This article appeared as "ADA Compliance" in the Fall 2023 issue of Independent School.Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is challenging terrain, specifically when it comes to providing reasonable accommodations and modifications for otherwise qualified students who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The ADA provides a framework, but there are few clearly defined rules about which students are eligible, what’s considered reasonable, and how to create a thoughtful path of partnership with students, parents, and third-party providers.
Schools must rely on staff, legal counsel, and other professionals to develop appropriate, supportive, and legally sound approaches to accommodation assessments and implementation. I sat down with Julie C. Fay and Sarah Gleason, attorneys at Shipman & Goodwin LLP, to discuss this more.
Who’s eligible? Determining which students are eligible for accommodations under the ADA requires an individualized assessment of the student’s impairment and how it limits a major life activity. While a student may disclose the existence of a disability during the admission process or otherwise, the ADA does not require students to disclose a disability unless they are seeking an accommodation. Therefore, schools should not require such disclosure unless related to the accommodations process.
What’s reasonable? Once a school has determined that a student is eligible under the law, the analysis turns to whether the requested accommodation is reasonable. What is reasonable for one school may not be for another. A reasonable accommodation is one that does not fundamentally alter the nature of the school’s programs or create an undue burden on the school, financially or otherwise. Schools must be able to articulate why a specific requested accommodation is or is not reasonable, and schools have discretion to offer alternative accommodations that provide equal access and opportunity.
Where to start? To determine eligibility and assess the reasonableness of accommodations for a particular student, the ADA requires schools to engage in an interactive process with the family. This is a hallmark of the ADA and should not be shortcut or overlooked. The process should draw from multiple sources of information, including teachers, parents, and outside providers. In initiating this process, the burden is on the student and their family to request the accommodation and provide supporting documentation.
Best Practices
Fay and Gleason offer the following tips to maintain ADA compliance:- Draft a written policy that lets parents know how to make accommodations requests.
- Create a consistent process with a designated team and outside consultants as needed; periodically review this process, as well as individual plans, as situations may evolve both at the school and related to an individual student’s needs.
- Approach requests for accommodation in an individualized manner as students vary in presentation and need; have detailed conversations with families.
- Require documentation to support the existence of an impairment, and do not hesitate to request further information to understand the disability and how it affects the student.
- Inquire about the level of effort or other support the student relies on to achieve current grades.
- If the requested accommodation is not reasonable, consider alternatives that the school is able to provide.