Bill to Broaden Disabilities Act Concerns Some Colleges

Chronicle of Higher Education
June 2, 2008

By JJ HERMES
Although it has been stalled in Congress for several months, legislation that would broaden coverage under the Americans With Disabilities Act has recently been on the radar of some college officials and the associations that represent them.
Their concern: that expanding the definition of a disability could overwhelm offices that work to accommodate such students on university campuses.
Several higher-education associations have met recently about the bill, both with one another and with key Congressional staff members. Though the bill faces opposition from the Bush administration, its key sponsor hopes to get a modified form to the floor by this summer.
Most universities voluntarily go beyond the letter of the law in accommodating students on their campuses. But broadening the definition of a disability could add even more demand for campus offices that already work with hundreds, if not thousands, of students.
"There is a concern that having too many more students coming forward looking for accommodations would cause the resources of the disability offices to be extremely stretched," said Ada Meloy, general counsel for the American Council on Education.
No Longer 'Significant'
Introduced last July, the ADA Restoration Act seeks to reverse several Supreme Court decisions that have narrowed the interpretation of the ADA, which was signed into law in 1990.
As it stands, a person's disability must "substantially limit" a "major life activity" to be considered for coverage under the law. Early drafts of the new legislation, HR 3195 in the House and S 1881 in the Senate, would essentially lift that requirement.
The legislation was stalled this January by opposition from conservative groups and organizations that advocate for employers. A day before a Congressional hearing on the legislation at the end of January, Brian A. Benczkowski, the principal deputy assistant U.S. attorney general, sent a letter to select members of Congress saying the Justice Department "strongly opposed" the proposed bill and worried that it would "dramatically increase unnecessary litigation" and create uncertainty in the workplace.
The bill already has 245 cosponsors in the House, guaranteeing passage with at least a 56-percent majority if those members stand by the legislation. Conversely, the Senate bill, which has nearly identical language, has just three cosponsors.
Stephanie L. Lundberg, press secretary for the House majority leader, Steny H. Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland who introduced the bill, said Representative Hoyer and others were in the process of modifying the bill and hoped to bring it to the floor sometime late this spring or this summer.
Fearing a Crunch
College disability-resource centers offer myriad services for students, such as arranging priority registration and extended time on exams, providing assistive technology and accessible desks in the classroom, and paying for note takers and books on tape.
Most of those resources go to students with permanent disabilities. But because the proposed legislation is so broadly worded, those offices may have to accommodate a wider range of students.
"This would be an unfunded mandate," said Bea Awoniyi, assistant dean of students and director of the Student Disability Resource Center at Florida State University. She added that money for her office comes from state appropriations, which would not necessarily increase even if the office must accommodate more students.
She said her office already accommodated more than 1,900 students. Colleges cannot request compensation for providing these services.
"It would limit the types of services we could provide for those who legitimately need it," added Ms. Awoniyi.
However, many resource centers already go beyond the letter of the law in accommodating students, and some administrators don't think an expanded definition of a disability would cause students to flood their offices. [To read the entire article, go to: http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/06/3063n.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en ]