An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 9 – Interactive Process: Employees and Students

The school can show evidence of meeting its duty to provide reasonable accommodations if it can demonstrate that administrators considered the feasibility of the requested accommodations and the cost and effects on the academic program. If the school is unable to accommodate the student, it should document whether the accommodation would result in lowering academic standards, requiring substantial program alterations, or causing an undue burden. 1643 Finally, as with employees, a reasonable accommodation does not have to be the “best” accommodation, however, or even the accommodation that the individual with the disability wants the most. An example is Campbell v. Lamar Institute of Technology .1644 Russell Campbell was enrolled in Lamar Institute of Technology’s (“LIT”) Respiratory Care Program. Campbell suffers from symptoms relating to a prior brain injury, which left him with difficulty processing and retaining information. LIT accommodated Campbell by providing extended time for all exams and a laptop and recorder to assist with note taking. One of Campbell’s professors, Stephanie Lanoue, decided on her own initiative to also grant him a unique accommodation: she let him take one test with all the students and then another on the same issues two weeks later. Campbell’s performance in school was suffering and he requested the same accommodation he got from Ms. Lanoue in all his classes. In the alternative, he requested two extra weeks of study before he had to sit for an exam. This would require the professor to create a different exam for him so that he would not know the questions in advance since the other students would be able to tell him. LIT rejected his requests on the ground they were unreasonable because they gave Campbell an advantage over his classmates and burdened professors by requiring them to create two test versions, and only provide the original accommodations. In rejecting Campbell’s argument of discrimination, the court explained that academic institutions are not required to implement every accommodation a student requests. Campbell’s request was considered at multiple levels and reasonable reasons were provided as to why the administration decided not to provide the further requested accommodations. Considerations regarding unfair advantage and burdens on professors were serious and spoke to the standards and requirements of the program. LIT had already accommodated Campbell with extra exam time and assistance with note taking. He was not entitled to the other requested accommodation. 3. R EQUESTING I NFORMATION A ND D OCUMENTATION After a student has received a conditional offer of enrollment (including the return of all paperwork unrelated to the student’s need for accommodation), the school may request a reasonable level of documentation in order for the school to determine reasonable accommodations for the student. 1645 Schools should not create documentation processes that are burdensome or have the effect of discouraging students from seeking protections and accommodations to which they are entitled. 1646 It is sometimes possible to evaluate whether a requested accommodation is reasonable with minimal reliance on external documentation. This is true even if the student has never received formal accommodations or recently acquired a disability and is seeking guidance to determine accommodations that might be effective. 1647 If, however, the student or parent is unable to clearly describe how the disability is connected to a barrier and how the

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