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Administration of Policies on Education Accommodation
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All universities and law schools examined in preparation of this Guide have policies and procedures to address the needs of students who have disabilities. Nevertheless, the Guide’s authors advise students to research the disability
accommodation framework in place for any law faculty before applying for admission, as there may be significant variances among law schools in the extent and quality of assistance available. As was noted in an earlier chapter, accommodations
policies and procedures governing admission to a law school are determined by the faculty itself, while accommodations pertaining to the enrolled student population involve a cooperative effort between the law faculty and the overall campus
administration.
For any individual in society who has a disability, there is no such thing as "one-stop shopping" for accommodations that can remove barriers to equal opportunity. The situation is the same at law school. Each Canadian University
has a central office responsible for providing supports and services to all students with disabilities. In addition, most law schools have a designated staff representative or contact person for students who have disabilities. (See the contact
lists in the Appendices.) One or two law faculties have a full-time equity officer who provides advice and assistance to students from traditionally under-represented groups, including people with disabilities.
On different campuses, the central university service assisting students who have a disability is called a Special Needs Office, Disability Services Office, Disability Resource Centre, or Office/Service for Students with Disabilities. In
this chapter, we tend to use these terms interchangeably. Those who work with or on behalf of students through these Offices or Services are known collectively as Disability Service Providers. To be eligible for disability accommodation, the
student must register with the Office or Service at his or her university and provide documentation (usually medical reports) supporting the claim for accommodation. (Self-identification by a person with a disability when the student applies to
law school does not open the door to required services or supports.) Disability Service Providers pledge to ensure confidentiality for clients (i.e., students who have special needs).
The law faculty generally cooperates with the Special Needs Office/Disability Services Office, ideally to determine and offer the best responses for each student’s needs. Most such Offices and/or the law schools provide or arrange for
services such as sign language interpretation and use of computer-based technology. Important accommodations are also offered by library staff at the law faculty and on the main campus. Often associated with a library, but sometimes in units of
their own, are services housing specialized technological adaptation devices (e.g. screen readers, scanners and voice recognition software) for use by students with disabilities. These services or labs are staffed by people who help students
(and faculty) to benefit from the technologies. If a matter for which accommodation is needed pertains to daily living, however, rather than to studies and examinations, the student with a disability needs to turn first to other offices,
perhaps one focused on housing, student financial assistance or transportation, with only occasional advice from the central Special Needs Office/Disability Services Office.
Students should not assume that staff at their law faculty and the Office/Service for Students with Disabilities are automatically aware of the programs offered by each other, nor of all available options. Some survey participants expressed
frustration over procedural inconsistencies and a lack of communication between university and faculty offices. These survey respondents said they often had to become advocates for themselves in order to get required assistance.
Disability Service Providers and law faculties share the duty and usually the objective to ensure that students with disabilities enjoy an opportunity to achieve their full academic potential. Yet the accommodations available to students
through Disability Services Offices and law faculties depend on administrative priorities, the availability of financing, the knowledge and dedication of individual law school and university staff and the persistence of students themselves. It
is prudent and responsible for students with disabilities to establish initial and continuing contact with their university’s Disability Service Providers, as well as the law school’s equity
representative(s), to discuss required
accommodations.
Within each law school, there are at least a couple of staff members with direct responsibility to facilitate accommodations for students with disabilities. Because applicants with disabilities are curious about accommodations available at
law schools, and some schools are more open to accepting applicants with diverse backgrounds, every Admissions office maintains a degree of awareness about disability-related barriers and accommodations. (Individuals in the Admissions office
sometimes take a continuing interest in the progress made by students who have sought their advice early in their law school careers.) There is also at least one staff member in the faculty designated as the main contact for enrolled students
who have disability-related requests, often a Vice Dean or Director of Academic Affairs. Every Law Dean must have some knowledge about disability accommodations; a few Deans in Canada have strongly progressive views and knowledge in this area.
Normally, because Deans have so many duties, a Vice-Dean, Associate Dean or Director of Academic Affairs holds or shares primary responsibility for disability-related matters; again a few such individuals were praised by students whom we
surveyed.
In some law schools, there is a professor who, along with a teaching role, has the title and responsibility for promoting equity on behalf of traditionally under-represented groups, including people with disabilities. The proportion of time
allotted between these dual roles varies among schools. In a small minority of schools, such as the University of Ottawa Common Law Faculty, there is a full-time equity officer or a law teacher whose primary responsibility rests with equity
promotion. (Students and lawyers surveyed were supportive of the work done by these more focused officers.) If students are fortunate, in addition to faculty personnel with official responsibilities for facilitating accommodations, there will
be one or two professors who informally act as a resource for students who seek assistance. A few such professors in Canada also have a disability and thus can enlighten students and fellow faculty about accommodation issues, based partly on
challenges that the professors faced for themselves when they were students. The law school might also have a committee charged with monitoring equity policies and realities at the faculty. In addition, committees dealing with teaching or
examinations occasionally handle issues related to the impact that school practices have on students with disabilities.
