Abstract
As vaccination rates go up and higher education institutions return to on‐campus learning this fall, institutions may already be receiving students’ accommodations requests to waive or adjust requirements for living in on‐campus housing. With return to on‐campus learning this fall, these requirements are now back in force. Colleges and universities promote living on campus for a number of reasons, including the increased tendency for resident students to perform better academically, seamlessly integrate into campus activities and student organizations, and receive peer support.
Students may request an adjustment to your institution's live‐on requirement if they can't receive a COVID‐19 vaccine and/or they're more susceptible to suffering from a severe case of COVID‐19 due to having an underlying medical condition. This means that students may request to live off campus, live in a private/single room on campus, or live only with a specific roommate.
The ADA, Section 504
Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, in addition to state nondiscrimination laws, prohibit higher education institutions from discriminating against otherwise‐qualified students on the basis of a physical or mental disability. To avoid liability exposure, institutions must engage in the interactive process when students request accommodations.
Although the pandemic has brought about a number of changes, the process for accommodation requests is substantially the same as before COVID‐19. An institution must conduct an individualized assessment, which requires a case‐by‐case determination of what accommodation(s) can be made to allow the student to continue their participation in the institution's educational programs. The process to determine whether the accommodation(s) would constitute a fundamental alteration should be made collaboratively and include detailed documentation of the various considerations and potential alternatives. However, there's little guidance specifically addressing the return to in‐person learning, so institutions must remain vigilant and flexible.
Office for Civil Rights Voluntary Resolution Agreements provide some guidance for on‐campus living accommodations pre‐COVID‐19. For example, if an institution grants a student's request for a single room as a disability accommodation, the university cannot charge the student more for that single room than it charges for a typical shared room.
Mandatory meal plans
Ancillary to the consideration of live‐on requirements, institutions may receive student requests for exemptions from mandatory meal plan minimums. Students who don't feel comfortable going to communal dining halls during the pandemic may request a meal plan accommodation, such as having meals dropped off at their residence halls to avoid and limit their exposure to others.
Watch for certain risks
As students return to campus for in‐person instruction, institutions should be on the lookout for ADA and Section 504 risks that arise in the following situations:
-
➤
Requests to live off campus when the institution has on‐campus housing requirements.
-
➤
Requests for single rooms.
-
➤
Requests to live only with a specific person.
-
➤
Requests to have meals delivered to their residence hall rooms.
-
➤
Denials of these requests and/or being assigned to a random roommate.
In addressing these various requests, institutions may consider waiving live‐on requirements for students who believe their disability prevents them from living or dining safely on campus because of the risk of COVID‐19 spreading in communal living situations. Institutions should prepare now to have some flexibility by making various adjustments to housing and dining requirements, which can also foster community while bringing students back to campus.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS.
Iván Resendiz Gutierrez, Esq., is a Litigation and Appellate Attorney with Miller Nash LLP. Email him at ivan.resendiz@millernash.com.
Eden Vasquez, Esq., is an Education and Employment Attorney with Miller Nash LLP. Email her at eden.vasquez@millernash.com.