Premium
Undue financial burden and the dog that never barked
Author(s) -
Masinter Michael R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
disability compliance for higher education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1943-8001
pISSN - 1086-1335
DOI - 10.1002/dhe.30984
Subject(s) - undue influence , supreme court , economic justice , adjudication , obligation , law , political science , business
Both Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act treat an undue financial burden as a defense for claiming nondiscrimination if a college or university does not meet its obligation to provide a student with a disability an auxiliary aid necessary for equal access. The Supreme Court wrote the undue financial burden defense into Section 504 in its seminal decision in Southeastern Community College v. Davis , and the Department of Justice formalized its application to the ADA with regulations under Titles II and III. Yet despite its long pedigree, the undue financial burden defense has not been the basis for adjudication in Office for Civil Rights auxiliary aid determinations or by courts in comparable Title II or III litigation. As Sherlock Holmes might say, the undue financial burden defense is the dog that didn't bark.