Despite the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, higher education still struggles with accommodating students’ disabilities in the learning environment. Given the stressful nature of law school, and the importance of first-year grades, any pre-law student who needs disability accommodations should attempt to obtain them before law school begins. This presentation will summarize the legal parameters of disability accommodations in both college and law school. It will also suggest ways to advise and assist students with disabilities without shaming them or rendering their educational experience more onerous than it needs to be. Finally, the presentation will address how to ensure that student information remains confidential, without compromising students’ ability to share what they wish to disclose about their condition/s. The presenter’s comments will reflect her legal expertise and her personal experience as a disabled law student who obtained disability accommodations. The presentation will also discuss how students can harness the advocacy skills they learn in law school to ensure that they obtain the accommodations the law entitles them to receive

PRESENTER

Katherine A. Macfarlane, Associate Professor of Law

University of Idaho College of Law