Given the number of individuals and offices touching on aspects of accommodation for disabilities, it is not surprising that coordination among them sometimes falls short of a student’s expectations. It is wise for the student to assume
that she or he must often act as her or his principal coordination agent; this is not the ideal situation, since law school per se presents enough challenges for anyone. Because a student must sometimes take charge in order to have
accommodation rights implemented adequately and on time, the student should recognize that he or she is not always obliged to seek resolutions for problems by approaching the officially assigned staff person. If the student has a better rapport
with another individual on the staff of either the university or the law faculty, the student may prefer to test the waters first with that individual. Perhaps, in the student’s opinion, the latter individual has positive traits that are
lacking in the person designated by the particular institution as the contact for students with disabilities. Since successful accommodation requires a co-operative effort among many people, the student should seek paths that are most likely to
be compatible with the student’s overall interests, including goal achievement and self respect. Inevitably, for some accommodation issues, there will be only one door that the student is permitted to go through, but there is no harm in
finding good allies and advisers before approaching that door.
Good accommodation policies and intentions do not of course guarantee equitable participation for students who have disabilities. Law students and personnel in university and law school administrations may have different perceptions about
the actual effectiveness of proper-sounding accommodation policies and procedures. This divergence of views could arise from many possible causes: if a particular student’s disability has not previously been accommodated by the
institution; if the institution does not systematically keep track of successful accommodations provided for students in the past; or if officials think that for each disability there is a standard accommodation that fits the circumstances of
every person who (apparently) has that disability. Our research results indicate that universities and law faculties are likely to rate their accommodations programs and policies more favourably than do the students at whom they are directed.
We heard from survey respondents that not all Disability Services Offices publicize their services well, with the result that many students remain unaware of available supports. A few survey participants expressed frustration at discovering
the availability of accommodation options too late to be of real assistance. They suggested that Disability Services Offices take more active measures to improve awareness of potential accommodations. A concern commonly identified in our survey
was that Disability Service Providers did not take an active enough part in orientation week activities. Many survey participants stated that disability issues were not discussed in a meaningful way by law schools during orientation and that
orientation materials were not provided in alternate formats. Improved promotion of disability services during orientation would likely result in more students coming forward to learn about choices available to them.
The types of disabilities that can have an impact on a student’s experience are extremely diverse. Not all post-secondary institutions are well equipped to accommodate each of them. Disabilities for which accommodations may be needed
include:
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Deafness or hearing loss
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Blindness or visual impairment
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Learning and cognitive disabilities
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Acquired brain injuries
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Mobility disabilities
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Functional or fine motor disabilities
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Chronic health conditions (such as cancer, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, epilepsy, fibromyalgia and inflammatory bowel disease)
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Psychiatric or mental disorders (such as depressive disorders, acute stress disorder, panic attacks, post traumatic stress disorders, and schizophrenia)
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Temporary disabilities (such as fractures, infections and surgical recovery)
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Multiple disabilities
(The above list was adapted from A Framework for Action, page 9.)
The following is an non-exclusive list of services and supports commonly provided by special needs offices, categorized by disability type; the level and quality of available services naturally vary among the law schools and universities.
Deafness or hearing impairment
Services
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Equipment and Facilities
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FM systems
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Telecommunications device (TTY) and Pay Phone TTY’s
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Flashing indicators in campus residences
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Specialized computer software
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Portable computer
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Study room
Mobility Impairments
Services
Equipment and Facilities
Blindness and Visual Disabilities
Services
Equipment and Facilities
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Braille texts and materials
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Books and materials on audiotape or in large print
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Tape recorders
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Specialized computer software
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Specialized computer hardware (such as large screen monitors)
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Speech synthesizers and voice dictation
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Publication scanner
Learning disabilities
Services
Equipment and Facilities
Should you require any of the above, or other accommodation services and equipment, it is best to notify the Special Needs Office/Disability Services Office and/or your law school’s designated equity representative, as early as possible.
Staff are unlikely to guarantee a full range of services if students contact them too late in the term. Demand may be high for both equipment and facilities.
Some universities distinguish between two groups of disabilities, though the categories may overlap somewhat. One group includes all physical and sensory disabilities (motor impairments, visual, and hearing impairment and chronic health
conditions). The other includes impairments that affect one’s capacity to process, record, and communicate information. Disabilities in the latter category, learning disabilities in particular, have only recently been accorded serious
attention with respect to accommodations. In the past, learning disabilities were undiagnosed or wrongly diagnosed and the students affected were discouraged from post-secondary education. As one result of increasing awareness among Disability
Service Providers and others in academic settings, students with learning disabilities comprise a growing segment of the law student population (A Framework for Action, at page 8).
