Touchstone Level 1 Student 39;s Book Pdf

[Tina Larzelere]

Agrowing number of students in American higher education are beingdiagnosed as 'learning disabled' and then using that diagnosis tosecure beneficial 'accommodations,' such as extra time on exams. Theseaccommodations are often said to be mandated by the Americans withDisabilities Act (ADA). This Article challenges the premise that theADA necessarily requires educational institutions to provide learningdisabled students with any accommodations. The ADA defines 'disability'as an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.Whether one is substantially limited is determined with reference notto one's innate abilities, but to the skills of the average Americancitizen. Thus, a learning disabled college or law student who fails tolive up to his potential, and who reads slower than one would predictgiven his general mental aptitude, is not disabled as a matter of law,provided he reads at a level comparable to the average American.

Legal requirements aside, it may be appropriate to accommodatelearning disabled students, but it is increasingly difficult todistinguish the truly disabled from those simply claiming a disabilityto gain an advantage. The traditional touchstone of a medical diagnosisas learning disabled, which diverges importantly from the legaldefinition, is a substantial discrepancy between a person's mentalaptitude and academic achievement. Whatever scientific rigor such adiagnosis may once have had, it is now hopelessly indeterminate.Moreover, there is evidence that significant numbers of students, or atleast those with the wherewithal and initiative to consultpsychologists and lobby school administrators, can secure such anadvantageous diagnosis. Drawing upon the concept of agency costs, thisArticle explores the tension between the interests of administrators ofnonprofit educational entities and the interests of the entitiesthemselves. Educational institutions are of course committed toensuring fairness and academic integrity, but individual educators andadministrators may not have sufficient personal incentives toscrutinize requests for accommodations or to tailor thoseaccommodations narrowly to a student's claimed learning disability.

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