Religious accommodation request form

Form Instructions 

Students may use this form to request reasonable accommodations for religious beliefs or practices from an instructor.

University Policy Requirements

The University is required to provide reasonable accommodations for a student’s sincerely held religious beliefs and practices. Religious beliefs and practices include not only beliefs and practices that come from traditional, organized religions, but also other moral or ethical beliefs and practices that are similarly sincerely held. 

A reasonable accommodation is a modification to an environment, practice, or process that allows an individual to follow their religious beliefs or practices. A request for reasonable accommodations may be denied when it compromises essential requirements of a course or program, is otherwise unreasonable, or causes an undue hardship for the University.  Please review the FAQ on Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Beliefs and Practices for more information.

To the extent that an instructor provides modified timelines to students as an accommodation for religious beliefs or practices, students remain responsible for completing any missed coursework within the modified timelines. 

Guidance for the Instructor

Upon receipt of this form, the instructor must either:

1. Implement the requested accommodation; or
2. Engage in an interactive process with the student seeking accommodation to determine whether the requested accommodation can be implemented or whether there is an alternate reasonable accommodation that could enable the student to follow their religious beliefs and practices while meeting course requirements.

As part of an interactive process, the instructor may ask questions aimed at identifying possible reasonable accommodations that would allow the student to follow their religious beliefs or practices. The instructor should generally refrain from asking for proof of or explanation about the student’s religious beliefs or practices.

The instructor may contact the Equal Opportunity & Title IX Office with any questions. If the instructor believes that they cannot grant an accommodation request, the instructor should consult with the Equal Opportunity & Title IX Office before denying the accommodation request.

Under University policy, instructors may not penalize a student for missing course components due to religious observances when the student has provided timely notification. See Excused Absences and Makeup Work policy and the applicable UMD policy.

Resources

• The FAQ: Reasonable Accommodations for Religious Beliefs and Practices provides additional information about requesting accommodations and responding to accommodation requests.

• The University’s Equal Opportunity & Title IX Office consults with students and instructors about religious accommodation requests, and responds to concerns that requests for religious accommodations were inappropriately denied.

Request for Accommodation Form

To request accommodation(s), students should complete the questions below and provide the completed form to the instructor from whom they seek accommodation.  Students should request required accommodations as far in advance as possible, and generally no later than two weeks prior to the accommodation implementation date.  Students may contact the Equal Opportunity & Title IX Office with any questions.