A student had been undergoing active rehab for 11 years after he acquired a severe brain injury at the age of 18. He had successfully completed his bachelor’s degree, and was in his second year of law school. He received a failing grade on an exam, which he wrote without all of the accommodations he required. The faculty decided that he could not continue with the program.
The law school eventually allowed him to resume his studies with appropriate accommodation and offered to reimburse him for his second-year tuition and to delete the mention of the failed course from his transcript – on the condition that he sign a release.
The student was humiliated and upset, and did not want to go back.
The Centre negotiated an agreement that included:
- Financial compensation for the discrimination;
- The student’s transcript would be revised with no mention of the failing grade, or readmission to the program;
- The University would adopt a policy on Accommodation of Disabilities;
- The University would implement an efficient process for resolving disputes in accordance with its new policy, recognizing that compliance with the Human Rights Code requires accommodation of the needs of individual students.