An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 9 – Interactive Process: Employees and Students

Sjostrand claimed that the interviewers spent an uncomfortable amount of time discussing her Crohn’s disease during the interview, asking her if she would be able to handle the stress of the program. She brought a claim against the university for discrimination in violation of the ADA. The appeals court held that Sjostrand presented enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial. The court cited the interviewers’ questions about Sjostrand’s Crohn’s disease, the failure of the university to return Sjostrand’s calls for weeks after her rejection, her extremely high qualifications for the program, and the fact that another candidate with a lower GPA, test scores and errors in his application was accepted, while she was not.

Sjostrand’s interview demonstrates exactly what a school should not do when interviewing a student or applicant with a known disability. Interviews should cover only topics related to the student’s abilities to perform academically and as part of the greater school community.

LCW Practice Advisor

A 2017 settlement by the YMCA with the U.S. Attorney is instructive regarding the rights of current students to participate in school services. 1611 The YMCA is subject to Title III of the ADA, just as private schools are. The YMCA settled with the U.S. Attorney after the U.S. Attorney informed the YMCA that it would investigate a family’s complaints about the YMCA’s refusal to accommodate their daughter who has type 1 diabetes. The daughter was part of the YMCA’s swim program. She wanted to participate on the swim team without having a member of her family present at all practices and meets in order to administer glucagon in case she suffered from severe hypoglycemia. The YMCA would not agree to train an employee to inject the girl if necessary. The day after the U.S. Attorney informed the YMCA of its intention to investigate, the YMCA agreed to provide glucagon injection training. ADA regulations indicate that where an individual and her doctor deem it appropriate for a layperson to be trained to assist the individual in diabetes care, such training and assistance would be considered a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. As part of the settlement, the YMCA agreed to adopt and enforce a non-discrimination statement, adopt and implement a policy on diabetes management, and conduct training as required regarding diabetes management. 2. E QUALITY I N P ARTICIPATION /B ENEFITS Title III mandates an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from the goods and services offered by a place of public accommodation, but does not guarantee that an individual with a disability must achieve identical results or the level of achievement as persons without disabilities. 1612 For example, a school may not exclude a student who uses a wheelchair from a physical education class because he or she cannot perform all of the exercises and derive the same result from the class as students without disabilities.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 361