Most Canadian law schools have implemented accommodation policies to address educational barriers that students with learning disabilities encounter. As but one example, a student at Osgoode Hall Law School who has such a disability could
benefit from York University’s Learning Disabilities Program, which offers confidential services and supports to students diagnosed with learning disabilities in any York faculty. (Source: York University website).
Most universities have focused considerable attention on removing physical barriers, yet we know that numerous law school buildings, both old and fairly new, are still not fully accessible. In recent years, a number of law faculties have
made serious efforts to remedy design flaws that made many parts of their facilities inaccessible. We are referring here not only to physical access, but also to such features as markings and electronic sounds that indicate room numbers and
floor numbers for classrooms, offices, elevators and staircases, for people with visual (and other) disabilities. Major changes require considerable time and money, but a faculty that is well motivated can eventually do the planning and obtain
the resources.
Here are only a few examples:
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In recent years, Dalhousie Law School undertook major renovations after carrying out an accessibility audit of its main building and library.
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The University of Ottawa Faculty of Law has conducted a similar study of access issues, with a view to appropriate refurbishment when funding permits.
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In the summer of 2000, to assist students (and others) with mobility impairments, McGill Law School is installing an elevator to aid access to the front of its steeply inclined Moot Court room, thus facilitating opportunities for anyone
to make presentations.
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Dalhousie transferred the location of its student legal aid clinic from an inaccessible space to a building permitting access for students and others with mobility impairments.
Useful adjustments can often be made in the short term to work around barriers, without a great deal of complication or expense. In many cases, a faculty of law will change the location of a class to accommodate students who have mobility or
other impairments. Faculty and administrative offices are not always wheelchair accessible, but most teachers and staff are willing to make arrangements to meet with students in an accessible location. Classmates can also help to work around
barriers. For example, the law bookstore at McGill is not wheelchair accessible. One effort to overcome this hurdle has been an informal system in which volunteers coordinated by the Law Students’ Association act as couriers to obtain
materials for students who have a mobility impairment. During one visit to McGill, however, the editor saw how this informal system can falter in practice. A student who promised to retrieve books missed an appointment to hand them over to a
classmate, who needed them for course preparation. Given the potential complexity of a law student’s day, it was not surprising to hear that such missed connections had occurred before.
Ideally, the kinds of arrangements noted in the previous paragraph would be treated as only temporary and incomplete solutions. As soon as resources are available, the appropriate approach would be to render classrooms, libraries, offices,
bookstores, computer rooms, and other facilities accessible.
A savvy law school equity contact officer or disability service provider will maintain a list of equipment or building renovations needed so that if funds become available she or he will be in a position to make a quick grant application.
Not all problems can be fixed immediately, but if the official has the data ready, he or she can move fast when money for capital expenditures suddenly becomes available. An example related to the writer involved relocation of heating vents in
one law school classroom. Until the renovation, the vents blasted air at the only spot in the room where it would be appropriate for somebody in wheelchair to sit.
The Special Needs Office has an obligation to educate the larger university community about disability issues, to prevent misunderstanding of the objectives of accommodation. Law faculties should (and some do) assume a similar
responsibility. A majority of survey participants indicated that the most law school faculty, administration and staff were sensitive to their needs and made efforts to accommodate them. Most had not encountered attitudinal barriers from
faculty. There were exceptions reported, however, not only by students, but by faculty members who criticized regressive attitudes or conduct on the part of fellow law teachers.
We heard that many students and even faculty members still perversely perceive academic accommodation as "favouritism" or as permitting lower standards. Such attitudes may contribute to isolation for an individual student who has a
disability and can have a direct impact on the quality of his or her law school experience. This may be especially so for students with non-visible impairments such as learning disabilities. They may already be reluctant to request help because
they are unsure of how their needs will be perceived by others. One survey respondent who has a learning disability stated that some law faculty members objected to his tape recording of lectures, embarrassed him in front of peers and violated
confidentiality with respect to his disability.
Some law schools, such as Saskatchewan’s, have been providing faculty members with handbooks about disability issues and the accommodations that may be required by students. Saskatchewan’s thorough manual for all professors is
called University of Saskatchewan Guidebook - Teaching Students with Disabilities.
