If, after working with the DRC, a student believes that they are not receiving timely disability-related reasonable accommodations in their education program or activity, the student can follow this grievance process:
Step 1:
The student should contact their DRC Access Consultant as soon as possible. In consultation with student access management, the DRC Access Consultant will consult with faculty, administrators, and/or staff as needed, gather more information from the student, and determine whether to address the concerns through further engagement in the interactive accommodation process.
- If the DRC Access Consultant determines that further engagement in the interactive process is appropriate, the Access Consultant will facilitate that process.
- If the faculty or staff allege that the accommodation constitutes a fundamental alteration to essential functions, they must provide a written rationale to the access consultant and student.
- The Access Consultant will ultimately determine whether the accommodation the student seeks is reasonable or whether there is an equally effective alternative accommodation.
- If the Access Consultant determines that further engagement is not appropriate, the Access Consultant will inform the student in writing.
Step 2:
If the student disagrees with the determination of the Access Consultant in Step 1, or disagrees with the denial of an accommodation request by the access consultant, the student may contact the DRC Director, who serves as the University’s ADA Coordinator. The Director will conduct an inquiry into the student’s concern. This inquiry will generally include a case review and consultation with the student, DRC staff, the individual in a position to implement the accommodation, the Office of the General Counsel, and others as needed.
- In some cases, based on the information gathered in their inquiry, the Director may ask the Access Consultant to facilitate further engagement in the interactive process.
- In other cases, the Director will assess whether the accommodation requested by the student should be implemented or, alternatively, whether the requested accommodation need not be implemented. For example, an accommodation need not be implemented when: 1) it constitutes a fundamental alteration of the essential requirements of the course, program, or activity; 2) it causes an undue hardship for the University; 3) it is not connected to a disability-related access barrier; or 4) it would constitute a direct threat to health or safety.
The Director will communicate their assessment in writing to the student, the individual in a position to implement the requested accommodation, and an appropriate leader in the relevant academic unit. The Director may also make written recommendations to the academic unit. The Director will strive to complete their inquiry within 10 business days with a determination as to whether the requested accommodation is reasonable or whether there is an equally effective alternative accommodation. This Step concludes the DRC’s internal grievance process.
Step 3:
If the student disagrees with the determination of the Director in Step 2, the student may contact the University’s Equal Opportunity and Title IX Office (EOT). EOT responds to concerns of discrimination based on disability, which includes concerns that the University failed to provide reasonable accommodations for disability. EOT responds to these concerns through informal response processes or formal grievance processes to determine whether the University’s discrimination policy was violated. A student must proceed through Steps 1 and 2 of this ADA grievance process before they can initiate an EOT process.
Students may also file complaints of disability discrimination with the State of Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights and/or the U.S. Office for Civil Rights.