Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University (Pittsburgh)
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
Coming to college with a disability can be challenging—Audriana Michrina knows. While getting around campus in a wheelchair can be cumbersome, she's compassionately relieved by helpful classmates and friends, accommodating teachers and support from the University's Disability Services team. Our diverse student body includes people of all abilities and disabilities, and we're here to help you succeed. It's our responsibility to help you achieve your goals, and our joy to watch you thrive. From the moment you reach out to our team, we'll remain at your side to ensure you receive the support you need to reach your goals. We'll provide appropriate and reasonable accommodations to help you through your academic courses and reach your greatest potential.
Disability Services
309 Student Union
Duquesne University
900 Locust Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15282
Phone: (412) 396-6658
Email: [email protected]
Clinics
Youth Advocacy Clinic
Externships
Advocacy, support, and services people with disabilities
Legal and advocacy services to persons with disabilities
protecting and advancing health care rights through free legal services, community education, and systemic advocacy
NLS may help people with serious disabilities qualify for and keep Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits from the Social Security Administration
Works to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality public education
Courses
Emplomyent Discrimination
This course studies the federal and state statutes and case law that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, and sexual orientation. This course covers substantially different material than Employment Law and students may productively take both courses.
Education Law
This course will cover constitutional and statutory law and policy issues relating to public schools, including rights of parents, teachers and students, school discipline, religion, speech, discrimination, and disability rights.
Special Education Law
This class considers the law governing education of students with disabilities, with a particular focus on the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students will study the evaluation and planning process, procedural due process provisions, substantive issues such as use of least restrictive environment and school discipline, and remedies under the law.
Health Services and Wellness
Pennsylvania State Dickinson Law (Carlisle)
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
Penn State and Dickinson Law welcome students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Students with temporary or permanent medical conditions or physical, cognitive, or psychological disabilities may be able to receive accommodations to eliminate barriers to their success. Accommodated students do not receive an advantage over others; rather, accommodations allow such students to not be at a disadvantage relative to other students as a result of conditions beyond their control. The Student Services Team handles student disability accommodations at Dickinson Law. The Student Services Team is located on the second floor of Lewis Katz Hall in offices 233, 237, and 238. All students are strongly encouraged to address their accommodation needs as early in the semester as possible. An accommodation letter must be approved and signed every semester before accessing accommodations.
Student Services
Lewis Katz Hall
Dickinson Law
150 S. College Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
717-240-5209
Office of Academic and Student Services
Penn State Dickinson Law
150 South College Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Tel: (717) 240-5209 (general student services phone number)
Email: [email protected]
Clinics
The Community Law Clinic represents the way forward in matters of family law, disability law, and other areas where they need legal assistance. Students represent clients through every level of the state common pleas court system or the requisite federal court system. Students advocate in family law matters such as divorce, support, custody, adoption, and protection from abuse; and in disability law matters such as ability discrimination, special education, Americans with Disabilities Act claims, and Social Security Disability Claims.
Disability Law Clinic
Students represent clients through every step of litigation of the various legal issues. Students interview and counsel clients and prepare all necessary court documents such as petitions, complaints, briefs, and pre-hearing memoranda. Students spend time reviewing medical, educational, and vocational documents very carefully prior to any court appearances. Our students appear before Administrative Law Judges of the Social Security Administration, Department of Education Hearing Officers, and judges of the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas.
Courses
Law of Individuals with Disabilities
This course will address legal issues and concepts for people living with disabilities. It will cover issues surrounding civil rights discrimination, and public benefits ranging from employment, housing, income supplements, health, and education. Students will review legislation, case law, and rules, and will focus on the practical and social concerns of individuals living with disabilities.
Education Law
Education in the United States is increasingly a regulated industry. Understanding the system by which we educate the nation’s children requires understanding a significant and complex hierarchy of laws and policy at the federal, state, and local level. This course will examine the interplay of law with fundamental areas of education policy and practice, including the basic premises of compulsory education; issues concerning exclusions of students; school control of student behavior and curriculum; teacher employment problems; and issues of funding, minority rights, disabilities, gender equity and access, and free expression. While the course will primarily focus on kindergarten to 12th grade education, some laws applicable to higher education will be explored.
