College is never going to be an easy prospect, and succeeding at Georgia Tech can be especially challenging. The GT president likes to boast that every major at the school requires calculus.
That said, you shouldn’t face extra barriers because you’re a student with a disability. Federal law is designed to make sure you don’t. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), for instance, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 both prohibit discrimination and harassment against persons with disabilities. They are also written to ensure students with disabilities have a level playing field in obtaining college degrees.
This isn’t your first rodeo, though. You know that the system doesn’t always work the way it’s supposed to. The law doesn’t always protect you. You might encounter other students who harass you. You might run into an instructor who refuses to implement the accommodations you need and deserve. Or the problem might be simpler: you might find that disability services at GT just doesn’t respond as quickly and efficiently as it should.
Whatever your situation, it’s often useful to have someone in your corner, an advocate looking out for your interests and protecting your rights. That’s just what the LLF National Law Firm’s Education Law Team was designed to do. This isn’t our first rodeo either. We know what you’re up against because we’ve helped students just like you navigate the system. We know what to expect from Georgia Tech, and we can show you how to make the very best of your rights.
First, though, you have to contact us. To find out more about what we can do for you, call 888-535-3686, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of our online forms.
Disability Services at Georgia Tech
Disability Services should be one of your first stops on campus. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to check out the Disability Services and make contact with this office before you show up in Atlanta.
Disability Services is meant to be your one-stop solution to all your disability needs. This department’s job is to break down “academic, physical, and technological” barriers on campus. It assesses students with disabilities, designs accommodation programs, and ensures those programs are implemented properly. It provides a space where students with disabilities can meet one another. It offers programs for faculty to learn more about how to better address classroom access issues.
This isn’t high school, though, and Disability Services isn’t going to come looking for you. No one is going to reach out and make sure you have the resources you need. You’re adulting now, and that means asking directly for support. Your first responsibility, for instance, is to register with Disability Services and officially request the accommodations you need.
- You start the process by visiting the AIM portal and filling out an application.
- You’ll also need to upload documentation to support your application– evaluations and letters from licensed professionals that can substantiate your diagnosis.
- Next, someone from ODS (the Offices of Disability Services) reviews your application and contacts you about scheduling an appointment.
- At the appointment, this ODS officer will work with you to come up with an appropriate plan to supply you with the resources and support you need.
- You’ll be able to access accommodation letters online that you present to your instructors at the beginning of each semester.
Of course, this application process doesn’t always go smoothly. You can run into problems, especially when providing documentation. ODS can be particular about what kind of documentation it accepts, and anything more than three to five years old is usually rejected as a matter of course.
You may also encounter staff who are reticent to approve accommodations you genuinely need. ODS doesn’t rubber-stamp requests, and some officials are more conservative than others.
Whatever you need, your LLF National Law Firm attorney can provide. We can work with you to complete your application and make sure that your documentation is in order. We can negotiate with ODS to make sure it accepts your documentation. We can intervene any time there’s a dispute over what you need.
Never be shy about demanding your rights. Those rights are a matter of law, and the law isn’t there to give you some kind of unfair advantage. It exists to provide you with a fair education. And remember, the attorneys at the LLF National Law Firm always have your back.
Dealing With Invisible Disabilities
Federal law doesn’t just apply to readily observable disabilities. If you have a disability of any kind, you have a right to appropriate accommodations.
The problem is, invisible disabilities can go unrecognized. This is one reason why it is so important to be vocal about your needs. Otherwise, they can be missed.
Even if you’ve done what you should and made ODS aware of your disability, even if you have a letter of accommodation from ODS, you will still run into instructors who lose track of your disability because it’s not obvious to them. Professors sometimes deal with hundreds of students in a given semester, and if they’re not directly confronted about their responsibilities, those responsibilities can fall by the wayside.
Worse still, there are faculty out there who refuse to acknowledge the needs of students with learning disabilities. They may balk at giving a student extra time to complete assignments. They may ignore requests to provide testing materials in multiple formats. Normally, ODS will handle such conflicts. It’s this office’s obligation to ensure all students with disabilities are treated fairly. These offices are sometimes overwhelmed as well, though. Once you have an LLF National Law Firm attorney on your side, you have support no matter what happens.
Of course, invisible disabilities can also be missed by those who have them. Many disabilities are identified in primary and secondary school, but this isn’t always the case. If you suspect you might have a disability, the LLF National Law Firm can help make sure you are properly tested. Once you have a diagnosis, we can ask ODS to expedite your accommodations requests.
The bottom line is that if you’re a student with a disability, you have a right to necessary accommodations. You have to do your part to speak up for yourself, but the LLF National Law Firm is always ready to help you do that.
Challenging the System
Most disability issues can be solved through dialogue. A professor who isn’t giving you the accommodations you need may simply have forgotten you need them. They’re clearly at fault, but once they’re made aware of the situation, they can correct it.
It does happen, though, that problems arise over access that can’t be solved through conversation and negotiation. When that happens, you need to know that there are formal mechanisms in place that you can use to demand your rights.
- Every student has the right to file a grade appeal at the end of the semester, if you feel you deserve better scores than you received.
- If the problem has to do with harassment, you can file a formal complaint through the GT disciplinary misconduct system.
- ODS itself has a process for appealing its decisions. This involves contacting the Assistant Director within ten days of the initial decision.
- Finally, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with GT’s Office of Equal Opportunity, Compliance, and Conflict Management-ADA Compliance. This office is directly answerable to the Department of Education.
LLF National Law Firm attorneys are familiar with all of these procedures. We can advise you which one is most appropriate to your situation, and we can help you move through the steps involved in getting justice.
Disciplinary Misconduct Complaints
Students with disabilities don’t just face access issues. They can also face more direct problems with a university’s disciplinary system.
In the current social and political climate, schools now maintain long, complicated lists of conduct offenses. Defending yourself can be as complex as going through the actual criminal justice system. And sanctions can be severe.
Couple this with the fact that students and faculty don’t always understand the nature of a given disability, and you can understand why far too many students with disabilities wind up unfairly accused of offenses every year. Maybe an instructor takes your behavior for misconduct. Maybe you’re the victim of harassment. Maybe you even crossed the line in responding to harassment or unfair treatment.
You deserve fair treatment and a just resolution. The LLF National Law Firm is here to make sure you get it. We understand your situation. We’ve helped students just like you deal with every conceivable type of university. No matter what, we are on your side and ready to fight on your behalf.
Trust the LLF National Law Firm
It’s hard enough for any student to get fair treatment from a school like Georgia Tech. 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 Georgia Tech, the LLF National Law Firm’s Educational 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.