Learning Disabilities,

ADHD, and College

Students
Legal Rights and Issues
LD Seminar 2015

Section 504 and the ADA

Key terms, issues

What colleges can and cannot do
Should I disclose my LD?
Will I be discriminated against?
Important court cases
How should I go about requesting
accommodations?
To begin: what does it mean to be
protected under 504?

Concept of protected class

Groups of people who have a history of
being discriminated against
Protected classes prohibit discrimination
based on race, ethnicity, national origin,
religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, and
disability

Protected Class
A group of people protected by law from
discrimination or harassment based on
their membership in the group. For
example, under federal law (ADEA),
workers over 40 years of age are a
protected class.

 Who is eligible for protection under

Section 504 (and the ADA)? p 75,
Brinckerhoff

Person with a disability

a)

b)
c)
d)

An individual who:
Has a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life
functions (e.g. walking, seeing, learning,
concentrating)
Has a history of such impairment, or
Is regarded as having such an impairment, and
Is deemed otherwise qualified despite the
disability

What does otherwise qualified

mean?
The individual meets the academic and
technical standards necessary for
admission or participation in the program

Disabilities Covered Under

Section 504

Alcoholism**
Attention deficit disorder
Blindness, visual impairments
Cancer
Cerebral palsy
Contagious diseases
Deafness, hearing impairments
Diabetes
Drug addiction**
Epilepsy

disabilities covered:

Heart disease
HIV-AIDS
Learning disabilities
Mental retardation
Multiple sclerosis
Muscular dystrophy
Orthopedic impairments
Speech impairments
Traumatic brain injury
Note: status of alcoholism and drug addiction
protections
Raytheon Co. v Hernandez

Self-Disclosure
Should an LD student self-disclose when
applying to colleges?
Yes, in order to explain past
inconsistencies in your record, eg. poor
SAT scores, grades, time off, etc.
If there are not past inconsistencies, it may
not make sense to disclose

 Another important question:

Who pays for accommodations and/or
auxiliary aids?
Not the student!
See pg. 99 Brinckerhoff article
What are colleges not allowed to do,
according to the law?

Section 504 and ADA

Important Court Cases

 Name of Case
Issues in Question
Facts of the Case
Outcomes of the Case

Case 1
Southeastern Community College v Davis,
1979

Issues in Question
Otherwise qualified

Essential to the program of

instruction
Note: This was the first Supreme
Court challenge of 504 regs.

Facts of the Case

Ms. Davis applied to SCCs nursing
program, was a good candidate
Interviewed - obvious she had
severe hearing loss, relied on lip
reading
SCC had a required practicum; half
in operating room and half in
intensive care unit

 Couldnt lip read in OR monitoring equipment in ICU was

difficult
She requested waiver of practicum,
or full time supervised help to
complete
SCC rejected her application,
refused to change practicum
requirement

Outcomes of the Case

Supreme Court ruled she was not
otherwise qualified - no
accommodation would allow her to
perform the essential functions
Helped clarify otherwise qualified
and essential to the program of
instruction

 Also, direct threat concept:

dont have to accommodate if a
persons participation would pose
a direct threat to the health or
safety of themselves or others

 Name of Case
Issues in Question
Facts of the Case
Outcomes of the Case

Case 2
Campbell Dinsmore v. Charles Pugh
and University of California at
Berkeley (1990)

Issues in Question
Extended time on tests
Faculty liability
Grievance procedures

Facts of the Case

Campbell Dinsmore had
documented case of dyscalculia
Requested extended time on math
tests
Math professor refused, even
though Dinsmore had provided
appropriate documentation to ODS

ODS, math dept chair, all

administrators supported students
request
Math profs response? No way,
not in my class; there is no such
thing as a learning disability; there
are fast students and slow students
all students should be tested
equally; no one has the right to tell
me what to do in my classroom

 Profs concern: extended time

would give the LD student an
unfair advantage over other
students
Kay Runyan (at UC) study
demonstrated extended time
doesnt help non LD students
Nothing altered the profs mind

Outcomes of the Case

OCR found UC to be in violation;
ordered them to develop grievance
procedures so that no single prof could
again violate a students civil rights

 UC established policy: 1) ODS

determines appropriate
accommodation, 2) faculty member
who disagrees can go to grievance
committee, 3) prof and college
have to go along with the
committees decision, 4) college is
responsible for committees
decision if legal action is taken

 Dinsmore filed civil suit against the

prof for violation of civil rights;
court accepted case, they settled
out of court
Important precedent 504 had
always been seen as an
institutional mandate; showed that
individuals could be held liable

Case 3:
Wynne v. Tufts University School of
Medicine (1991)

Issues in Question
Alternative test formats
What is essential to the program
of instruction?

