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Abstract: 

The editors review a series of recent court decisions in which students challenged their dismissals by claiming that their schools violated the ADA or other disability anti-discrimination statutes. In Zimmeck v. Marshall University Board of Governors, the 4th Circuit ruled that universities have wide latitude in setting academic standards, important because where a dismissal is for academic reasons, less due process is required than in cases where a student is dismissed for disciplinary reasons. In Choi v. University of Texas Health Center at San Antonio, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that students who invoke disability laws such as the ADA when challenging a dismissal or expulsion must not only inform the University of the nature of the disability, but must also specify the connection between the disability and academic performance. In Redding v. Nova Southeastern University a U.S. district court ruled that the presence of a disability does not in itself excuse a student from complying with university rules regarding unexcused absences. Finally, in Shinabarger v. Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia, a law student who claimed she had been suspended in retaliation for complaining about plagiarism and for repeated requests for disability accommodations failed to sustain charges against the law school that included breach of contract and defamation in addition to First Amendment retaliation violations.

Keywords: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD); protected activity; defamation

Affiliations:  1: Co-Editor; 2: Co-Editor.