Often, students with disabilities are segregated from their classmates because of their school's inability and desire to accommodate them. This is especially troubling, considering nearly one out of every five higher education students is disabled. Disability is a protected class in the United States, sitting beside other classes like race, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. As such, both state and federal legislation has been drafted to compel schools to provide disabled students with reasonable accommodations so that they have the same academic and career opportunities as their classmates.
Unfortunately, many schools violate these rights and cite a lack of funding or resources as their excuse. If your school refuses to recognize your disability or has failed to provide you with the accommodations you need to succeed, Attorney Joseph D. Lento can help.
Disabled Student Rights in North Carolina
In North Carolina, disabled students have specific state and federal rights their school must give them if they are requested. When the school is hesitant to do so or flat-out refuses to, the student, and their family can have every right to pursue legal action.
Disability Accommodations in North Carolina
Whether elementary and secondary schools or colleges and universities, North Carolina schools must follow state and federal disability legislation. While some laws provide for disabled student rights, they also stipulate what defines a disability and what disabilities qualify for accommodations.
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal regulation, North Carolina elementary and secondary schools must create individualized education plans (IEPs) for students with qualifying disabilities. The IEP specifies the kinds of special education instruction, supports, and services students need to succeed in school. Once an IEP is created, schools must begin implementing those accommodations immediately.
While an IEP ends after high school graduation, college and university students can turn to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for help. Under Section 504, colleges and universities must provide disabled students with appropriate accommodations. At the college level, accommodations can be anything from access to restricted elevators, wheelchair-accessible desks, sign language interpreters, or providing textbooks in Braille.
No matter the age of the individual with a disability, accommodations can substantially affect their future.
ADA Issues and Lawsuits in North Carolina
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal regulation broken up into five Titles. Under Title II, schools are mandated to provide disabled students with activities, programs, and services and specific public transportation accommodations to allow them opportunities to flourish in society.
While the ADA stipulates the necessity of making life more accessible for disabled individuals, the Department of Education (DOE) oversees enforcing the regulations within it. The DOE has also been tasked with interpreting and expanding the rights of disabled students outlined, including determining that disabilities aren't just physical and visible; they can also be neurological, mental, and psychiatric.
The ADA created the standards, and the DOE interprets and enforces those standards. The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division (DOJ) enforces ADA disability rights in civil lawsuits in North Carolina. For example, in 2021, the Justice Department resolved a case that alleged several multifamily housing complexes were discriminating against individuals with disabilities because the complexes was not built with accessible features.
North Carolina State Disability Laws
Like most states in the U.S., North Carolina's disability laws are based on the standards outlined in the ADA. In North Carolina, specifically, they state the importance of having such standards to ensure all individuals are afforded the opportunity to self-determination, economic self-sufficiency, and participate fully in the social and economic life of the state.
Disability as a Mitigating Factor in North Carolina
Many scenarios can impact a disabled person's ability to pursue maneuver through the day. From the moment they wake up, they face obstacles they must overcome. Their education is just another example of one of those obstacles they must face. The purpose of the state and federal legislation explained above is to provide these students with the ability to maneuver past some of these obstacles just a little bit more easily. But when a school fails to provide necessary and reasonable accommodations or makes them unnecessarily difficult to obtain, they actively invalidate the disabled student's pursuit of success.
Disability Affecting Academic Progression Issues in North Carolina
North Carolina schools expect their students to progress through their courses at a particular pace while maintaining a minimum grade point average. When a student drops below that minimum or cannot progress through their courses accordingly, the school can refer the student to a disciplinary proceeding. Unfortunately, if a disabled student is not provided reasonable accommodations, it can negatively impact their ability to maintain their GPA and progress through their courses.
As such, disabled students may often find themselves in front of a disciplinary committee – this is especially true when the student has a disability like ADHD or dyslexia, which tend to be viewed more as laziness and a lack of self-control than a “real” disability.
Students should not have to worry about barriers to their education, particularly when those barriers can be easily remedied with access to reasonable accommodations.
Disability Affecting Misconduct Discipline in North Carolina
Many students also fall victim to professors and teachers misinterpreting their behaviors as misconduct rather than a symptom of their disability. For instance, students with autism spectrum disorder often also suffer from hypersensitivity issues, making it harder to listen to louder professors without visibly reacting. An uneducated or simply ignorant professor may view this behavior as rude and uncalled for instead of seeing it as part of the student's way of expressing themselves and finding ways to accommodate it (like lowering their voice, allowing the student to wear headphones with white noise playing, etc.).
When disciplinary issues crop up, whether for behaviors directly connected to the disability or for other reasons, disabled students must be able to defend themselves appropriately. This means the schools must provide them with reasonable accommodations to make the hearings more accessible so that they can adequately defend themselves.
School Disability Attorney Advisors Available in North Carolina
If your child's disability accommodations are being neglected or ignored by their school, Attorney Joseph D. Lento can help. Attorney Lento understands how necessary accommodations are for a disabled student's ability to thrive in society. As such, he will work tirelessly to ensure your student's school provides them with the accommodations they need. Call 888-535-3686 today for help, or schedule a consultation online.
