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Avoid the word ‘reasonable’ in accommodations policy
Author(s) -
Masinter Michael R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
disability compliance for higher education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1943-8001
pISSN - 1086-1335
DOI - 10.1002/dhe.30106
Subject(s) - complaint , section (typography) , word (group theory) , civil rights , psychology , resolution (logic) , computer science , political science , medical education , public relations , law , linguistics , business , advertising , artificial intelligence , medicine , philosophy
Disability services for students policies must meet the sometimes differing linguistic requirements of Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Otherwise, language permissible under the ADA but not under Section 504 can trigger an Office for Civil Rights complaint. A Finlandia University student who claimed to have been improperly denied academic adjustments filed an OCR complaint ( Letter to: Finlandia University , No. 15‐14‐2014 (OCR 05/30/14)). In investigating the complaint, OCR discovered that Finlandia published a disability services policy in which it offered to assist students in obtaining “reasonable exam accommodations” and other “reasonable” academic accommodations. Both OCR's determination letter and its resolution agreement with Finlandia University highlight the danger in using the word “reasonable” in a policy that seeks to address a school's obligations under both Section 504 and the ADA.