Rights and Responsibilities
What Makes an Accommodation Reasonable?
Accommodations provide equal opportunities and allow students access to the course content. They are reasonable if they mitigate the effect a disability has on a student’s ability to learn.
What about if a student’s involuntary behavior is perceived as disruptive? What’s important is that the behavior is not voluntary and is disability related. The issue here is a student who has a right to be in the class versus other students have a right to learn. One option is to ask the student to sit near an exit so that when the disruptive behavior occurs they can step out of the room until the behavior subsides (usually within five to ten minutes). Provide the student with a notetaker so they don’t miss content and allow the student to make up credit for time not participating.
Accommodations are NOT reasonable if they compromise the course content or the instructor’s academic standards. Faculty must hold students with disabilities to the SAME academic standards as students without disabilities. Modify materials and teaching techniques, but not expectations of your student’s learning.