Employment Discrimination
This course provides an in depth look at the Federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended), the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, Executive Order 11246 (affirmative action), and the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1871 (now 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981 & 1983). We will review issues which arise under each category of prohibited discrimination: race, sex, sexual harassment, national origin, religion, age and disability. The course seeks to develop students’ skills through a rigorous examination of statutory text, regulations and court decisions on the multitude of issues which arise under these laws, including burden of proof and the role of statistics. We will also review the role of the Federal agencies which administer these statutes, the EEOC and the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The course will also introduce students to the interplay between Congress and the Courts as Congress has acted multiple times to amend these statutes in response to Court decisions which Congress found unsatisfactory.
Estate Planning
Studies the concepts and techniques required to develop estate plans. Topics include the initial client interview, drafting of wills and trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, disability planning and income taxation of trusts and estates. The psychological and ethical aspects of estate planning will be covered. The course will also survey the federal gift, estate and generation skipping taxes. The course is intended to be an introduction to estate planning, valuable to both the person intending to specialize in the field and the general practitioner.
Law of Individuals with Disabilities
This course will address legal issues and concepts for people living with disabilities. It will cover issues surrounding civil rights discrimination, and public benefits ranging from employment, housing, income supplements, health, and education. Students will review legislation, case law, and rules, and will focus on the practical and social concerns of individuals living with disabilities.
Health Services and Wellness
Penn State Dickinson Law (University Park)
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
Any student seeking accommodations due to a disability must follow procedures set forth by Penn State, even if you received accommodations from your previous educational institution(s). The fact that you received an accommodation in the past is not a guarantee that you will receive a similar accommodation in law school. Students who are seeking services at Penn State Law must contact Student Disability Resources (SDR) to schedule an appointment. In general, you must meet with a member of the SDR staff for an intake interview and provide diagnostic documentation from a licensed professional. It is your responsibility to obtain documentation and present a copy to SDR for review.
Student Disability Resources (SDR)
The Pennsylvania State University
116 Boucke Building
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: (814) 863-1807 [V/TTY]
Fax: (814) 863-3217
Courses
The course will include an analysis of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as they relate to employee benefit plans. The IRC requirements relating to retirement type plans (i.e., pension, profit sharing and stock bonus plans) will be covered generally. In addition, benefits frequently included as part of an employer's benefits package, such health care and equity compensation, will be discussed, as well as a heavy concentration on executive compensation.
This course is devoted to developing problem solving skills related to legal issues in higher education. Students will have a chance to confront problems the way university lawyers do, from the very beginning, before the facts are all known, before goals are clarified, before the full range of options is explored, and before a course of conduct is chosen. This course is intended to help prepare students for the actual practice of law by allowing them to actively to engage in the sorts of discussions and activities that occupy lawyers every day, combining their knowledge of law with practical judgment to help clients. Topics include faculty and student rights and responsibilities; constitutional issues involving application of the guarantees of the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments; civil rights issues including diversity and affirmative action, the rights of the disabled, and gender-based issues.
This research seminar introduces students to Intersectionality as both a theoretical and practical way to address social problems related to inequities around race, gender, poverty, disability, and more. Topics will include child welfare, disability law, public health, housing, environmental/food justice, poverty, intimate partner violence, religion, and restorative justice. As explained by the founding legal theorist, Prof. Kimberle’ Crenshaw, “emerging as a theory to articulate the multiple axis of discrimination encountered by women of color in employment, the family, and elsewhere, Intersectionality has found broader application in efforts to move beyond single-issue and identity-based approaches to societal marginalization.” This class situates Intersectionality as a tool to address, and redress, human rights, in both theory and practice. Students will learn the role of Intersectionality in the human impacts of social problems, and how to leverage that understanding to advance social justice. The class will include guest lecturers, mostly women of color, from various legal specialties and law-related disciplines. Students will also have skill-building opportunities with feedback on oral presentations, and developing legal strategies.
This course surveys public health law, which consists of local, state, federal, and international law used to protect the public from illness, death, and disability. The first part of the course will focus on the sources of state and federal legal authority to regulate for public health, as well as the tensions with public health regulation and civil liberties and individual rights. The second part of the course will focus on some common areas of public health regulation (e.g., drugs, tobacco, obesity, etc.). The third part of the course will focus on whether public health regulation is consistent with the U.S. constitution, specifically the first, second, and fourteenth amendments. The fourth part of the course will focus on public health tools such as testing, screening, and searching for health risks and corresponding issues with privacy, confidentiality and surveillance. If time permits, the course will also cover emergency preparedness and bioterrorism. The field of public health law is rapidly changing, and I encourage you to keep up on current events and legal changes.
