for disabled faculty. The SMCCD can be an oasis of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access. Yet, faculty continue to experience excessive wait times of weeks, months and years—yes, years for appropriate and practical accommodations.

Once an employee has requested an accommodation, a response from HR and or our supervisors must be timely. Likewise, once reasonable accommodations have been identified, they need to be put into place as  expeditiously as possible.

For example, students are promised by the Disabled Resource Centers a “10 working day” response time. Faculty are not provided this clear and discrete amount of time. It’s very challenging and at times impossible and even painful to work without accommodations. I have experienced it….

Last summer, our SMCCD Board of Trustees posted a thoughtful draft for a new Board Policy, BP 3725, which states:

“As it relates to equally effective alternative access to instructional materials and ICT, timely manner means that the individual with a disability receives access to the instructional materials or ICT at the same time as an individual without a disability.” 

Why has this wonderful Board Policy not been implemented? Is this what you intended? How soon can we expect it to be in place? [See editor’s note below.]

Please, let’s collaborate and create an effective, and strong contract for our disabled faculty to thrive and serve our students.  

Thank you!

Lori Slicton