Post by privateschoolparent on Jun 11, 2014 16:48:50 GMT -5
I have found that there is a widespread illegal practice at private, independent, mainstream
college prep nonsectarian boarding schools.
This illegal practice appears to be the result of ignorance of the private independent schools (including day schools AND boarding schools) regarding the relevant laws and regulations. THIS INCLUDES the boarding schools that have "learning skills" programs and purport to serve students who have LD and/or ADHD.
Apparently most of the schools genuinely believe that if they are "private" or "independent" and "mainstream" college prep, that they have complete discretion to provide (or NOT provide)
only whichever disability accommodations the schools choose to, for students
that may have ADHD and/or learning disabilities, at the school's own discretion. Some of them (and widespread misinformation) think that if they are a "private" school, and especially if they do not receive any federal funds, that is a further reason why they can "do or not do" what they want re: this issue. THIS IS INCORRECT AND VIOLATES THE FEDERAL "AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT" (" A D A " ) law and regulations.
This is the result of confusion and widespread misinformation that is even incorrectly outlined on some disability information websites on the internet.
ALL private or independent day schools as well as boarding schools in the U.S.A., in EVERY state, including but not limited to the very most competitive academic prep schools, have some students who have ADHD and/or learning disabilities that, if such students were to be fairly treated in accordance with the law, merit certain learning disability accommodations and/or modifications in class and/or for exams/classroom assessments. BUT most of them go without some of those accommodations and/or modifications due to ignorance of their boarding school (as well as their parents) regarding their legal rights for such accommodations. This leads to some affected students not going to the particular schools that they otherwise would choose (and that they are qualified for and would do well at, when appropriately accommodated as required by the ADA law). For other students, it causes them to attend the school of their choice without all of the accommodations and/or
modifications that they need and are legally entitled to, which can be assumed to subjecting them to unfairly increased levels of stress and exhaustion (in increased effort to compensate) and likely often if not always lead to unfairly lowered grades/ performance (as a result of an uneven playing field due to the hindrances of their ADHD and/or learning disability going underaccommodated).
The actual legal fact is that the Americans with Disabilities Act (the "ADA"), the relevant federal law, applies to all independent PRIVATE schools (which are, under the ADA, considered places of "PUBLIC" accommodation even though they are independent PRIVATE schools), and regardless of whether they receive any federal funds.What this means, in legal fact and application, is that any of their students with ADHD and/or mild or moderate learning disabilities are legally entitled to WHATEVER learning disability "reasonable" accommodations
that a professional evaluator has documented are needed in order to give the student "equal access" (including equal
"learning" access) to the courses at the private school and a "level playing field" for exams/assessments in their courses at the private school (i.e., for just an example, if the student needs the written exam read aloud to the student or to have exam question instructions clarified; this is just an example; there are countless types of accommodations that could be required, depending on each individual student's documented needs).
ANY accommodation is "reasonable" unless the private school can establish that to provide it would be a
significant burden (and the threshold for the private school to establish that burden is very high).
This would apply to even the most competitive academic private schools, pursuant to the law. Many or seemingly MOST of them (including those with "learning skills" programs and who put on their websites that they serve some students with LD and/or ADHD) are, however, violating this, by following a practice of only providing certain accommodations to anyone, regardless of the student's need for other accommodations in order to truly have a "level playing field" or truly "equal access" to learning or demonstrating their mastery on
assessments. All of those schools seem to not be aware of or understand the application of the ADA to them as private or independent day or boarding schools!
Typically, most of the private or independent mainstream schools, INCLUDING those that have learning skills programs and who list on their websites that they serve some students with LD and/or ADHD, provide ONLY certain accommodations that they (the school) chooses to provide to any student, and they typically decline/refuse to provide other accommodations that a particular student may need--and they tell the parent and/or the student that their school simply does not provide the other accommodations and the student either needs to do without those other accommodations or go to a different school. THIS IS EXTREMELY COMMON. AND IT IS A BLATANT VIOLATION OF THE Americans with Disabilities Act (" A D A " ).
The violations by such schools opens them to potential significant liabilities for violation of the ADA, as well as is perpetuating illegal and unfair disability discrimination against their students who have ADHD and/or mild or moderate learning disabilities.
You can verify the facts regarding student entitlement to reasonable accommodations, specifically individualized to the student's documented disability needs, required for all private schools including all boarding schools and regardless of whether they receive any federal funding, by checking with the federal government agency such as the federal Office of Civil Rights, or the offices of ADA.gov or any of the relevant state government agencies that enforce the ADA, if you communicate with a professional at any of such governmental agencies who investigates and prosecutes ADA complaints. (Please be careful that there are a lot of misinformed people and a lot of misinformation widespread, so that you need to make sure you communicate accurately with an appropriately experienced, high enough level representative of one fo the governmental agencies that specifically investigates and enforces ADA cases.)
My hope is that some brave souls who have kids who have been denied certain accommodations (or who have been told by their school that only certain accommodations are ever available to anyone, such that the parent/student didn't even bother asking for accommodations that are not on the school's "accommodations available at our school" list) , will share this information (or get someone else to share it) with their private day and/or private boarding schools. The administrators of the private schools usually belong to private school organizations, many of which have "trade" meetings over the summer, and I bet that the administrators of different schools socialize at least a little at those meetings. If the information gets out and some of those school administrators start talking about it, it will probably get around to most or all of the private schools that they better look into this because it's a legal risk for them to be violating the law, especially if parents start to get more knowledgeable and file complaints with the ADA-enforcing governmental agencies. (And if they research it they will find that a few private schools have already been prosecuted and gotten into big trouble, although of course those private schools try to keep that quiet.) My hope is that if word spreads, at least most of them will correct their ways, for everyone's benefit.
[ ADDITIONALLY, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (" A D A " ) to which all of the private and independent day and boarding schools in ever state are subject to complying pursuant to federal law and regulations, the private and independent schools canNOT deny admission to any applicant students (or disenroll any current students) due to the presence of a disability and/or the need for reasonable accommodations. In other words, they can't get around the requirements to accommodate by keeping the LD and/or ADHD students out of their schools. The governmental agencies enforcing the ADA have the power to audit the admission office applicant and decision files, etc. and will slam the school if it appears that applicants who have LD and/or ADHD and/or who have requested certain accommodations seem to be disproportionately denied admission (when compared with nondisabled applicants or applicants that have not requested certain accommodations).]
college prep nonsectarian boarding schools.
This illegal practice appears to be the result of ignorance of the private independent schools (including day schools AND boarding schools) regarding the relevant laws and regulations. THIS INCLUDES the boarding schools that have "learning skills" programs and purport to serve students who have LD and/or ADHD.
Apparently most of the schools genuinely believe that if they are "private" or "independent" and "mainstream" college prep, that they have complete discretion to provide (or NOT provide)
only whichever disability accommodations the schools choose to, for students
that may have ADHD and/or learning disabilities, at the school's own discretion. Some of them (and widespread misinformation) think that if they are a "private" school, and especially if they do not receive any federal funds, that is a further reason why they can "do or not do" what they want re: this issue. THIS IS INCORRECT AND VIOLATES THE FEDERAL "AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT" (" A D A " ) law and regulations.
This is the result of confusion and widespread misinformation that is even incorrectly outlined on some disability information websites on the internet.
ALL private or independent day schools as well as boarding schools in the U.S.A., in EVERY state, including but not limited to the very most competitive academic prep schools, have some students who have ADHD and/or learning disabilities that, if such students were to be fairly treated in accordance with the law, merit certain learning disability accommodations and/or modifications in class and/or for exams/classroom assessments. BUT most of them go without some of those accommodations and/or modifications due to ignorance of their boarding school (as well as their parents) regarding their legal rights for such accommodations. This leads to some affected students not going to the particular schools that they otherwise would choose (and that they are qualified for and would do well at, when appropriately accommodated as required by the ADA law). For other students, it causes them to attend the school of their choice without all of the accommodations and/or
modifications that they need and are legally entitled to, which can be assumed to subjecting them to unfairly increased levels of stress and exhaustion (in increased effort to compensate) and likely often if not always lead to unfairly lowered grades/ performance (as a result of an uneven playing field due to the hindrances of their ADHD and/or learning disability going underaccommodated).
