Legal Briefs from Matt Cohen
The following are past questions and answers from Matt Cohen on this topic.
Can a student get twice the amount of time to complete their exams instead of time and a half?
I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and given accommodations of "time-and-a-half" on my law school exams. Unfortunately, I am still having a very difficult time finishing the exams so I requested double-time accommodations. My request was denied and both my Dean and my psychologist says double-time is too extraordinary.
Is this typical? Why is double-time extraordinary? I was under the impression I was being accommodated to help me finish the exams, which I'm sure I could do with double-time. My Dean wants me to pinpoint why I'm not finishing (i.e. due to fact patterns being too long) but it is next to impossible for me to do that, when my processing time and organizational problems are mostly to blame.
I've already paid a lot of money for a thorough reported diagnosis for the school. I don't have the time or money to take this through a court process. Am I asking for too much by requesting double-time?
Your question addresses whether you should be able to receive double time on your law school exams, rather than "time–and-a-half." Unfortunately, it is difficult to clinically and precisely tie the presence of ADHD or a learning disability to the need for a specific amount of additional time on tests. A number of schools and test organizations are tightening their documentation requirements for extra time and particularly for “extra extra” time.
Under the law, the burden is with the person requesting the accommodation to establish the need for the specific accommodation. You should also consult with the clinicians who evaluated you to enlist their help in documenting why 1 ½ time is not sufficient.
You may also want to get your tests to show problems with completion. You may also want to check with your university's disability services officer for help. See question "What can be done when a scholarship is lost because lack of accommodation causes the student to get lower grades?" for additional resources.
(November 2007)
How does a high school senior who is on a 504 plan obtain accommodations for the SAT or ACT?
My son is a high-school senior interested in attending one of our local colleges. He is currently on a 504 plan, with accommodations for reading, writing, note and test taking. He recently took his SAT test and didn't score so well on the literary sections, as he wasn't able to finish. I'm wondering if there is a special accommodation that carries over to the SAT or ACT, so he could have more time to process the test. He was diagnosed with ADHD at age 4, has been on and off IEPs throughout his school years. He was dropped from the IEP last year due to his progress and success in his studies. I fought hard to get him on the 504 plan in hopes to have the accommodations when in need. He struggled through school and most subjects all the way until last year, his junior year. Last year he put all his might into his studies, found success and loved it. Continuing his education is something he never showed interest in, as he didn't think he could. His transcript right now is a 2.9%, which is brought down by his 1st two years in high school. He ended last year with a 3.6 and is heading in the same direction this year. How does the 504 plan transfer to higher education and do the accommodations for testing apply?
Thank you.
First, a child with disabilities may qualify for accommodations for the SAT and ACT, but this doesn't happen automatically. Typically, the school applies for accommodations on behalf of those students who have IEPs or 504 plans, but if they don't do this, the parent can do it. Your son can apply for accommodations on the SAT, and if granted, retake the exam with the accommodations. Typically, the accommodations on the SAT and/or ACT should parallel the accommodations the school has been providing, but this is ultimately up to the testing agency to decide. If they refuse a particular accommodation, each testing service has a procedure by which parents can appeal the denial of the requested accommodation. Both the ACT and SAT administrators are covered by the American with Disabilities Act and are required to provide reasonable accommodations for those students who are able to document the presence of a disability that impacts the ability to perform on the test and who require reasonable accommodations. Generally, the testing services require up -to-date evaluations documenting the disability, documenting that the child has an impairment in comparison to the general population and that the student requires accommodations. Generally, there needs to also be a history of disability and a history of special education or 504 eligibility, although this is not an absolute requirement.
(April 2007)
What laws impact students with learning disabilities who wish to attend college?
Are there any laws that support learning disabled students trying to be admitted into college. Because learning disabled students do not meet the admission requirements, how will they be given a fair chance to be admitted into college.
Students with disabilities must meet the minimum requirements for admission to college. However, some schools, if made aware that a student has a disability, may use more flexible standards in the admission process, using additional data to answer whether the student should be admitted. Colleges and universities do not have one common standard for admission or for reviewing applications. Students with learning disabilities, ADHD, or other disabilities may benefit from contacting the college's disability services office before applying in order to learn whether there are any special procedures used by a particular college in assessing the application of students with disabilities. There are also two excellent guides to colleges with programs for students with disabilities; The K & W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities and the Peterson's Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or ADD. These guides not only list the types of disability support services available through the college, they also briefly describe the application procedures used by the college to assess the students that are designed to take into account the potential impact that a student's disability may have on their competitive status. For example, increasing numbers of schools no longer require the ACT or SAT test as a basis for application. For further information, go to LD OnLine's college preparation section of LD InDepth
(April 2007)
What do you do if a college professor denies you reasonable accommodation?
I am a 45 year old male who had to go back to school because of an injury in the oil field. I was diagnosed as having ADHD by a psychiatrist. The junior college I am attending denied the accommodations I requested. I have talked to the college dean. She assured me that next year the accommodations will be reviewed by the instructor who denied them.
I lost a year because of this instructor, and I am not too sure she is actually going to assist me as far as agreeing to the accommodations on the 504 law.
Sir, can you tell me what to do about this? I am half way done on an associate's degree and I encounter an instructor who tells me my disability is an excuse to slack off from working hard like everybody else.
Thank you,
Johnny
You have apparently been denied accommodations from a specific instructor in the course of your pursuit of an AA degree. You are to be commended for your persistence under the circumstances you described. As a preliminary matter, you should make sure that any accommodations you are entitled to are written into a formal accommodations plan approved by the community college. If the professor doesn't follow the plan, you may use the college's standard grievance procedure, you may use the college's special grievance procedure for 504 and ADA complaints, or you may file a complaint with the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights for a violation of Section 504.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that can get you back the time you have already lost, but you may want to ask that the community college arrange a meeting with the administration, the instructor and yourself, prior to the start of the new class to make sure that the instructor understands his/her obligations to provide the accommodation. You may also want to approach the college about whether a) there is some way to get credit for the class in which you were denied accommodations without having to fully retake it (some form of independent study or the like, preferably supervised by a different faculty member) and b) whether the extra fees for having to retake the course should be waived.For information on the right to accommodations at the college level, go to www.heath.gwu.edu or www.ahead.org.
(March 2007)
How can you receive accommodations on standardized tests for graduate school?
I received very late diagnoses of a Nonverbal LD and bipolar at ages 17 and 19. Both disorders are well-documented. My therapist of the last few years is a PhD in Ed Psych. She helped me apply and get funding from the DVR, which financed a good deal of college.
This semester I graduate with a BA and 3.7 from one of the best public universities in the country. I would love to be in grad school, with law being one of my first choices. The problem is I'm a bad standardized test-taker, even with accommodations. My Nonverbal LD impacts math and quantitative skills, so the logic games section would not produce good results.
I am troubled that many admissions policies do not allow for detailed consideration of how an LD might affect test results. I've read that LSAT scores are the biggest factor. I don't care about the prestige of the school, just that it's affordable and ABA-approved. A second plan is to get a PhD in a law-related field. I just think LD students should have a fair chance at law school; a low LSAT shouldn't be the eliminating factor. I plan to work as a legal assistant for a couple years before applying. Any thoughts would be great. I'm sure many people have the same question. Thanks for your help.
Best wishes,
College Student
Dear College Student:
Your question asks about the difficulty of obtaining accommodations on a graduate exam such as the LSAT for a late diagnosed learning disability. All of the test administration organizations are tightening up on their willingness to grant accommodations to students with learning disabilities, especially those who are late diagnosed. It is important to provide them with as much documentation as possible indicating the following:
- Information concerning impairment in relation to the general population as well as in relation to the population that you are competing against;
- Information documenting the practical effect of the impairment earlier in your life, even if you were late diagnosed;
- Information that you received accommodations in college or elsewhere, even if not earlier in life;
- Strong statements from diagnosticians indicating the correlation of the disability to your performance, as well as the correlation of the proposed accommodation to your disability. In other words, unless there is some indication that this specific accommodation that you are seeking actually provides a meaningful support to you in relation to the diagnosed disability, you will also have trouble receiving the accommodations.
(October 2006)
Can college professors ask their students if they received special education services in high school?
Dear Mr. Cohen,
Is it illegal for a professor or administrator to ask a college student if he or she had an IEP in high school or receives testing accommodations? If so, where can I find the legal documents to support this?
Jacqueline
Dear Jacqueline:
As a general matter, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is illegal for employers to ask questions about a person's medical or disability history or status prior to offering someone a job. There is no specific equivalent as to how educators conduct themselves, but there is a broad protection against discrimination on the basis of disability in higher education.
Further, the disclosure of disability is, by law, solely a right of the individual with the disability, not an obligation on their behalf. If the individual does not wish to disclose a disability, they should not be required to do so. Certainly, a requirement that a disability be disclosed creates an inference of discriminatory conduct with respect to how that information may be used.
(February 2006)
For more information on this topic, please visit the College & College Prep section in LD InDepth.