During consultations over the past year on the question of whether students should arrange accommodations individually with law professors, the editor obtained advice that, on the surface, appeared to be mutually contradictory. A few
professors, as well as university publications for students with disabilities, were indicating that students should seek accommodations with individual professors. Students with disabilities were encouraged to identify themselves to their
professors early in the academic term and advise them about their disabilities and any special needs. For example, a University of Calgary publication says that the key to obtaining co-operation is to give each instructor an understanding of
your specific situation. Once they know how your disability affects you as a student, they can work with you to accommodate your specific needs (University of Calgary Disability Resource Centre Handbook, at page 7).
Others with expertise on provision of accommodations suggested that making ad hoc arrangements with professors is not the preferred approach. By arranging accommodations through the university’s Office for Students with Disabilities or the
law school’s equity officer, the student gains access to a bank of knowledge (and a support system) based on experience with similar disabilities and past solutions. We know that each person’s situation is unique, but one can benefit from
examination of lessons learned previously. Moreover, the experience obtained by the current student’s experience could add to the shared databank to benefit others.
Except for those students with an invisible disability who choose not to self-identify, or students who obtain examination accommodations without a professor’s knowledge, the writer thinks that students are well advised in most cases to
discuss accommodations in advance with individual professors. In the writer’s view, however, it is prudent to precede this step with a discussion between the student and the law school’s equity officer and/or the university’s Special
Needs Office. The student can thereby learn the range of options available and the potential best avenues for the particular student to explore. As we say often in this Guide, any accommodations ensuing are likely to involve cooperation among a
number of parties. It is usually (not always) to the student’s advantage to ensure that those who must cooperate are all in the picture near the beginning of the negotiation process. This approach may avoid unnecessary problems caused by
mutual misunderstandings.
Once the student is well armed with information about "best practice" accommodations and possible alternatives, the student can then make appointments to meet before the start of each term with each instructor. (Some of them may
know less about the "right" accommodation options than the student does.) Try to reach an understanding about how you will be evaluated and how your course grade will be determined. Prepare for the meeting by reading the course
outline and by identifying any concerns about evaluation or assignments. The student, the instructor, the law school’s contact person for equity issues and the Special Needs Office may all need to arrive at a clear idea of how accommodations
will be coordinated and realized. In appropriate cases, the Special Needs Office and/or the law school’s equity official (or committee) may perform a mediation role or a persuasive function in the event of misunderstanding or resistance by a
faculty member.
A practical problem mentioned by students at two law schools was that the physical environment effectively barred certain students from meeting with professors in their offices. The elevators are not suitable for taking large, heavy,
customized power chairs. The solutions found were to arrange to meet with professors outside the law school or to communicate with them by e-mail.
Students in all law schools are given an annual opportunity to evaluate their courses and instructors. Written forms are distributed to students, who are encouraged to provide constructive feedback on good and bad practices, the
accessibility and assistance of faculty and other issues. The process is confidential and students are not required to identify themselves. There is a presumption that evaluations will be reviewed and used to address problem areas and to
recognize deserving faculty members. Faculty usually have an opportunity to review the evaluations. Students with disabilities may use this evaluation process to underscore barriers and unresponsive practices, but the procedure itself may also
systematically preclude some students from participating. One blind student reported that his requests for an evaluation form in an alternate format or a reader to assist him in answering the questions were denied. Moreover, while
confidentiality is officially assured, if a student’s evaluation form addresses matters that pertain to accommodation of a disability, it may not be difficult for the faculty member to determine the author of the comments
Orientation week is important in providing students with exposure to the law school environment, programs, requirements, curriculum options, faculty staff, and facilities. Orientation activities are important in establishing relationships
with other students. However, many students with disabilities feel that they are denied full access to orientation activities and information. Equity programs are usually discussed only briefly and limited data about accommodation services are
provided. One problem is the lack of orientation week materials available in accessible format.
A student’s attendant care needs may prevent full participation in orientation activities, as may the lack of adequate transportation (or awareness of transportation options). It may be beneficial (especially to the visually or mobility
impaired student) to visit the faculty and campus prior to orientation to become familiar with it, which may make the orientation process less intimidating. In addition, if the student becomes acquainted with the services of the Office for
Students with Disabilities or the law faculty person responsible for disability issues, the student may learn of services or accommodations that can be provided during orientation to make the process more accessible and beneficial to the
student.
The University of Calgary Faculty of Law has an official policy that any law school related function, including orientation week activities, must be held in a wheelchair-accessible location. Many law schools have a similar policy. While many
schools make efforts to host all orientation activities in accessible locations, they may not always do so.
Two recollections of law school orientation weeks from survey participants:
My law school’s equity program was discussed, "but the meaning of the program was lost when ...[alternate format] access to material was not provided".
"Services for students with disabilities, along with other equity groups, were mentioned, but no accommodation [was] provided to deal with the large amount of information provided during orientation."
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