George Washington University is a tough school for anyone. It doesn’t especially matter what major you’re pursuing. It doesn’t matter what kind of background you have. Every program is strenuous, and every professor is demanding.
Fair enough. You shouldn’t expect to just be handed a degree after four years. You should have to earn it. No one should have to work harder than anyone else, though. Every student deserves a level playing field.
If you’re a student with a disability, there are federal laws in place to ensure you get that level playing field. Both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibit discrimination and harassment against persons with disabilities. They also require schools to provide you with resources to help you succeed.
If you’re not getting these resources, whatever the reason, you can’t be shy about demanding them. You must speak up for yourself. We can help you do that. The LLF National Law Firm’s Education Law Team was founded to protect student rights. We know the law, and we know how GWU processes and procedures work. Whatever you’re situation, we’re on your side and ready to use every resource at our disposal to get you the best possible resolution to your case.
Before we can help, 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.
Accessing Disability Services at GWU
If you’re a student with a disability, the GWU’s Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) has to be among your first stops when you arrive on campus. In fact, the DSS has made it easy to connect. You can actually contact this office as soon as you’re admitted to the university, and staff make use of Zoom calls, so you can talk with an actual person about getting set for life at GWU.
DSS offers a wide range of services for you. It’s your advocate to the rest of the campus community, for instance, offering regular educational programming for faculty about access issues. It holds social gatherings that can give you a chance to connect with other students.
Its most important responsibility, though, is making sure you have the accommodations you need, both in terms of course resources and in terms of housing. You want to begin the process of registering with DSS and requesting these accommodations as early as you can.
- Start by signing in to the GWU portal. If you’re still an applicant, you can gain access through your personal email.
- Once you’re connected to the portal, fill out the online disability application.
- In addition to the application, you’ll also need to submit documentation supporting your disability diagnosis.
- Once DSS has had an opportunity to review your application, someone will contact you and set up a meeting, either face-to-face or via Zoom.
- During this meeting, this staff member will outline your approved accommodations.
- Finally, DSS will issue you letters of accommodation for your instructors. Faculty can also access these letters directly through the DSS website.
No process goes smoothly all the time. Every student is different, and you may run into roadblocks with your application. For example, DSS can sometimes be particular about what types of documentation it will accept. Your LLF National Law Firm attorney can work with you even before you’re ready to apply, helping you gather materials and making sure everything is in order.
You may occasionally run into more serious problems with the application process as well. What do you do, for instance, if a staff member decides to deny you an accommodation you genuinely need? We can be an important resource in these situations as well. We’re skilled negotiators and can make sure that DSS understands your disability and respects your rights.
Accommodations aren’t a matter of goodwill or ethics or morality. GWU doesn’t provide you with resources out of the goodness of its heart. You’re entitled to those resources under the law. You’re entitled to them not because you need some advantage other students don’t have, but because you need them to give you an equal education. Don’t be reticent about demanding services when you need them. We’re always ready to help with that process.
Dealing With Invisible Disabilities
We mentioned before: every student and every disability is unique. Some are readily apparent to others. Some are “invisible.” The law doesn’t distinguish between the two. If you have any disability of any type, you have rights under the law.
The trouble is, invisible disabilities can go unnoticed because they’re…well, invisible. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting approved for accommodations through DSS, especially if you have proper documentation, but it can happen that instructors lose track of you even if you’ve given them a letter of accommodation. DSS can be an important resource to remind them of their obligations. DSS can get busy during the course of a semester as well. Your LLF National Law Firm attorney can always step in and apply pressure as well. No one should be allowed to interfere with your rights.
Invisible disabilities can be a problem for another reason as well, though. Many students are dealing with a disability and don’t realize it. If you struggle in certain classes or have more problems with certain types of assignments, you could benefit from an accurate diagnosis. Your attorney can make sure you get proper testing, a clear answer, and any accommodations you might need. We can also encourage DSS to expedite the accommodations process to ensure you have what you need now rather than later.
One last thing: we can also petition GWU to drop low grades from your transcript, should you discover you have an undiagnosed disability. The law applies to you even if you don’t know you have a disability, and it works retroactively.
Formal Grievances
Most of the services we’ve mentioned to this point have more to do with informal negotiations than any type of formal procedures. More often than not, access issues can be solved through a simple conversation, especially if the person doing the talking for you is an attorney.
It does happen, though, that students must file a formal complaint in order to get what they deserve. George Washington offers several avenues to resolve these complaints.
- You always have the right to file a grade appeal at the end of a semester if you don’t feel you’ve been graded appropriately.
- If you’re facing harassment from students or instructors, you can file a formal complaint with Conflict Education and Student Accountability (CESA).
- Finally, if you cannot get relief for a problem through DSS or another office, you should file a formal grievance with the university’s Office of Access and Opportunity or the federal Department of Education.
You can count on your LLF National Law Firm attorney to be up-to-date on all of these various procedures. We can walk you through them step by step. We know what works when it comes to arguments, and we know what makes for the best evidence. Start to finish, we’ll make sure you’re treated fairly and that GWU respects your rights, both under its own policies and under the law.
Disciplinary Misconduct Allegations
Most of the issues you run into at GWU will have to do with academics. Students with disabilities can also sometimes struggle with the disciplinary system.
As a starting point, students with disabilities sometimes become targets of unfair disciplinary misconduct allegations. Uneducated professors can mistake some disabilities for misconduct. ADHD can look like classroom restlessness. Tourette’s Syndrome can seem like disorderly conduct. You should never have to deal with an unfair sanction.
It also happens that students with disabilities find themselves targeted for harassment. When tensions escalate, it’s impossible to know how a situation may develop. Security personnel and administrators can misunderstand what’s happening. Or maybe you do respond in kind to harassment, and that gets you into trouble.
Whatever your situation, the LLF National Law Firm is on your side and prepared to help. We’ve worked with hundreds of students, protecting them from all types of charges. We know the disciplinary system, and we can help you make sense of it.
Trust the LLF National Law Firm
It’s hard enough for any student to get fair treatment from a school like GWU. 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 GWU, 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.