Can a Private College by liable for discrimination based on disability?

Pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), private colleges have a general duty to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and students with a qualifying disability. The ADA and Section 504 generally require a student to self-identify his or her disability, request accommodations, and then participate in an interactive process with the institution to determine whether and to what extent accommodations will be provided. Have you done this? Did you go through the appropriate chanells? What is the nature of your disability? You should be aware of course that federal courts have consistently held that neither the ADA, nor Section 504, requires an institution to make retroactive changes to a student’s record. Rather, courts hold that a school’s obligation to provide reasonable accommodations is a prospective duty that starts at the point a student establishes his or her disability and the need for accommodations. See Leschinskey v. Rectors and Visitors of Radford University, 2011 WL 5029813, at *2 (W.D. Va. 2011) (“A request for a reasonable accommodation is forward-looking. It is prospective. An employee is not entitled to a retroactive accommodation.”); see also Kaltenberger v. Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine, 162 F.3d 432, 437 (6th Cir. 1998) (“However, the College was not obligated to provide accommodation until plaintiff had provided a proper diagnosis of ADHD and requested a specific accommodation.”). I hope this can help. You can contact me at 203-870-6700 for further information.