Leadership Exchange

• appoint a disabilities coordinator and develop and publicize a grievance procedure for disability discrimination complaints.

As part of its policies, the college also should consider establishing conditions under which a student may return to campus. The OCR has provided that these conditions, like the withdrawal or leave, must be established on an individual basis. Examples of acceptable conditions for return might include the student adhering to a treatment plan, submitting periodic progress reports, and granting permission for campus officials to speak with the treating professional. A college may not make it a condition of return that the student’s disability-related behavior not reoccur unless that behavior creates a direct threat that cannot be eliminated through reasonable modifications.

Outline Essential Functions

As a complement to a mandatory withdrawal or leave policy, colleges also should consider developing statements regarding who is an “otherwise qualified student” to participate in their programs. Drawing from disability law in the employment context, this exercise would require a college to consider its core requirements and what “essential functions”—or skills and abilities—a student must possess to participate in the program. Some general categories of skills and abilities include:

• intellectual, conceptual, and integrative skills, such as the ability to read, conduct research, and synthesize information;

• communications skills, such as the ability to communicate orally and in writing with others;

• behavioral and social attributes, including the ability to interact civilly with others;

• attendance and participation, including the ability to regularly and punctually attend class; and

• time management, including the ability to meet deadlines.

This type of statement, in combination with a mandatory withdrawal or leave policy, will help a college articulate why a particular student should or should not return to the college community.

On a final note, it is important to remember that trained administrators must use their best judgment in issues of campus health and safety, and that courts are hesitant to second-guess decisions that are made in a reasonable manner. It is also important to remember that, absent a pattern of conduct, an OCR inquiry often can be resolved voluntarily, informally, and without spending significant campus resources. Accordingly, when balancing interests and options, student health and safety must remain paramount.

Darby Dickerson is the vice president, dean, and a professor of law at Stetson University College of Law, which has campuses in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla. She writes and speaks on a wide variety of higher education law and policy issues. Along with Stetson University Professor of Law Peter F. Lake, she is co-chair of the National Conference for Law and Higher Education, which is co-sponsored by Stetson and NASPA.