College is tough. Developing your independence, learning to get along with others, not to mention classes—these are serious challenges. College shouldn’t be tougher for some people than others, though. If you’re a Yale student with a disability, you may need resources that other students don’t. These resources don’t give you an advantage; they level the playing field.
In fact, you’re entitled to these resources under federal law. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), for example, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 bar discrimination and harassment against persons with disabilities. As part of this prohibition, they require schools to provide students with any materials and services they need to have an equal opportunity to earn an education.
That doesn’t always mean it’s easy to get these materials and resources. You will come across students, faculty, and administrators who don’t understand your disability. You may come across a few who don’t try to understand it. Those people may put barriers in your way. Students with disabilities sometimes struggle academically because they’re not treated fairly. They sometimes get unfairly caught up in a school’s disciplinary misconduct system.
If Yale or someone at Yale is treating you unfairly as a result of your disability, the LLF National Law Firm can help. Our Education Law Team was founded to protect student rights and defend students from all types of mistreatment. We know what the law says, we know what Yale University’s own policies say, and we’re prepared to use every resource at our disposal to make sure you get the best possible resolution to your case.
What can we do for you? Find out by calling 888-535-3686, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of their online forms.
Yale’s Disability Services
Yale’s disability services office is known as Student Accessibility Services (SAS). SAS coordinates all of the university’s accessibility initiatives and works with students to ensure they have all the resources they need.
Of course, this includes access to dorms and classroom buildings around campus. SAS works with dining services to supply students with allergies with proper dietary plans. It also works to provide students with disabilities with opportunities to participate in all aspects of campus life.
One of SAS’s most important jobs, though, is to provide students with appropriate course accommodations—classroom and course modifications that can make it easier to succeed academically. If you’re new to campus, this office should be among your first stops. In fact, it helps to contact SAS at the end of your senior year of high school to begin the process of applying for services.
- As a starting point, you’ll complete an Accommodations Request Form. This is basically your application to work with SAS.
- In addition, you’ll submit documentation of your diagnosis.
- Once your materials are approved, an SAS staff member meets with you to work out an accommodations plan.
- At the beginning of each quarter, the SAS provides you with accommodation letters for all of your instructors.
This process can sometimes be tricky. As with all university paperwork, just making sense of the Accommodations Request Form can take time. It’s not always easy to come up with documentation for a disability diagnosis. SAS does sometimes reject students outright, and staff sometimes disallow accommodations that a student genuinely needs and deserves.
You don’t have to go through this process alone, though. Education Law Team attorneys are well-versed in all SAS procedures. We know how to make your case clearly and compellingly, and we know what counts as the best evidence. We’re always happy to look over your accommodation plan and offer suggestions. And while SAS should bear the primary responsibility for ensuring instructors follow your accommodation plan, we can step in and remind faculty of their responsibilities any time that’s necessary. We know how to negotiate when that’s what’s called for, but we can also be fierce when it comes to protecting our clients.
One way or another, you always have a right to reasonable accommodations, whether that means changes to a building, access to braille textbooks, the purchase of necessary technology, or changes to a curriculum. Yale must provide you these resources, not because it’s some sort of moral or ethical imperative, but because under the law, you’re entitled to fair and equal treatment.
Invisible Disabilities
Those laws we’ve mentioned don’t just apply to physical disabilities, either. If you have ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, or some other “invisible” disability, the law covers you as well. Your needs may be of a different type, but you’re still entitled to necessary materials and services.
It is sometimes more challenging to get access to these materials and services if you have an “invisible” disability. Too often, instructors and students don’t pay attention to what they can’t see. Even faculty with good intentions can forget you have a disability if it’s not in front of their faces every class period. Remind them. Contact the LLF National Law Firm and let us remind them.
The fact is that sometimes “invisible” disabilities are so invisible that the students who have them aren’t aware of them. Some states, for instance, require all elementary school children to be tested for learning disabilities, but not all. If you struggle in some subjects more than others, or you feel more comfortable in some academic situations than others, you could have an undiagnosed disability. Even something as simple as a low GPA can be a sign. The Education Law Team can make sure you get proper testing and work with SAS to expedite your accommodation request.
We can also petition Yale to drop low and failing grades from your transcript. Even if you don’t know you have a disability, you deserve a fair chance to learn the course material. Once you’ve received a diagnosis and a list of appropriate accommodations, we can ask the university to give you a chance at a replacement grade and a higher GPA.
Demanding Your Rights
Education Law Team attorneys excel at solving problems through discussion and negotiation. However, your rights are your rights, and when necessary, we’re also happy to formally protest how your school is treating you.
At Yale, there are several ways to do that, depending on the nature of your situation.
- If SAS denies you an accommodation to which you feel you are entitled, you can request a Review of that decision. The SAS Director handles these reviews.
- Should the Director affirm the original decision, you can appeal that decision to Yale’s Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).
- The OIEA also handles complaints of discrimination and harassment. This office is responsible for dealing with all allegations of Civil Rights violations.
- You can also go through the grade appeals process any time you disagree with a course grade. This process is open to anyone, but as part of your evidence, you are entitled to submit accommodation letters and other documentation of your disability.
Typically, these processes involve an investigation and a hearing. You should have the right to provide evidence, including witness testimony. You are entitled to unbiased decision-makers and to advanced notification of any official meetings.
Your LLF National Law Firm attorney can help you with all aspects of your case, from gathering evidence to coaching you in how to talk with investigators. It’s our job to protect your rights and to make sure you’re prepared for any procedure you might face.
Disciplinary Misconduct Issues
In addition to academic issues, students with disabilities sometimes face challenges with a university’s disciplinary misconduct system. As a starting point, you may have a greater chance of being accused of misconduct. Often, that misconduct isn’t misconduct at all but rather a product of your disability. For example, an uninformed instructor might assume a student with Tourette’s is just “disruptive.”
Students with disabilities are sometimes forced to defend themselves from harassment by other students. Such a reaction can be misunderstood.
All students struggle to navigate the disciplinary misconduct system. Rules and regulations are complex, procedures differ considerably from those in a court of law, and while accused students do have rights, it’s not always easy to know how to use those effectively. It’s not unusual, though, for investigations and hearings to fail to account for student disabilities. It can be difficult even to access parts of the system.
The team is on your side no matter what the situation. We’ve helped hundreds of students defend themselves from all types of charges. We recognize the stakes, and we’re committed to making sure you’re treated fairly.
Trust the LLF National Law Firm
It’s hard enough to get fair treatment from a university like Yale. Institutions can be a complicated tangle of rules and regulations. When you’re a student with a disability, it can be particularly 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 your university alone, though. Whatever disability issue you might be dealing with at Yale, the 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.