Cases & Developments

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) New Resources on Students with Disabilities. In a press release, OCR announced four new resources with information for students and institutions to understand their respective rights and obligations regarding common medical conditions that can be disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The four conditions include asthma, diabetes, food allergies, and GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). The Department also highlighted a compilation of Fast Facts on Students with Disabilities compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics addressing the number of students in postsecondary education who have a disabling condition.   

Opinion reversing dismissal and remanding for further proceedings. Plaintiff, a student at the University of Texas at Arlington who suffers from major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, brought a disability discrimination claim under the Rehabilitation Act against the University after a professor declined to apply her approved accommodations retroactively when her accommodation letter was initially sent to the incorrect email address, alleging that this resulted in lower grades for the semester, including one failing grade. Plaintiff originally filed her claim in state court, which dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, and the state appellate court affirmed. The federal district court dismissed the claim as time-barred, reasoning that the federal claim was filed more than 60 days after the state trial court dismissed the claim. In reversing and remanding, the Fifth Circuit found that the district court erred in starting the 60-day clock on the date of the trial court’s dismissal rather than 60 days after entry of the state appellate court’s judgement when its plenary power to alter its judgment expired and its judgment became final.   

Order granting-in-part and denying-in-part Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff, a former assistant professor of natural sciences at the Georgia Military College Augusta campus who was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, kidney failure, and anemia and who took immune-suppressing treatments, brought disability discrimination claims against the College after it denied his request to teach remotely and terminated his employment in January 2021. Plaintiff also taught as an adjunct in the College’s Global Online Learning College (GOLC) until 2016 when the Augusta campus director decided that faculty there could no longer teach for GOLC, preferring that they be available to assist students on the Augusta campus. In permitting his Rehabilitation Act claim to proceed, the court held that a reasonable jury could conclude that plaintiff’s request to be reassigned to GOLC was a reasonable accommodation. It also found that since the College never informed Plaintiff that he needed to return to work and because officials offered multiple reasons for his termination, there was a dispute of material fact as to why he was terminated.   

Opinion vacating as moot and remanding to the First Circuit with instructions to dismiss. Respondent, a self-described “tester,” sued Acheson Hotels and hundreds of other hotels because they did not provide information about accessibility of their rooms on their websites as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. To resolve a circuit split, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on the question, “Does a self-appointed Americans with Disabilities Act ‘tester’ have Article III standing to challenge a place of public accommodation’s failure to provide disability accessibility information on its website, even if she lacks any intention of visiting that place of public accommodation?” The Court dismissed the case as moot after respondent voluntarily dismissed her pending suits with prejudice following her lawyer’s suspension from the practice of law for lying in fee petitions and during settlement negotiations.