As students return to college this year, many will begin the process of seeking accommodations or making use of their university's support services. However, while laws exist to protect disabled students, they still face many challenges in either receiving services, or knowing what they have a right to access.
This week, WBFO’s Disabilities Beat Freelance Reporter Mason Ald explores what students' rights are in higher education.
PLAIN LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: WBFO’s Freelance Reporter Mason Ald talks to students and Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Legal Director Claudia Center about accommodation accessibility in college. They explain that even though colleges offer more and more support for students with disabilities, many students still don’t know about these resources. Students share their positive and challenging experiences with academic accommodations, while the Center discusses the importance of making sure students are aware of the help available to them.
TRANSCRIPT:
This is a rush transcript provided by a contractor and may be updated over time to be more accurate.
Emyle Watkins: Hi, I am Emyle Watkins, and this is the WBFO Disabilities Beat. Recently, colleges across New York began their fall semesters. From navigating a new campus to registering for classes, transitioning to college can be challenging. But what is this transition like for students with disabilities? WBFO's Freelance Disability Reporter Mason Ald explores the barriers students with disabilities face and what their rights are in higher education.
Mason Ald: University at Buffalo student Em Navarrete says the issue isn't that accommodations aren't available. It's that people don't know they were available to begin with.
Em Navarrete: As far as the initial challenge, it's convincing students to make that first appointment, especially if they don't have an official diagnosis for anything. When you're struggling and you're having a difficult time, they can help you with that, but it's not as advertised, I guess.
Mason Ald: There are two key laws that protect students from discrimination based on their disability. The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504, which prohibits discrimination in schools that receive federal funding, was the first law providing protections for students. Then in 1990, the ADA expanded to protect students in all educational institutions.
And while these laws have been on the books for decades, many students are not given information on or know their rights. Claudia Center is the legal director at Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, or DREDF, which is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities. She explains that while these laws exist, how universities approach providing resources and accommodations can differ significantly.
Claudia Center: That leader has to model a particular attitude about whether you are going to accept someone's IEP [Individual Education Plan] or their 504 Plan or their doctor's note, or are you going to make them go through a lot of hoops before they get some pretty basic accommodations.
Mason Ald: Platforms that host university websites are not always accessible, which can add another barrier to information.
Claudia Center: One barrier is, are the platforms themselves accessible? And there's been a lot of advocacy on making sure those platforms are accessible. There's still a ways to go. There's been some progress. So that's a whole piece. And one of the challenges with that piece is that oftentimes the university will simply purchase the platforms from third-party providers.
Mason Ald: Navarrete, who has ADHD, anxiety, and depression, struggled before she knew what accommodations she could receive. Rigorous programs, like the engineering program Navarrete enrolled in, can often have tight deadlines, frequent tests, and fast-paced work. Students with disabilities like Navarrete may have a right to alternative testing spaces, more test time, or adjusted deadlines. Navarrete, for example, can make up homework or tests if she experiences an episode related to her disability. But not everyone is educated on this.
Em Navarrete: And there's some students that are able to complete all of their work, turn it all in on time, and they're flying with colors, and then there are students with disabilities like me who struggle. And then other students, I guess, have been like, "Why don't you just do your work? Why don't you just sit down and do it?" And it's not as simple of an answer as that.
Mason Ald: Center says that despite universities' improvements, there is still a stigma that disabled students exaggerate their needs to receive unfair advantages rather than to have equal opportunity.
Claudia Center: I think some schools are better than others, but there's just a lot of resistance with the idea that people are getting an unfair advantage or that they're exaggerating their disability needs around time or reduced course load or breaks and that kind of thing. For that category, it's like not so much money or even administration, but attitude. There's really pushback on those.
Mason Ald: High school senior River Braverman is applying to colleges across the country. As an autistic student, his experience highlights both the improvements and the gaps in college accommodations.
River Braverman: I'm applying to 20 schools. I've researched each of them extensively, especially regarding their disability and LGBTQ inclusions. And honestly, it really is a make or break for me. If I don't see a school that has a thriving disabled community or have a disability support office that is responsive and helpful, then I might just not apply. And it's made me really hopeful because almost all the schools that I've been looking at have those.
Mason Ald: At Navarrete's school, University at Buffalo, support services for neurodivergent students are emerging, which are important not only for support but for awareness and understanding. Additionally, UB's Accessibility Resources Office serves as a mediator between students and professors.
Em Navarrete: I think it's definitely getting better. I know that they are just starting a peer support program specifically for neurodiverse students, and that wasn't available any year before. I think they have a new counselor as well that also specializes in neurodiverse students, and that's something that I'm personally also seeking out for myself right now. So those are resources that, again, weren't there the past two years, and now they're available.
Mason Ald: But what accessibility resources are offered and how they are communicated doesn't just impact current students. It impacts students deciding on a university too. During Braverman's application process, he found schools were vague on their websites. A school could offer every accommodation he asks for, while others could offer none, but he'd never know from referring to just the website.
River Braverman: I will say it's a difficult thing to put accommodations offered on a website because there are so many different types of accommodations that different students might need. But I do think maybe putting examples like accommodations such as physical ones, such as educational ones, such as housing ones would make it easier for me as a prospective student to see how accepting they are and in what ways.
Mason Ald: Center also suggests professors should consider making their classes accessible from the start. For instance, posting PowerPoints ahead of time, turning on captions, or giving clear instructions on expectations. The more these resources are normalized, the more likely they will transfer to employment, or at least show students they can ask for these resources after college.
Claudia Center: In employment, it's kind of the same thing. A lot of what neurodiverse or other disabled employees need is good management. And so to the extent you can get people to be good managers with clear instructions and supervision and deadlines, that can help.
Mason Ald: Ultimately, students with disabilities will someday become employees with disabilities. And in both spaces, they have rights under the law. But for anyone to be able to exercise their right, they need to know it exists in the first place. More and more students are becoming educated on their rights. And some, like Braverman, say a school's support for their rights will also determine who they decide to pay tuition to.
River Braverman: I'm hopeful in general, and I'm excited. And I think wherever I go is going to find a way to make me feel comfortable and safe because I'm not going to go there if they don't.
Mason Ald: I'm Mason Ald for the WBFO Disabilities Beat.
Emyle Watkins: You can listen to the Disabilities Beat segment on demand, and view a transcript in plain language description for every episode on our website at WBFO.org. I'm Emyle Watkins. Thanks for listening.
