Student Disabilities Services

ABOUT

Student Disability Services (main office)

The SDS office is located on the third floor of the Calpulli Center, Suite 3101. We are open Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. To contact us please call 619-594-6473 or email [email protected] 

March is Disability Celebration Month!

Mission 

Student Disability Services (SDS) is dedicated to empowering students with disabilities by ensuring they have access to appropriate support and services that minimize academic and physical barriers.

To further this mission, SDS is committed to the following:

• Promoting self-advocacy within students with disabilities.
• Working collaboratively with SDSU campus community to increase disability awareness.
• Providing academic support services and assistive technology.

Disability Celebration Month

In March, San Diego State University commemorates Disability Celebration Month through a series of community events.

About Disability Celebration Month

Disability organizations date back to the 1800s, but progress for disability rights experienced significant growth in the second half of the 20th century. In that time, the disability rights community spent many years advocating for change. The Capitol Crawl, held March 12, 1990, was just one of the catalytic events. Roughly 1,000 members of the disability community united at Capitol Hill set aside their mobility aids (i.e., wheelchairs, crutches, canes, etc) to move or crawl their way up the stairs making a clear and powerful statement demanding that Congress pass the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ADA, and the subsequent ADA Amendments Act of 2008, are well known civil rights legislation prohibiting discrimination against disabled people. This legislation – with the ADA originally signed into law in 1990 and in its 36th year this year – continues to shape the disability community today.

While SDSU commemorates disability celebration month in March, it is also important to acknowledge the legacy of Disability Pride month, which occurs in July and is linked to the passage of the ADA.

March 4, 2025 is the anniversary of the passing of Judith “Judy” Heumann, who is often considered the mother of disability rights. Heumann’s life is a reminder of the power of disability pride in a world where barriers to access and discrimination often go unnoticed by non-disabled people.

As we enter this transition point from February to March, where we just celebrated Black History Month, it is important to note that there is a long history of intersection: several Black disabled leaders, including Fannie Lou Hamer, Brad Lomax, Joyce Jackson, Audre Lorde, Lois Curtis, and Johnnie Lacy, have been instrumental in the fight for disability rights and civil rights. Their experiences, marked specifically by the intersection of disability, race, ableism, and racism, offer a crucial lens for interpreting disability history, community, and culture. Read more on Why Black Disabled History Matters.

Disabled people have always been an integral part of every society, across the globe and throughout history. We are honored to celebrate disabled contributions, culture and community on our campus throughout the month.

Join Us for Faculty, Staff and Student Activities

We invite all students, faculty and staff to take part in these featured Disability Celebration Month events: