Law School Students With Disabilities: What to Know | Education

Law school is widely considered one of the most challenging educational experiences, so it’s critical that students with disabilities get the support they need to handle the intense workload that comes with earning a J.D. degree, experts say.

“Unfortunately, one of the things that I see is that students who have previously gotten wonderful support … and had accommodations in place, decide for whatever reason that now is the time to just go without and prove to themselves they can muscle through,” says Donna Gerson, associate dean for career strategies at the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Pennsylvania. “It typically brings a poor result, and it’s so hard then to work your way out of a less than stellar first semester.”

From advising to networking groups, many resources provide guidance on how law students with disabilities can advocate for themselves and identify accommodations their school is required to provide.

Whether a student’s disability is physical or not visible, experts champion seeking accommodations as early as possible.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 defines an individual with a disability as “a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.” The law does not specifically name every impairment covered.

Law schools know their obligation to accommodate students with disabilities, as colleges and universities are required to provide these arrangements under federal and state laws in the interest of equal opportunity. It is illegal for law schools to discriminate against applicants or students with disabilities.

“They’re required to provide reasonable accommodations and auxiliary aids and services that will help level the playing field between the individuals with disabilities and their neurotypical developing peers,” says Hillary Freeman, a special needs attorney who practices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

When transitioning from high school to college, it’s important to note the differences in what legislation covers students at different levels of education. Prior to college, the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 include all students covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. However, not all students covered by Section 504 and the ADA are covered by IDEA. In higher education, students are covered by Section 504 and the ADA, but not IDEA.

Before receiving accommodations, law schools ask students to provide proper documentation of their disability – which may vary by school but typically includes a current medical diagnosis – to prove their disorder or impairment under both Title II of the ADA and Section 504.

“There’s an analysis whether they have a disability or have been regarded as having a disability,” Freeman says. “They have to establish a history of receiving reasonable accommodations and then establish a need for accommodations. The biggest area of weakness that I see when we do appeals is that the student has not made the connection between the disability and why they’re asking for the accommodations that they’re receiving.”

Students with disabilities who have a history of receiving accommodations prior to law school should continue to report such impairments that qualify the student for additional support. However, it’s important to know that colleges and universities aren’t required to provide the same accommodations a student received in high school.

How much students decide to disclose about their disability to their law school, and when, are up to them. From writing about it in their personal statement to notifying the program’s disability support services staff, there are many ways to disclose a disability.

The U.S. Department of Education says that while students are not required to disclose their specific disability to their postsecondary school, they must identify themselves as having a disability if they want to receive an academic adjustment. If students want to ensure accessibility to facilities, the department suggests informing their school about their disability.

How much a student decides to disclose is voluntary. Students should at least tell their school’s disability rights office, because they have to meet the standard of being eligible to receive accommodations, Freeman says.

“They don’t have to disclose it to the professors, they have to disclose it to the appropriate party that’s in charge of determining whether the person would be eligible for what we call a 504 plan,” she says. “That’s usually the person who is in charge at the disability rights office, but the name varies per college.”

Additionally, using a student’s disability against them is illegal, Freeman adds. “That would be retaliation and/or discrimination under Section 504.”

Accommodations in law school can include additional testing time, alternate formats of assessments such as Braille or large-print exam booklets, extended breaks, wheelchair-accessible testing stations and physical prompts for hearing impairments.

“A really good way to try to control some of the controllables is to try to meet at least with the disability resource office, to get a good understanding of what the real expectations of help are going to look like there,” says Katelynd Todd, co-president of NDLSA and a second-year law student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Students with health care access should contact their practitioner for advocacy help, since decisions about whether a student gets accommodations can become adversarial, Todd says.

Students should also seek out disability-related organizations or the NDLSA chapter at their law school, if there is one, to find other students who can share their experience and challenges they have faced in receiving accommodations while obtaining a J.D..

“It was getting that level of support that lifted me up, helped me continue, made me feel supported and that I’m not the problem,” says Kate Frederick, director of outreach for NDLSA and a student at Vermont Law School.

Students with disabilities who are considering what accommodations they will need for law school should also research requirements for the bar exam. NDLSA and the American Bar Association can help them get answers to questions about bar exam accommodations in specific states.

If a student is denied accommodations, Freeman advises asking about the school’s appeal process.

“What they should do might vary depending on where they’re feeling like they’re not receiving the appropriate accommodations, but the first step is that if the professor is refusing to provide the accommodations then they should go to the disability rights office or the person who afforded them the 504 plan,” Freeman says. “Then if the disability rights office says, ‘No you’re not entitled to these accommodations,’ then ask for what the appeals process is.”

Students who think they are being illegally discriminated against on the basis of a disability can also file a lawsuit alleging ADA and Section 504 violations and should do so immediately, Freeman advises. “There is a two-year statute of limitations under a section 504 violation, but I would still report right away because it’s going to most likely have a significant impact on their performance in school,” she says.

To file a disability discrimination or retaliation complaint, contact an attorney in your area who specializes in disability rights cases or higher education, Freeman suggests. She also recommends contacting the federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights as a resource for section 504 and ADA obligations and violations.

Law students with disabilities can also engage advocacy groups to help resolve a situation.

“We can write advocacy letters directly on their behalf to the law schools, like a demand letter but in a nice way to remind people about the social expectations that they have to follow through with the ADA,” Todd says.

While it can be tough to ask for help, those who don’t may suffer academically and have difficulty recovering.

“I think that’s hard for a lot of people, and they don’t want to be seen as lesser, and they don’t want to be seen as not as fantastic as everybody else. It’s just something that hopefully they can kind of get over quickly, because all that accommodations do is level the playing field,” says Sarah Davies, assistant dean for student affairs at the University of Virginia School of Law.

If a student doesn’t disclose needed accommodations early in law school, it may be difficult to receive assistance for the bar exam later.

“Every jurisdiction seems to be very capricious in the way that they administer accommodations,” Gerson says. “But one thing I know, just anecdotally, is that if you don’t have regular testing and a record of accommodations from the very start of law school, and perhaps before, it becomes more and more difficult for you to argue that to a bar examiner.”

While the ADA conducts site visits to accredited law schools to ensure institutions are meeting requirements, students with disabilities should consider visiting the school before starting to get an idea of what accommodations they may need.

“The takeaway is there are disabled students who do it, there are disabled students who succeed. This isn’t always the case,” Frederick says. “It depends on the school that you’re at, and administration, etc., and it absolutely can be done. It just takes some preparation to find that support, so that once you’re in a problem you have the support ready.”