Asserting Your Rights as a Binghamton University Student With a Disability

If you’re a Binghamton University student with a disability, you probably already know you have some important rights, rights designed to provide you with a level academic playing field. After all, you likely had access to special materials and services as a high school student.

College isn’t like high school, though. K-12 schools have an obligation to identify students with disabilities. They’re also required to be proactive in getting students with disabilities the resources they need. You likely had an IEP, for example, and your school may have assigned specific teachers to work with you. At Binghamton, no one will even know you have a disability unless you let them know. And while you still have rights to classroom accommodations, you’ll have to ask for them if you want them.

All of that can be a little daunting. Plus, you may encounter situations where you actually have to fight for your rights. The LLF National Law Firm can help. Our Education Law Team was built to protect student rights. We know what the law has to say about disability access issues, and we’re familiar with BU processes and procedures. We can help guide you through the system bureaucracy and make sure you’re treated fairly.

First, though, you have to contact us. Call 888-535-3686 to find out what we can do for you, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of our online forms.

Disability Services at BU

Binghamton’s Services for Students With Disabilities office (SSD) offers a variety of services. For example, it provides faculty with the materials they need to meet student needs. The SSD website includes links to Microsoft Office tools specifically designed for students with disabilities. And in general, the office serves as an advocate for accessibility issues on campus.

It’s also responsible for coordinating all course accommodations. That means it’s a good idea to contact SSD as soon as you’re admitted to the university. Among your first jobs as a student at BU is self-identifying.

• First, you’ll need to fill out an online Self-Disclosure Form. This asks for basic information about you as well as a description of your disability and the accommodations you’ve had in the past.

• In addition, you’ll need to submit documentation of your condition. You can attach this documentation to the Self-Disclosure Form, but you can also mail it, email it or fax it directly to SSD.

• Once SSD has received your materials, someone will contact you to set up an intake meeting.

• The intake meeting is your chance to talk to an SSD staff member in person. They’ll go over your needs and work with you to create an appropriate accommodation plan.

• Before the semester begins, SSD will issue you letters to present to your instructors, letters explaining how they can best accommodate your particular disability.

• You can revisit your accommodation plan any time you need to make adjustments. Otherwise, however, you’ll return to the online portal each semester and request new accommodation letters.

The LLF National Law Firm is always available to help you with this process. We know, for example, what kinds of documentation BU wants, and we can work with you to get your materials in order before you submit your forms.

We’re also ready to step in any time you run into difficulties. It sometimes happens, for example, that SSD will deny an accommodation that you genuinely need. We’re happy to advocate on your behalf. We know how important the right services and materials can be, and we don’t mind applying pressure if that’s what’s necessary. Ultimately, SSD works for BU, and it has the university’s interests in mind. Our only concern is your success.

Invisible Disabilities

If you deal with an invisible disability, you can sometimes face special challenges as a college student. For one thing, SSD may require extra documentation of your condition. The larger problem, though, has to do with how instructors treat such disabilities.

There are actually faculty out there who balk at providing special services to students who don’t have an obvious disability. They may refuse to acknowledge that conditions like ADHD or an autism spectrum disorder need and deserve accommodations, or they may simply believe that it’s not their responsibility to change their behaviors to make education more accessible.

More common are those professors who mean well but who allow their other responsibilities to distract them. If your disability is invisible, and they’re not confronted with it every day, they may forget to send exams to the BU testing center or to allow you extra time on assignments.

Whatever the situation, the LLF National Law Firm can make sure your needs are being met. We’re skillful negotiators, but we can be fierce when it comes to advocating for our clients’ best interests.

Of course, it could also be the case that your invisible disability is invisible even to you. If you struggle in some courses or with some assignments but not others, it could be that all you lack is a proper diagnosis. We can get you set up with a health care provider and make sure you’re properly tested. We’ll get you the documentation you need, and we’ll encourage SSD to process your registration quickly.

We can also ask BU to allow you to retake courses for replacement credit. You’re entitled to accommodations even if you don’t know you have a disability, and you can always go back and assert those rights once you have a proper diagnosis.

Dealing With Serious Conflicts

Most conflicts over disabilities are solved with a conversation. More often than not, a student, instructor, or administrator doesn’t realize they’re mistreating you, and once you let them know, they’re glad to correct their behavior.

There are times, though, when you have to be more forceful about standing up for yourself. Here again, the LLF National Law Firm is always ready to help. For example,

• If you feel like an instructor is grading you more harshly than you deserve, you always have the right to file a grade appeal. Typically, you wait until the end of the semester, and you may need to provide examples of all of your work in order to demonstrate your academic ability.

• If you’re facing discrimination or harassment from a student or student organization, you may need to file a formal complaint with the Office of Student Conduct. This type of mistreatment is a violation of the law and of the BU Student Code of Conduct.

• SSD has its own appeals process if you feel you’ve been denied an accommodation to which you are entitled. Basically, this involves submitting an appeal letter along with documentation of your situation to the SSD Director.

• If the Director should deny your appeal, or if anyone else at the university discriminates against you in any way, you can also file a formal grievance with the university’s designated Executive Director, Equity, Access, and Diversity Education; Affirmative Action Officer. This officer is supposed to follow federal and state laws regarding disability and can put you in touch with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

If you’re not sure which option is right for your situation, the LLF National Law Firm can put you on the path. Of course, we’re also ready to help you put materials together. We know what counts as the strongest arguments in these cases and what makes for the most compelling evidence.

Disciplinary Misconduct Issues

Students with disabilities don’t just face challenges in the classroom. They also sometimes struggle when it comes to a university’s disciplinary misconduct system. These systems are never easy to navigate, but like so many aspects of college life, they’re not always set up with students with disabilities in mind.

For one thing, you may be at a greater risk of being charged simply as a result of your disability. Uninformed instructors sometimes decide that a student with ADHD is simply inattentive, or a student with Tourette’s is “disruptive.”

If you’re dealing with harassment from other students, you may decide to respond in kind. Or maybe an administrator doesn’t take the time to understand the situation and simply charges you along with your harasser.

Of course, it could also be that you made a genuine mistake. It happens, even to the best college students. You still deserve a fair opportunity to defend yourself and a fair sanction.

The LLF National Law Firm works with all kinds of students, helping them defend themselves from disciplinary misconduct charges. We know how to navigate misconduct procedures, and we’re experienced at preparing defenses. We’ll make sure the system is accessible for you, but we’ll also work with you to prepare an air-tight case.

The LLF National Law Firm is on Your Side

It’s hard enough for any student to get fair treatment from a school like Binghamton University. Complicated institutions can be a tangle of bureaucratic rules and regulations. When you’re a student with a disability, it can be challenging to convince faculty and administrators to honor your rights. Even just ensuring your professors treat your disability confidentially can be difficult.

You don’t have to deal with this bureaucracy alone, though. Whatever disability issue you might be dealing with at BU, the LLF National Law Firm’s Education Law Team is here to help. We know what to expect from colleges and universities, and we’re always on your side, whatever the situation. You can count on us to use every resource at our disposal to ensure you the best possible outcome.

It’s unfortunate, but sometimes, you have to fight for your educational rights. You don’t have to do that alone, though. To find out more about how we can help, contact the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686. Or, fill out our online questionnaire.