Disability Accommodation for Law Students and the LSAC Problematic
Disability determination is a lengthy process and may cause delay in gaining admission to colleges. A disability lawyer can help.
Medical Record Review
A recent article highlighted problems faced by aspiring law students with disabilities. The writer brings attention to the four-year-old litigation between the U.S. Department of Justice and the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) that administers the LSAT (Law School Admission Test), over how the council treats disabled students. The litigation was initiated in 2012 when the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing first alleged that the LSAC’s accommodation policies were too oppressive and violated the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). The Justice Department joined the class action at a later stage.
Heavy Documentation Demand – a Major Deterrent One of the main questions is whether an aspiring law student who passed an earlier standardized test with an accommodation for a disability merits similar treatment for the LSAT or whether he/she will have to prove again that they need extra time or a separate testing room. Another major hitch is the shortage of outside consultants to review the more than 300 applications for accommodations that the LSAC sends for review each year – just 2 outside consultants when 40 may be needed to do the job appropriately. What deters students from even applying for the LSAT is the copiousness of documentation that needs to be provided to determine suitable accommodation. Following a consent decree reached in May, the LSAC agreed to end its “flagging” policy – i.e. alerting law schools when giving extra time to a disabled student to complete the test (provision of extra time is a common accommodation). It also agreed to pay $7.73 million to more than 6, 000 people who were refused disability accommodations.
Impairments Most Frequently Cited by Applicants Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
32%
Learning Disabilities
23%
Neurological Issues
11%
Visual Impairments
10%
Physical Disorders
10%
Psychological impairments
7%
Other/Medical
6%
Hearing Impairments
1%
Delays and Denials Causing Considerable Distress The article quotes a law student who was denied requests for accommodation thrice between 2008 and 2010. He had requested extra time and a semiprivate testing room to accommodate his dyspraxia. He managed to improve his score over five sittings and finally secured admission www.mosmedicalrecordreview.com
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to the University of California, Irvine School of Law. He expresses his distress at having to wait so long to get into law school. People like him strongly feel that the LSAC must radically improve its approach to people with disabilities and be more transparent. This view is shared by many disability lawyers fighting to obtain benefits for their clients. A review panel created to recommend additional reforms concluded that the current rules of the LSAC are excessive and suggested reforms that include considering previous testing accommodations, a formal appeals process and adding more experts to review requests. However, the LSAC plans to oppose most of the recommendations when it files objections with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by March 26. All this is taking a toll on prospective law students with impairments. There are many students going for injunctions alongside the existing Justice Department litigation. The important consideration is that the LSAT is the entry point to the legal profession and to get into law school you need to perform well in the test.
Disability Accommodation Determination – the Federal Standpoint Universities across the United States are committed to complying with Section 504, the ADA and amendments with regard to qualified students with disabilities. According to these directives, universities and colleges that receive federal funding are prohibited from discriminating against such students in educational programs and activities. By definition, a qualified student is a disabled student who, with or without reasonable accommodation (such as communication aids/services, architectural access, modifications to practices and policies) meets the University’s academic and technical standards that are required for admission in the University’s academic programs and activities.
The Disability and Accommodation Determination Process The student will have to be directly involved in the disability determination process since it is an interactive and two-way process. To qualify for disability under the ADA and Section 504, he/she must have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. The impairment has to be one on account of which the student is unable to perform a major life activity that an average person can perform, or he/she is considerably restricted in performing that major life activity vis-à-vis the average person in the general population. The disability is determined on the basis of detailed review of relevant medical documentation provided by a qualified medical professional regarding the nature and severity of the impairment and a detailed description of the student’s functional limitations. If the student has a learning disability, psychological disorder or attention deficit disorder, the University may ask for certain tests. When all medical documentation is received, the university may have the assessment and any recommended accommodations reviewed by external medical professionals.
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The disability determination process next considers whether the student qualifies for any appropriate academic modification or adjustment (i.e. reasonable accommodation). Reasonable accommodation signifies an adjustment/modification to a program, course, service, job, activity or facility that allows a qualified student with disability to have an equal educational opportunity but does not lower/modify essential requirements, fundamentally alter the nature of a program, service or activity, or cause undue financial/administrative burdens. Auxiliary aids allowed to a disabled student are items/services provided to enable him/her to have equal access to the educational program/life activities for which he/she is eligible. Examples of auxiliary aids and services include ASL interpretation, speech to text interpretation, adjustable lighting, sound amplification, use of computer for in-class writing assignments and exams, distraction-free environment whenever possible for in-class exams, alternative book and test formats, and extra time for in-class examinations and assignments. However, these aids do not include individually prescribed devices, personal attendants or other services/devices of a personal nature including typing or tutoring. To determine eligibility for reasonable accommodation, the following aspects are considered:
The functional limitations that are caused by the impairment Essential elements/requirements of the academic program, course and/or university sponsored student life activity The past performance of the student with and without reasonable accommodation Disability-related difficulties the student experienced in the past with regard to participating in university sponsored and /or academic programs Any previous adjustments/modifications received by the student in an educational setting An evaluation of the reasonable accommodation recommended by a qualified, appropriate professional.
Denied Accommodation – Steps to Take A student experiencing discrimination because of his/her disability or who has been refused the accommodations requested can do any or all of the following:
File an internal appeal/grievance with the school File a complaint with the OCR (Office for Civil Rights of the U.S Department of Education) or the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Go for private negotiation and solve the issues informally File a lawsuit
To file a lawsuit, students don’t have to first file a grievance with the school or file a complaint with the OCR or DOJ. A lawsuit related to violations of the ADA and Section 504 must be filed in a U.S. District Court. It is best to have an attorney to represent the student so that the case is well presented and has more chance to win.
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