Case Scenarios

Scenario: Trudy has applied for services through the Academic Advisor's Office. As a student with a learning disability she received special education through the eighth grade. She insists that she is entitled to support services because she has a "record" of having a disability. Is the college obligated to honor Trudy's request? How about Jeremy whose mother "regards" him as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

Solution: The college is not obligated to provide accommodations for either Trudy or Jeremy. A student's insistence that he or she has a "record" of a disability or a parent's belief that his/her child has a disability does not take the place of documentation.

Scenario: Phil has a documented mobility impairment and uses a wheelchair. The only accounting course offered in an accessible location is taught by Professor Debit. Phil does not like Professor Debit's style and prefers to take the course from one of two other professors who teach it; however, their classes are located in inaccessible locations. Phil insists that the college's refusal to provide him with an equal opportunity to select the professor of his choosing violates the ADA and Section 504. Is Phil correct?

Solution: Phil is correct. Students with disabilities are entitled to select their course from the same array of courses that is available to all other students. The institution would need to move the location of the class Phil selects to make it accessible.

Scenario: Cheryl notifies her Mathematics professor that she has dyscalculia and will need accommodations. Professor Divisible advises Cheryl that he is sorry but he does not grant accommodations because to do so would fundamentally alter the nature of what he is teaching and because such accommodations would be unfair to the rest of the students. Cheryl fails the course and files suit against the professor and the college. Does Cheryl have a valid claim?

Solution: Cheryl does have a valid claim. The professor in this instance needs to refer Cheryl to the office of Disability Services to establish documentation; also the professor cannot give a blanket refusal to make accommodations. In this instance a discussion would need to take place among the disabilities specialist, the instructor and the student to determine how the student could be accommodated without fundamentally altering the nature of the course.

Scenario: Ken is legally blind. Discuss the college's responsibilities with regard to the following:
a. Providing Ken with the student catalog and financial aid materials in Braille
b. Converting all of Ken's books to Braille
c. Providing note-taking services to Ken
d. Making blackboard notes accessible
e. Providing Ken with tests and answer sheets in an alternative form

Solution: 
a. If Ken uses Braille, the college is required to provide the catalogue and financial aid materials in Braille.
b. The college needs to be sure the information is accessible, which could mean providing the books in Braille or providing books on tape. The college must consider this request, and if the Office of Disability Services determines that the information can be made accessible in an alternate format, the college must document the consideration and the decision.
c. The institution must provide Ken with class notes. A notetaker would have to take notes in Braille. Alternate options would be a tape recording of class notes or of the professors lecture notes.
d. The institution would need to make blackboard notes accessible.
e. The college must provide Ken with alternate forms of exams.

Scenario: The XYZ University placed Kay on probation during her first semester. Then XYZ University terminated her enrollment after she failed to sufficiently raise her grades the second semester. Kay has now informed the disabilities services provider that she has bipolar disorder and contends that had she received appropriate accommodations she would not have been academically dismissed. Her documentation supports her contention. Kay insists that the XYZ University refund her tuition, expunge her grades and permit her to reenroll next semester. Do Section 504 and the ADA require this institution to honor Kay's demands?

Solution: Neither Section 504 nor the ADA requires an institution to change decisions made prior to the institution being informed of the disability.

Scenario: Sam has a documented case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He advises his sociology professor of the nature of his disability. The professor teases Sam in front of the class when he notices him nodding off. Sam requests that he be able to take exams in the morning when he is most alert. He also requests the right to tape record the lectures because he is often unable to be alert. Finally, he requests that the college provide him with a note-taker. Discuss the college's obligations to Sam, including the college's liability for the professor's actions. Should Sam be allowed to miss 1/3 of the classes due to his Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Solution: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a documentable disability and does require accommodation. It is reasonable to assist Sam in taking exams in the morning and allowing him to tape record classes. It is probably not necessary to provide a notetaker. The professor's action's are inappropriate and put the professor and the institution at risk for a lawsuit, particularly if Sam has informed the institution of the professors behavior and they have not taken action to change it. It is not necessary to allow Sam to miss 1/3 of the classes if attendance is necessary to appropriate and successful mastery of the course material.

Scenario: Sophia has a documented learning disability. The documentation supports a variety of accommodations including extended time on tests, books on tape and the tape recording of lectures. Sophia's English professor says she doesn't have time to sit with Sophia all those extra hours and refuses to allow her class to be recorded.
a. What is the professor's responsibility?
b. Whose responsibility is it to obtain books on tape?
c. Is it a violation of the ADA/504 for the instructor to refuse the tape recorder?

Solution:  
a. It is the professor's responsibility to provide Sophie with the accommodations required by her documentation and to spend the time necessary to fulfill those accommodation requests.
b. It is the institution's responsibility to acquire books on tape.
c. Yes, it is a violation of the ADA for the instructor to refuse the tape recorder.

Scenario: Yong Kwan is from Malaysia. You are a faculty member at Yong's college. He has come to your office saying that he was tested for a learning disability and has an auditory processing problem which requires accommodation. The documentation supports Yong's statement. What are your responsibilities?

Solution: It is the responsibility of the instructor to refer Yong Kwan to the Office of Disability Services, who will provide accommodation forms.

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