Legal Question in Disability Law in New York
ADHD discrimination from school
A relative of mine was recently dismissed from a private university.
He was accused of cheating by 4 other students on a quiz that happened a year ago. During this quiz, he has
admitted to looking at another student's paper. The questions were located on a projector in front of the class. The tall
student in front of him held his paper up in clear view and became a distraction. On other testing occasions he is given
extra time and a separate testing area. For this particular quiz, he was not accommodated for.
These 4 students all made allegations attacking his character. As I read the investigation findings, a lot of the
allegations are related to symptoms of ADHD. He does not share his disability with anyone other than the school. All 4
students claimed he cheated but all stated to never see him do it
At his hearing, his accusers spoke first. ADHD causes him to have impaired auditory interpretation and he was
unable to provide a strong counter to their allegations. During his hearing he was unable to have someone represent or
help him in his defense. Can he sue the school for disability discrim and the accusers for defamation
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: ADHD discrimination from school
Contact Edwin Egelsee, Esq. at [email protected] and he may be able to get your student back to school. He specializes in this area of law. He can only help if this matter is based in California.
Re: ADHD discrimination from school
1. He must consult an attorney in person, its impossible to assess this by email.
2. If the school is aware he has ADHD I can't believe they did not allow him a representative.
3. However, based on your questions, that is his best starting point to vacate the result.
4. You do not provide enough info to answer your other questions.
Re: ADHD discrimination from school
If he is actually disabled under the law, and actually demanded 'reasonable' accommodation in the discipline process, and it was refused, then he has a claim he can make for that. If the school 'knew' he was due accommodation in this process, they should have made some arrangement for it themselves. You say they 'knew' of his disability. He would have the burden of showing they knew of THIS need and failed in their obligation.
Since he apparently didn't force the issue at the time of the hearing by refusing to participate without accommodation, he now has the burden of proving the school liable for a failure to accommodate. One remedy he will be seeking is to overturn the hearing. If successful, that does not mean he would automatically be reinstated. He can't ignore the charges against him that were found to be true. He would be requesting a new hearing.
No, he doesn't sue the students for 'defamation' simply for raising the issues.
If this is in SoCal, and if he is serious about pursuing his claim, feel free to contact me.
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