Student Organizations
The Disability Law Caucus aims to promote engagement with the field of disability law and to spread awareness and understanding of issues affecting the disability community. The Caucus is open to the entire Law School community, especially students who identify with having a disability, students with diverse accessibility needs, and students interested in working in a field related to disability advocacy, rights, or studies.
Health Services and Wellness
Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (Philadelphia)
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
The Law School and the University are committed to serving the needs of a diverse population which includes students and staff members with disabilities. Any student who has a need for physical access or academic accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability or medical condition should contact Disability Resources and Services (DRS) in 100 Ritter Annex ([email protected]; 215-204-1280) to request accommodations and learn more about the resources available to you. Students should also contact the Law School Office of Student Affairs (Suite 103, Barrack Hall, (215) 204-8574) for implementation of those assigned accommodations. All discussions related to accommodations will be confidential.
Courses
Employment Discrimination
The course covers race, sex, age and handicap discrimination in employment. The historical antecedents to modern discriminatory practices and early 19th and 20th century legislative and judicial efforts to curb discriminatory practices are studied, as well as the various federal statutes and Executive Orders establishing non-discrimination and affirmative action obligations and the source of congressional and executive authority to prescribe these rules. Also covered are the non-discrimination obligations imposed by and the affirmative action activity permitted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and other relevant constitutional issues, including those arising under the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments.
Equity and Bias in Education: Selected Topics
The focus on bias will have two major aspects. One is the exploration of ways in which education law has often, in combination with other areas of law, such as discriminatory housing laws, contributed to educational inequity based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and other categories. The other aspect involves looking at ways in which education law has been, is being, or could be changed in order to address these inequities. Readings will include relevant cases and statutes, as well as articles and commentary that examine the ways in which statutory and decisional law have supported or sought to address bias in educational systems.
Health Services and Wellness
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (Philadelphia)
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
Penn's Home for Academic Support & Disability Services. The Weingarten Center works closely with Penn faculty, student organizations, and our many campus partners to offer programs and workshops throughout the academic year. We are currently accepting requests for virtual and in-person programs that address Learning Strategies, Tutoring, and/or Disability Services.
The Weingarten Center provides services for students who self-identify with a disability in order to ensure equal access to all University programs, activities, and services. The process begins when a student requests an accommodation, provides documentation of their condition, and meets with a Disability Specialist. Students who receive accommodations work with the Disability Services staff to coordinate their academic accommodations as well as accessible housing, dining, communication, and technology. Through ongoing collaboration with the Weingarten Center, students learn to identify and utilize individualized accommodations and strategies that support their full participation in university life.
Hamilton Village, 220 S. 40th Street, Suite 260, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6027
Email Weingarten Center
Phone: 215.573.9235
Call Disability Services Staff - 267.788.0030
Courses
Employment Discrimination
This course will introduce the basic theories and legal principles underlying equal employment opportunity law in the United States. The course focuses primarily on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, and secondarily on the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act--the fundamental federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, gender, religion, age and disability. The course begins with an overview of the primary structures of proof in employment discrimination cases--individual disparate treatment, systemic disparate treatment, and disparate impact. We then consider in greater depth specific topics including harassment, gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination, retaliation, pregnancy and family responsibilities discrimination, religious discrimination, reasonable accommodation requirements, and affirmative action.
Anti-discrimination Law
The central objective of this course is to provide students with a broad introduction to American antidiscrimination law. The seminar is interdisciplinary. We will explore the historical foundations of antidiscrimination law and situate them alongside key cases, empirical data, mainstream accounts, and normative arguments for why this field should (or should not) operate in a particular fashion. Throughout the semester, we will focus on specific areas of social life where antidiscrimination statutes actively prohibit unequal treatment (e.g., housing, education, public accommodations, voting, health care). This approach will lead us to examine a variety of categories within antidiscrimination law—from the (relatively) longstanding protected categories of race, sex, and religion—to more recent categories such as disability, sexual identity, and gender orientation.
