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Resource Guide for Psychology Graduate Students with Disabilities
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Introduction to the Relevant Laws & Key Terms of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA and Postsecondary Education
Selected Resources
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Please note: The information contained herein is intended to educate readers on various legal aspects of the Americans With Disabilities Act and is not meant to be definitive in all circumstances or relied upon without prior consultation with legal counsel.
By Anju Khubchandani, MA
Two major pieces of legislation have an impact on the provision of services and accommodations to students with disabilities in the university setting. They are the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.The ADA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, combined with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act help to ensure that buildings, classes, and academic course work are accessible.
Disability law is largely regulated by the ADA, a comprehensive civil rights law for persons with disabilities. The principal objective of the ADA has been to remove the barriers preventing qualified individuals from enjoying the same educational and employment opportunities and public services that are available to persons without disabilities. Although it does not guarantee equal results, establish quotas, or require preferences favoring individuals with disabilities over those without disabilities, the ADA does mandate that when an individual's disability creates a participatory barrier, it must be determined whether reasonable accommodation(s) could remove the barrier, thereby permitting equal opportunity and access to mainstream American life.
The ADA & Postsecondary Education
Title II of the ADA addresses the right of access to public services by individuals with disabilities. According to the Americans With Disabilities Act Handbook (U.S. Department of Justice, 1991), the purpose of Title II is to "prohibit discrimination on the basis of handicap in all services, programs, and activities provided or made available by local or state governments and their affiliate agencies," regardless of whether they receive federal funding. Although many public services are covered under ADA Title II, so, too, is the right of equal access to postsecondary education settings. Here, we highlight several of the key points mentioned in Title II of the ADA that relate specifically to the rights of students with disabilities in college and university settings.
Individuals With Disabilities Must Be Qualified
Title II of the ADA protects individuals with disabilities from being denied the opportunity of participating in postsecondary educational training and activities. However, it does not require universities to accept or accommodate everyone who has disabilities. Under the ADA, applicants with disabilities must first:
- Satisfy the standards required by the university or college for all students.
- Be able to perform the "essential academic and technical standards of the program" with or without "reasonable accommodations" (see below).
"Essential Academic Standards" Explained
The term "essential" serves to ensure that colleges and universities need not fundamentally alter their programs of instruction to accommodate students with disabilities. Essential academic activities are those tasks that are fundamental and necessary to meet critical program or course requirements, licensing requirements, or certification requirements. Federal courts have readily upheld insistence that such students meet academic standards (for example, a requirement for all students to maintain a certain GPA) and technical standards. By instructing colleges and universities to distinguish carefully between what is essential and what is tangential, the courts have used Section 504 and the ADA to create equal educational opportunity for the disability community without lowering academic standards.
"Reasonable Accommodations" Explained
The ADA also stipulates that postsecondary institutions are responsible for providing necessary accommodations when a student declares a disability. An accommodation does not compromise the essential elements of a course or curriculum, nor does it weaken the academic standards or integrity of a course. Accommodations simply provide an alternative way to accomplish the course requirements by eliminating or reducing disability-related barriers. They provide a level playing field, not an unfair advantage.
The Americans With Disabilities Act Handbook defines an accommodation as "any change in the work environment [or instructional setting] or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal opportunities." This may include:
- Providing or modifying equipment (e.g., allowing the student to tape-record lectures instead of taking notes)
- Making facilities accessible-removing barriers (e.g., holding class on the ground floor) so people with disabilities can participate
- Providing auxiliary aids and services (e.g., sign language interpreters)
An important element of the "reasonable accommodations" section of the ADA is that the student has the right to decide whether or not to declare a disability. Under the law, only if the student has disclosed a disability to the appropriate individual (e.g., the university disability office, etc.-this varies across settings) is the instructor responsible for providing accommodations. No declaration, no accommodation. It is up to the student to decide in which class(es) to declare a disability. It is important to note that all of the student's work and grades up until the time he/she declared the disability ARE VALID, and do count toward the final grade. The declaration of a disability does not erase any past failing grades, etc. Also, university staff do have the right to ask for and/or require appropriate documentary verification of the disabling condition, such as a doctor's letter (for physical disabilities) or a psychological assessment report (for learning disabilities or mental illness).
"Undue Burden" Explained
This section of ADA addresses the common sense notion that not all accommodations can be provided in all settings. Here, the law stipulates that universities are not required to provide an accommodation that would change the fundamental nature of the program and/or pose an undue burden (significant difficulty or expense in, or resulting from, the provision of the accommodation). The following is typically used to help make this determination:
- Size of the program/class
- Financial resources
- Cost of accommodation
- Alteration or change in the course requirements (e.g., a course instructor is not required to transcribe his lectures into overheads to accommodate a student with a hearing impairment, although this could be a possible accommodation if acceptable to both student and instructor)
- Disruption of other students (Note: Instructors should only invoke this "undue hardship" clause after having attempted reasonable accommodations in the classroom, or in cases of extreme student behavior. For example, a student with epilepsy cannot be automatically excluded from a class because the instructor fears that a disruption (e.g., a grand mal seizure) may occur during class. However, if this student is enrolled in a class and does experience grand mal seizures in class on a regular basis, the instructor may have a case for claiming "undue hardship" on the basis of disruption.)
Selected Resources Related to this Article
ADA Information Center
The ADA Information Center (for the Mid- Atlantic Region) is one of 10 regional centers established to provide training, information, and technical assistance on the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to businesses, consumers, and state and local governments. Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), under the U.S. Department of Education, each center has a toll-free hotline staffed by specialists who can answer specific questions on the ADA. For more information, you can visit the center's Web site at http://www.adata.org, or, for ADA technical assistance, contact your local center at 800-949-4232.
Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)
The Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) is an international, multicultural organization of professionals committed to full participation in higher education for persons with disabilities. The association is a vital resource, promoting excellence through education, communication, and training. General information about accommodation issues is available online at http://www.ahead.org, or you may contact them at 781-788-0003 (V/TTY).
Disability Issues Office, American Psychological Association (APA)
The Disability Issues in Psychology Office coordinates APA's public interest, human welfare, and social responsibility activities in the area of disability issues. The office works toward the elimination of bias against and the promotion of equal opportunity of persons with disabilities in education and training, research, and professional practice. It monitors the welfare of these groups as consumers of psychological services, analyzes the impact of governmental initiatives on them, and promotes development and application of psychological knowledge to address public policy issues affecting them. The office serves as an information and referral source for APA members and the general public and disseminates materials on professional and consumer issues. The office also provides staff support to the Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology. The office can be contacted at 202-336-6038 or
E-mail: akhubchandani@apa.org.
You can also access the office's Web site at http://www.apa.org/pi/disability.
Heath Resource Center
The Heath Resource Center of the American Council on Education is the national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities. Support from the U.S. Department of Education enables the Center to serve as an information exchange about educational support services, policies, procedures, adaptations, and opportunities at American campuses, and other postsecondary training entities. Heath provides information on a broad range of disability-related topics such as accessibility, career development, functional limitations (including vision, hearing, mobility, and learning disabilities among others), and training materials designed to enhance the training of faculty and administrators who work with students with disabilities. You can contact Heath at 202-994-8770 or 800-544-3284 or access its Web site at http://www.heath.gwu.edu
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