An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 9 – Interactive Process: Employees and Students

accommodations that the student requested would constitute a fundamental alteration of the school’s program and ruled in favor of the school in the lawsuit. LCW Practice Advisor

Schools that use emerging technologies, such as online coursework or e-book readers, must ensure that these technologies are accessible to students with disabilities or, if necessary, schools should provide these individuals with accommodations or modifications that permit them to receive all the educational benefits provided by the technology in an equally effective and equally integrated manner.

c. Modifications To The Regular Program When a school offers a special program for students with a particular disability, but the student elects to participate in the regular program rather than in the separate program, the school may still have obligations to provide an opportunity for that individual to benefit from the regular program. The fact that a school offers a separate program may be a factor in determining the extent of the obligations under the regular program, but only if the separate program is appropriate to the needs of the student with a disability. 1619 4. M AINTENANCE O F A CCESSIBLE F EATURES Schools must maintain in working order equipment and features of facilities that are required to provide ready access to students with disabilities. 1620 Isolated or temporary interruptions in access due to maintenance and repair of accessible features are not prohibited. Where a school must provide an accessible route, the route must remain accessible and not blocked by obstacles such as furniture, filing cabinets, or potted plants. Similarly, accessible doors must be unlocked when the school’s physical facilities are open during school hours and for other activities. For example, placing a vending machine on the route to a restroom in a gym would be a violation if it obstructed the accessible route. D. A CQUIRING I NFORMATION A BOUT T HE A PPLICANT /S TUDENT M EDICAL C ONDITIONS A ND I MPAIRMENTS – T HE D O ’ S A ND D ON ’ TS Title III prohibits unnecessary inquiries into the existence of a student’s disability. 1621 During the private school application process, schools covered by Title III may not:  Make oral or written pre-admission inquiries as to whether an applicant is disabled.  Include on their admissions applications a request for voluntary self- identification of an applicant’s disability.  Ask an applicant whether or not he or she is disabled.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 364