Facts of the Case:

Wynne was a first year medical
student failed 8 out of 15 courses
Was tested at university expense,
found to have dyslexia
He requested oral exams and
petitioned to retake first year

 Tufts refused oral exams but let

him repeat first year, gave him
special tutoring in all subjects he
had failed, use of note-takers,
extended time on tests, and a skills
tutor
Did better on second try but still
failed two courses, was dismissed
from Tufts

Facts (continued)
Petitioned to retake those
examinations for a third time; Tufts
granted his request, he retook
exams, failed biochemistry for a
third time, was again dismissed
Petitioned to be readmitted and
asked that he be given alternative
to multiple choice tests

 Tufts denied request, said MC tests

were essential part of program similar to decisions a doctor would
have to make every day

Outcomes of the Case:

Court : Tufts failed to establish
that MC tests were essential;
ordered them to go back and prove
it
Tufts polled three med school
faculty who all said MC tests were
essential for being a physician
Tufts didnt consult with anyone
who was knowledgeable about LDs

 Tufts: not MC tests that are

essential to the program, but the
ability to reason deductively; Best
way to measure deductive
reasoning? MC tests
Court questioned validity of that
argument but agreed that Tufts
should be able to measure
deductive reasoning however they
wanted

 Court agreed that altering the test

format would compromise the
tests ability to show a future
doctors ability to make subtle
distinctions based on seemingly
small but significant differences in
written information

 Point: student had already been

admitted to med school so
obviously had done well on many
MC tests; MC tests were not the
real reason for his failure
As of yet, no judicial determination
on alternative test formats

Case 4
Elizabeth Guckenberger
v.
Boston University (1997)

Issues in Question
Documentation of an LD
Course substitutions
Who decides on requests for
accommodations?

Facts of the Case

Fall 1995, BU had 500 LD students
on 30,000 student campus
One of best LD programs in the
country
Jon Westling took over as Provost,
heard LD students were
substituting courses, was outraged

 Decided students must be retested

every 3 years
Diagnosis must be made by person
with PhD
No course substitutions in foreign
language or math
Westling himself, would decide on
all students requests for
accommodations

 Brinckerhoff, entire staff quit

Guckenberger, a BU law student
with dyslexia, filed a class action
law suit with 10 other students

Outcomes of the Case

BU violated 504/ADA by:
Requiring testing every 3 years
(except for ADHD)
Refusing testing by non-PhD
professionals (except for ADHD)
Refusing to allow course
substitutions for foreign language
(math substitutions were not
contested at trial)

 Westling deciding on accommodations

would also violate 504/ADA
Monetary settlements to six students,
totaling $30,000
Somnolent Samantha??

Case 5
Rothberg v. LSAC (Law School
Admissions Council) 2004

Issues in Question
Extended time on Law School Admissions
Test
Who decides on accommodations?

Facts of the Case

Amy Rothberg - student at Colorado,
then Syracuse U., had a 3.3 gpa
Diagnosed with LD in 2nd grade, had
tutoring, extra time on tests, etc.
Took other college admissions tests
with extra time, scored above
average

 LSAC denied extra time because

recommendation from a high school
teacher was out of date
Denied her a second time b/c a
psychologist had not administered a
certain test
Another psychologist gave her the
test, then they denied her a third time
saying she wasnt substantially
disabled

Outcome of the Case

Judge Wiley Daniel ordered LSAC to
give Rothberg time and a half for
LSAT
Also allowed to take test away from
distractions of other students
Also pointed out that the LSAC official
who denied her had no qualifications
in LD
Do you see any irony here?

Case 6
Doe v. New York University (1981)

Issues in Question
Otherwise qualified
Mental illness diagnosis

Facts of the Case

Jane Doe was medical student at NYU
Had history of mental health problems,
starting in 3rd grade through adulthood
Accepted at NYU in 1975; on
application said she never had mental
health problems

 During required physical exam, doctor

noted scars from cutting
Doe admitted past problems, went for
evaluation; was required to go to
therapy
Shortly after, hurt herself again and
was asked to leave NYU

 Completed psychiatric treatment, got

positive recommendations from
doctors, applied for readmission to
NYU in 1977
NYU rejected her, saying she suffered
from Borderline Personality Disorder
Doe sued for discrimination

Outcomes of the Case

1981, Judge ruled she had been
denied access on basis of disability;
no other reason
Must consider actions, not diagnosis
From 1977-1981 Doe completed MS
degree at Harvard, worked at Dept of
Ed and Welfare, did well

Case 7
Maczaczyj v State of New York (1997)

Issues in Question
Reasonable Accommodations

Facts of the Case

Maczaczyj was Masters student at
Empire State College
M. suffered from anxiety disorders,
agoraphobia - recovering alcoholic
and drug addict didnt want to use
meds

 College said he could bring friend or

advisor to class, could isolate himself
in vacant room when needed, could
be excused from all social activities,
could choose where to hold meetings
M. requested that program be made
available to him via distance learning
(telecommuncation); college said this
would erode integrity of curriculum

Outcomes of the Case

Court: M. failed to show that his
requested accommodation was
reasonable
Being present in class was essential
to program

 Are there special rules, or exceptions to

rules, for some colleges or universities?