One student’s reflections on why appropriate classroom accommodations are not always easy to arrange:

Positive precedents that can be followed by instructors:

Legal education, like other genres of post-secondary education, relies primarily on teaching through classroom lectures and seminars, but a number of other instructional methods are used by law faculties. These include research courses that result in lengthy major papers or reports, courses that involve simulated or fictional negotiations or mock litigation proceedings, courses that include temporary placement of the student in a court office, government department or lawyer’s office, and courses that revolve around placing the student in a community legal aid clinic for practical lessons involving work on real cases. Knowledge about disability accommodations in classroom settings is fairly well developed, though pro- accommodation policies are not always applied. In other kinds of law school teaching, the practice of accommodations is less evolved.

In almost all instances, it is in a student’s interest to disclose a disability before the start of a course, to ensure that instruction includes appropriate accommodations that can remove structural impediments to learning. The student may decide to disclose his or her disability (while seeking accommodation) to a law faculty equity officer, a university disability service provider, and/or a course instructor. (Chapter 5 discusses the student’s options in this regard.) Good instructors and law faculty administrators are generally aware and accepting of their responsibility to make reasonable efforts to facilitate accommodation requests. Not all students who have a disability require accommodations in the classroom, however, and accommodation that works for one student may not be optimal for another student whose disability is technically of the same type. For accommodations during instruction, there are many adaptive tools and services that students with disabilities may be able to obtain, once they become aware of the potential availability. This includes note takers and sign language interpreters, as well as many kinds of computer-based resources. The costs of adaptive equipment or services (e.g. sign language interpreters) are usually funded in whole or in part by provincial assistance programs for education.

Of course many law students rely on friendly classmates to share notes and exchange information informally. Students can often rely on volunteer colleagues who assist with mobility by carrying computers and bulky course materials, opening doors (especially if the doors care inappropriately designed) and so on. Through the university’s Office for Students with Disabilities or Special Needs Office, volunteers are also available on many campuses to assist with reading, accessing library materials and obtaining other course materials.

It is standard wisdom to advise all law students to keep up with the required readings as much as possible, as it is very easy to fall behind. Doing all required readings may not always be realistic, however, and students may need to work out a strategy for being selective. It is very useful to prepare summaries of key points of class notes and readings, ideally after class or when reading. Many law schools offer open book examinations, and in such instances, your own self-indexed case summaries are an invaluable reference resource. (See also the notes in Chapter 3 on case summaries or "CANS".)

"The pursuit of a law degree is an endeavour marked by an inordinate amount of work" (University of Victoria Faculty of Law Guide 1999-2000, at 62) That truism applies to every student, but if the volume of course work appears too overwhelming primarily because of a disability, the student ought to consider arranging to pursue law studies part-time for an extended number of years. That will be the ideal accommodation for some students with disabilities. As earlier chapters observe, however, there is competition for permission to take part-time studies and there are some potential drawbacks.

Professors may modify their instructional methods or teaching styles to accommodate the special needs of students. For example, the instructor may use overhead projection or computer-generated slides more often, distribute more detailed course outlines than usual or print more information on blackboards and flip charts. Teachers can teach themselves to avoid practices or habits that are problematic, such as talking too fast or "talking to the board" with their backs turned away from the class. The student must nevertheless beware of those professors who resent criticism of teaching methods that create barriers and may be unwilling to modify them.

Law schools and universities have a responsibility to ensure that the physical environment offers adequate accessibility for students. This includes physical access to classrooms (including wheelchair access) and suitable seating arrangements for all students, as well as appropriate lighting, acoustics and ventilation.

Access problems can be encountered at the doorway of a theoretically accessible classroom, if students who arrive early are not alert to the fact that a classmate uses a wheelchair. Often in a small seminar room, space is at a premium, especially for someone in a wheelchair. It should be a simple procedure to set aside appropriate spaces for students who use wheelchairs and not block access to them. By "appropriate", we mean spaces that are easily accessible through the doorway and whose location does not create other hurdles to full classroom participation. It is disconcerting when a professor and classmates are inconsiderate of simple accommodation steps, requiring the adversely affected student to remind them about appropriate remedial actions to be taken. As one student related: "Often a classroom is accessible if you are the first one to arrive, but the door is blocked if you are in a wheelchair and try to arrive later".

