Laws Pertaining to Accommodations

Any qualifying Dartmouth student, including international and undocumented students, may be eligible for disability protections and accommodations. (We recognize that the name "Americans with Disabilities" Act can be misleading.)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 makes available a free and appropriate public education to eligible children (pre-kindergarten through high school) with disabilities. IDEIA may provide special education services and consider tutoring an accommodation. In contrast, Section 504 and the ADA are civil rights laws. As such, ADA and Section 504 do not call for individualized/special education and are instead intended to ensure equal access to programs and services in higher education. The Additudemag.com article "College accommodations aren't like high school accommodations" helps to explain some of these differences.

"No otherwise qualified [sic] individual with a disability in the United States shall, solely by reason of his/her [sic] disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Under the provisions of Section 504, Dartmouth College may not:

• Limit the number of otherwise qualified students admitted that have a disability
• Make pre-admission inquiries as to whether an applicant has a disability
• Exclude an otherwise qualified student with a disability from any course of study
• Provide less financial assistance to students with disabilities than is provided to other students, or limit eligibility for scholarships on the basis of disability
• Counsel students with disabilities into more restrictive career paths based solely on their disability
• Measure student achievement using modes that adversely discriminate against a student with a disability
• Establish rules and policies that have the effect of limiting participation of students with disabilities in educational programs or activities

ADA extends anti-discrimination legislation to all institutions of higher education regardless of whether or not the institution receives federal funds. The ADA provides comprehensive civil rights protection to individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, public accommodations, state and local governmental services, and telecommunications. The act contains five titles; Titles II through V apply specifically to students who attend post-secondary educational institutions:

Title I

• Covers nondiscrimination in employment activities. It requires that employers not discriminate on the basis of disability in recruitment, hiring, retention, or promotion of employees. Employment opportunities must be made available when it can be shown that, with or without reasonable accommodations, the individual can successfully perform the essential functions of the job.

Title II

• Of the ADA is divided into two subparts. Subpart A requires that state and local government entities and programs be made accessible to individuals with disabilities. Subpart B covers transportation and requires that public transportation systems be made fully accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Title III

• Covers the accessibility and availability of programs, goods and services provided by public and private entities. Although the Act uses the term "public accommodations," it is focused on the context of use by the public rather than operation by a public entity. By definition, a public accommodation can be privately owned, operated, and/or offered.

Title IV

• Requires that telecommunication services be made accessible to individuals with hearing and speech impairments and has a specific reference to the development of telecommunications relay systems and closed-captioned technology.

Title V

• Of the ADA contains miscellaneous provisions that apply to all of the other titles.

On September 25, 2008, the President signed the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 ("ADA Amendments Act" or "Act"). The Act emphasizes that the definition of disability should be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA and generally shall not require extensive analysis.

The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term "disability" by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of EEOC's ADA regulations. The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that they have a disability within the meaning of the ADA.