Premium
Academic deference gives way to ADA's reasonable modifications policy
Author(s) -
Charmatz Marc
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
disability compliance for higher education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1943-8001
pISSN - 1086-1335
DOI - 10.1002/dhe.30134
Subject(s) - deference , set (abstract data type) , law , medical school , political science , section (typography) , judicial deference , sociology , public administration , psychology , medical education , medicine , business , computer science , advertising , programming language
Colleges and universities are entitled to deference with respect to academic decisions, but they must also make reasonable modifications to policies, practices and procedures under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. What happens when these bedrock principles collide? A federal appeals court reinstated federal claims brought by Maxiam Dean, who alleged that a medical school did not accommodate his mental health condition after the school dismissed him for failing to sit and pass his third attempt at Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination by the deadline set by the school, “declining to extend the deference we ordinarily accord to the professional, academic judgments of educational institutions.” See Dean v. University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, et al. , Docket No. 14‐1546‐cv (2d Cir. Oct. 6, 2015).