Students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, or have mobility or learning disabilities, can benefit from a note taking service organized through the cooperation of the law school or university. The student receiving the benefit as a disability accommodation does not have to pay a fee for the service. Note takers may attend class with a student and take notes either manually or using a computer. As the University of Ottawa Centre for Special Services says, however (on the university’s website) note takers are not intended to replace attendance by the student and abuse of the process could result in the denial of note services in the future. At many universities, note takers are volunteers (usually classmates or other students) who register with the Disability Services Office/Special Needs Office.

One survey respondent suggested criteria that the beneficiary student should be allowed to use (a) to assess the adequacy of a note taker’s efforts and (b) to request and obtain a replacement for a note taker whose work is unsatisfactory: "Good notes are essential and must be complete and legible, and students must also be able to develop good rapport with their notetaker. If, for example, the note taker regularly misses classes or the quality of the notes is poor the student should have access to alternative assistants."

At most universities, the obtaining of a notetaker is arranged through the assistance of the Disability Services Office/Special Needs Office. At some universities, however, the process for securing a note taker can be intimidating, with the result that students may be reluctant to request this service, with potentially detrimental effects on academic performance. One law student responding to our survey was critical of the approach at his Western Canada university. There the student must first obtain a "Volunteer Note Taker Kit" from the Special Needs Office and is then responsible for asking a classmate to write his or her notes on special forms and share them. The respondent worried that in a competitive environment such as law school, this request for peer assistance may not always be met with understanding or willingness. Also, it is very difficult to request assistance from someone you do not know very well, if at all. At the university in question, if the student is uncomfortable about asking a classmate, he or she must request that the professor make an announcement at the beginning of class inquiring if anyone would take notes for a student who has a disability. This could be excruciatingly embarrassing to some students. Our respondent suggested that the procedure arguably violates the right to privacy and confidentiality of the student who needs assistance. Some instructors and classmates might wrongly perceive note taking as an unfair advantage, especially if an announcement/request re note takers is made without also announcing full information about the reasons for and purposes of the facilitative service.

One educational institution recently hired a note taker who assisted three students at once. The note taker typed lectures and discussions as they proceeded. One student watched the words unfold on the note-taker’s monitor, while two others read the screen of a companion computer linked to the main machine. After the note-taker carried out some brief editing, each of the three students was able to take home the daily class notes on a diskette.

As an alternative method of accommodation, some law students may request the permission of an instructor to audiotape lectures. The relevant university may have a policy, however, that students who receive such permission are still expected to attend classes. Students may need to sign a form indicating that the taped lectures will not be released to other parties. (That is policy stated, for instance, by the University of Manitoba Disability Services). One of our respondents pointed out that some instructors do not like being taped and may object to it. If the student’s accommodation request is denied, the student should notify the Disability Services Office/Special Needs Office or the Faculty of Law disability liaison contact, who will generally intervene on the student’s behalf, where audio taping is justified.

The range, quality, and availability of adaptive services and technologies for education are constantly expanding. This chapter will not attempt to cover ground that has been thoroughly and well examined by others. The writer prefers instead to direct readers to two recommended sources for information on technologies and related services designed to assist students during instructional aspects of post-secondary education (including self-instruction). By reviewing these two sources and others to which they may lead, law students, disability service providers, equity liaison contacts in the law faculties and concerned professors can increase their awareness of better and more affordable adaptive technologies.

The Adaptech Project based at Dawson College in Montréal has published a number of studies of technologies that aid students. Data and access to these studies can be obtained through the Adaptech Project website (http://omega.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/adaptech). Of particular interest are several segments of a 1999 report titled "Learning Technologies: Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education". The most recommended portions are: "Computer Technologies Located at Universities and Colleges", 153-154; "Students’ Experiences with Computer, Information and Adaptive Technologies", 154-160; "Mainstream, Free and Inexpensive Computer, Information and Adaptive Technologies", 160-166; and "Recommendations", 166-179.

Another innovator in the field of adaptive services and technologies for students with disabilities is the Special Readers’ Programme of Queen’s University Libraries. The website for Special Readers’ Services (http://library.queensu.ca/inforef/srs/) provides considerable information of interest to students, professors, and disability service providers. For example, in a recent draft resource, The Faculty Handbook, these are the headings for one of the chapters:

7. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

7.1 General Guidelines
7.2 Students Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision
7.3 Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
7.4 Students with Mobility Impairments
7.5 Students with Learning Disabilities
7.6 Students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
7.7 Students with Chronic Illnesses
7.8 Students with Psychiatric Disorders

Successful adaptive technologies do not need to involve the newest or most complex devices. In one Canadian law school, a course was taught in a very large room by a soft-spoken professor. An accommodation adopted to assist one student, which assisted all students, was to arrange for the professor to use a cordless microphone and a sound system.