The actual legal fact is that the Americans with Disabilities Act (the "ADA"), the relevant federal law, applies to all independent PRIVATE schools (which are, under the ADA, considered places of "PUBLIC" accommodation even though they are independent PRIVATE schools), and regardless of whether they receive any federal funds.What this means, in legal fact and application, is that any of their students with ADHD and/or mild or moderate learning disabilities are legally entitled to WHATEVER learning disability "reasonable" accommodations
that a professional evaluator has documented are needed in order to give the student "equal access" (including equal
"learning" access) to the courses at the private school and a "level playing field" for exams/assessments in their courses at the private school (i.e., for just an example, if the student needs the written exam read aloud to the student or to have exam question instructions clarified; this is just an example; there are countless types of accommodations that could be required, depending on each individual student's documented needs).
ANY accommodation is "reasonable" unless the private school can establish that to provide it would be a
significant burden (and the threshold for the private school to establish that burden is very high).
This would apply to even the most competitive academic private schools, pursuant to the law. Many or seemingly MOST of them (including those with "learning skills" programs and who put on their websites that they serve some students with LD and/or ADHD) are, however, violating this, by following a practice of only providing certain accommodations to anyone, regardless of the student's need for other accommodations in order to truly have a "level playing field" or truly "equal access" to learning or demonstrating their mastery on
assessments. All of those schools seem to not be aware of or understand the application of the ADA to them as private or independent day or boarding schools!
Typically, most of the private or independent mainstream schools, INCLUDING those that have learning skills programs and who list on their websites that they serve some students with LD and/or ADHD, provide ONLY certain accommodations that they (the school) chooses to provide to any student, and they typically decline/refuse to provide other accommodations that a particular student may need--and they tell the parent and/or the student that their school simply does not provide the other accommodations and the student either needs to do without those other accommodations or go to a different school. THIS IS EXTREMELY COMMON. AND IT IS A BLATANT VIOLATION OF THE Americans with Disabilities Act (" A D A " ).
The violations by such schools opens them to potential significant liabilities for violation of the ADA, as well as is perpetuating illegal and unfair disability discrimination against their students who have ADHD and/or mild or moderate learning disabilities.
You can verify the facts regarding student entitlement to reasonable accommodations, specifically individualized to the student's documented disability needs, required for all private schools including all boarding schools and regardless of whether they receive any federal funding, by checking with the federal government agency such as the federal Office of Civil Rights, or the offices of ADA.gov or any of the relevant state government agencies that enforce the ADA, if you communicate with a professional at any of such governmental agencies who investigates and prosecutes ADA complaints. (Please be careful that there are a lot of misinformed people and a lot of misinformation widespread, so that you need to make sure you communicate accurately with an appropriately experienced, high enough level representative of one fo the governmental agencies that specifically investigates and enforces ADA cases.)
My hope is that some brave souls who have kids who have been denied certain accommodations (or who have been told by their school that only certain accommodations are ever available to anyone, such that the parent/student didn't even bother asking for accommodations that are not on the school's "accommodations available at our school" list) , will share this information (or get someone else to share it) with their private day and/or private boarding schools. The administrators of the private schools usually belong to private school organizations, many of which have "trade" meetings over the summer, and I bet that the administrators of different schools socialize at least a little at those meetings. If the information gets out and some of those school administrators start talking about it, it will probably get around to most or all of the private schools that they better look into this because it's a legal risk for them to be violating the law, especially if parents start to get more knowledgeable and file complaints with the ADA-enforcing governmental agencies. (And if they research it they will find that a few private schools have already been prosecuted and gotten into big trouble, although of course those private schools try to keep that quiet.) My hope is that if word spreads, at least most of them will correct their ways, for everyone's benefit.
[ ADDITIONALLY, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (" A D A " ) to which all of the private and independent day and boarding schools in ever state are subject to complying pursuant to federal law and regulations, the private and independent schools canNOT deny admission to any applicant students (or disenroll any current students) due to the presence of a disability and/or the need for reasonable accommodations. In other words, they can't get around the requirements to accommodate by keeping the LD and/or ADHD students out of their schools. The governmental agencies enforcing the ADA have the power to audit the admission office applicant and decision files, etc. and will slam the school if it appears that applicants who have LD and/or ADHD and/or who have requested certain accommodations seem to be disproportionately denied admission (when compared with nondisabled applicants or applicants that have not requested certain accommodations).]
