Duty to Accommodate
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What is the Duty to Accommodate?
The British Columbia Human Rights Code prohibits the “denial or discrimination in the provision of services customarily available to the public.”[1] This law applies to education and stipulates that educators and institutions cannot discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To ensure compliance, institutions must remove barriers to participation experienced by persons with disabilities. This is known as a duty to accommodate. The duty to accommodate is a legal obligation to accommodate individuals in a protected group that face adverse hardship due to policy, practice, or other barriers.
Types of accommodations vary, depending on the situation, individual, and disability. Accommodating students with disabilities does not provide them with an advantage. Rather, accommodations aim to provide an equitable experience for students with disabilities. The duty to accommodate is an obligation to adjust policies, practices, and rules to enable full (or as full as possible) participation, reduce discrimination, and provide an equitable experience. This may extend to alternative arrangements to provide an equivalent experience or form of participation. Academic accommodations do not change the learning outcomes. Students with disabilities must meet academic requirements. Reasonable accommodations do not impose undue hardship on an institution.
Under the duty to accommodate equity trumps equality. Providing the same experience for all students may have a negative effect on a student with disabilities. The duty to accommodate ensures all students receive their human right to equitable access to education.
Reasonable Accommodations
The duty to accommodate requires that reasonable accommodations:
- Must be based on documented individual needs.
- Aim for the most equitable and integrated experience possible.
- Not compromise the essential academic requirements of a course.
- Not pose a threat to personal or public safety.
- Do not impose an undue hardship or administrative burden. This is determined on a case-by-case basis and may not be the same outcome at different institutions.
- Are not based on personal preferences. While all students are unique, accommodations must be based on documentation and should be consistent for individuals with similar circumstances.
A reasonable accommodation requires a person or institution to take all reasonable steps to ensure equitable treatment of a person with a disability. Anything beyond a reasonable accommodation is considered undue hardship.
Undue Hardship
The duty to accommodate is an obligation to accommodate a person’s disability up to the point of “undue hardship.” That is, an accommodation may require additional work and/or cost. However, an unreasonable cost or change to academic outcomes could be considered undue hardship.
Some accommodation requests may not be reasonable and do not have to be met under a duty to accommodate. A student’s disability does not mean they can make unreasonable demands or have the right to get any accommodation they want.
If the student is offered a reasonable accommodation that meets their access needs, the student cannot refuse that accommodation in hopes of holding out for an accommodation that the student prefers.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is an important consideration under the Human Rights Code. Medical documentation is provided to as accessibility services office but kept confidential. Students will provide instructors with a letter informing them of required accommodations. A dialogue between the student and instructor is encouraged to best facilitate the accommodation. Instructors may direct questions about an accommodation to accessibility services offices.
Students may choose to voluntarily share more information with their instructors or staff. Students should not be asked by instructors to share details of their diagnosis.