To help ease students into law school, formal tutorials may be offered to first year students. The University of Ottawa Faculty of Common Law, for example, under the auspices of its Education Equity Program, offers tutorials to help first year students with the transition to legal studies. According to the University of Ottawa Internet site, tutorial sessions are usually conducted by upper year students selected for their high academic achievement and their capacity to respond to special needs.

Law schools may also offer a "mentoring" program designed to match first year students with an upper year "buddy". As survey respondents pointed out, however, many students rely most on an informal study group comprised of peers and friends, who exchange information, prepare for examinations and assignments together and offer mutual advice and support.

One of the common requirements of upper year curricula is successful completion of a Moot Court Program. The student must prepare a factum (a summary of relevant facts and legal issues) and present oral arguments concerning a case before a "judge", usually an upper year student, faculty member or lawyer, but sometimes a member of the judiciary. A number of disability issues could arise concerning the Moot Court Program. We know that the Moot Court room at some law faculties is not fully wheelchair accessible. Students who have disabilities related to vocal communication may experience particular difficulty presenting their arguments effectively and responding well to questions from the "bench". A student who may experience such barriers is advised to meet early with the faculty member responsible for the Moot Court Program, to discuss the situation and develop an individual accommodation strategy. This could involve such simple steps as a formal, advance understanding that the student may conduct oral argument and respond to the judge(s) while being seated, or may use a sign language interpreter or other accommodation measures.

The following recollections and recommendations by law students and lawyers with disabilities were gathered from surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions across Canada in 1999-2000.

"One hassle that I get is that I have to ask for services each time I encounter them instead of getting continuity."

"I did not want to tell my classmates that I could not view the overhead slides properly, because of the competitive attitudes of law students".

The professor may not realize that it is not just the disability itself that causes problems. "Because I was hunched over to read and write to compensate for my low vision, it produced headaches and I needed extra time not just because of the visual impairment but because of the pain."

"Very few professors know about accommodations. The supportive attitudes are often not present to allow accommodations to be successful."

Although volunteer reader services can be valuable for students with certain disabilities, a volunteer student supplied by the central campus Disability Services Office may not be the best bet. One law student told of being stuck a 19-year-old student "who was not thrilled with having to experience reading the Canada Pension Plan Act out loud. You should be sure that you are not stuck with a first-year student that lacks experience and has no clue about the subject matter that he or she is reading aloud."

A student with certain disabilities, especially visual disabilities, may decide to select courses based on whether a professor has an electronic version of course materials available.

A sight-impaired student gets at least 50% of course knowledge from lectures.

"If you can do it, get the class notes typed, laser printed and cerlox bound. Ideally you will find someone who is that well organized in your class or find someone from the previous year who had notes that can be turned into typed versions."

"Sometimes, you must ask fellow students to assist. It could be as simple as moving so that they do not obscure what is written on the blackboard."

"It would be quite easy to miss out on the necessary research materials if the professor does not give out handouts or does not write anything on the board. Some professors put all materials necessary on reserve but this proves difficult for students with disabilities to access. It would be possible for professors to give all handouts to all students without singling out students with disabilities."

Normally a law school will allow students to see if she or he likes a course for a short period before being locked into taking the course. This option is more restricted for those with disabilities. It would help if professors were required to list the materials they plan to use in the course calendar. One focus group participant said that after a certain deadline, the professor should need to obtain permission from the Dean or from faculty council before being able to change course material.

If class reading assignments are often peripheral and are too lengthy for a student with a particular disability, "the student may need to take the step of asking the professor which 20 pages of the course material the student most needs to understand for the next class".

"After the first year of law school it usually became a bit easier to obtain the cooperation of professors."

"Talk to your professors before, during and after classes. Keep them informed if you do not have adequate access to materials. Some may intervene with law school authorities to try to change things for the better."

"You should think of it as an entitlement, not a favour that the professor is doing for you."

Table of Contents