Student Organizations
Disabled & Allied Law Students Association (DALSA)
The mission of DALSA is to foster a sense of community among students with disabilities and allies, address pertinent concerns like accommodations at school and in the workplace, and to learn about the law through a disability-rights framework. DALSA will partner with other affinity groups to address issues of intersectionality and to build awarenessand pride for our community. DALSA defines “disability” very broadly to encompass physical, mental, learning, and other disabilities and encourages allies to engage in the DALSA community. Group Email: [email protected]
Health Services and Wellness
University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
It is the policy and practice of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requirements regarding students and applicants with disabilities. Under these laws, no qualified individual with a disability shall be denied access to or participation in services, programs, and activities of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Students who require accommodations because of a physical, learning or other disability must be evaluated by the Office of Disability Resource Services (ODRS). The ODRS will document and verify the students status and make recommendations for appropriate accommodations to the Assistant Dean of Students. The Assistant Dean of Students, in conjunction with the Office of the Registrar, are responsible for the provision of accommodations throughout the school year.
The Office of Disability Resource Services is located at 216 William Pitt Student Union. Please contact Leah Culley at (412) 648-7890 for an appointment for an evaluation. It is extremely helpful to submit to that office any medical information that will assist in this evaluation. Limited testing is administered by that office at no charge to the student. If a more extensive evaluation is needed, the student may be required to pay for additional testing to verify a learning or other disability.
Please feel free to contact the Assistant Dean of Students if you have questions or concerns regarding a disability and available resources (Room 207 at the Law School, (412) 648-1805).
Disability is an aspect of diversity. Disability Resources and Services (DRS) is the designated department by the University to determine reasonable accommodations and services. At the University of Pittsburgh, we are committed to promoting equal access and inclusive experiences to students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities are integrated as completely as possible into the University environment. DRS leads collaborations with the University community to ensure access through services and accommodations. Through an interactive process, we work with each individual to provide access to University classes, programs, activities, and employment. Our office is available as a resource; please contact us to discuss your individual needs.
140 William Pitt Union
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Physical Location:
Office of Disability Resource Services
216 William Pitt Student Union
(412) 648-7890
Experiential Learning Programs
This Practicum offers students who have completed three semesters of law school an opportunity to develop lawyering skills by representing actual clients. Students in this Practicum take primary responsibility for client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney. The Practicum students represent clients at all stages of obtaining Social Security disability benefits. They interview clients, gather and interpret medical evidence, develop a case theory, work with clients’ medical providers to obtain evidence, prepare a hearing memorandum, and represent clients at hearings and/or on appeal.
Courses
This course will provide in-depth analysis and discussion of the major federal disability discrimination statutes, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Readings and class discussions will focus on the application of these laws to issues such as employment, public accommodations, education, architectural barriers, transportation and insurance. The course will explore how disability discrimination statutes interact with other statutes, such as the Social Security Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
Student Organizations
Lawyers and Scholars for Disability Justice
Health Services and Wellness
Villanova University School of Law
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
The Office of Disability Services ensures that qualified students with disabilities have equal access to educational opportunities by eliminating physical and educational barriers. We provide support services and accommodations to students with disabilities so they are able to participate freely and actively in all facets of University life.
Office Location
Connelly Center, Second Floor
Hours
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email
[email protected]
Phone
610-519-3209
Clinics
Villanova Law students working in the Interdisciplinary Mental and Physical Health Law Clinic (Health Law Clinic) serve low-income persons in their struggle to avoid exploitation, assert their legal rights, and obtain accessible, quality health care. Working directly with their clients to help them understand and assert their rights, Villanova Law students provide life-changing legal services to their clients all while gaining valuable lawyering skills. Each semester, students typically work individually with two or three unique cases. Representation often culminates in an appearance at administrative hearings or in court. Types of cases include proving their client’s eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, representation in surrogate decision-making matters, and appealing denial of payment by health insurers.
Student Organizations
Student Mental Health Society
The goal of the Student Mental Health Society is to provide a safe space for students to discuss mental health, raise awareness for mental health issues, and end the stigma surrounding mental health struggles in law school. Through programming and awareness campaigns, the organization will work to promote the mental health resources offered by Villanova University and the legal community. To address the expressed need for mental health support, this organization will act as a liaison between students and the administration, aiming to receive and voice the concerns they may have. This group will focus solely on mental health and wellness programming. Unlike other organizations, our goal will be to help students disconnect from law school and focus on taking care of their physical selves, as well as their mental health. With this focus, the organization will encourage student wellness and broader conversations surrounding mental health and well-being. As a student-led organization, we will promote Unitas, Veritas, and Caritas by encouraging students to create a community of individuals who care deeply about the well-being of their fellow students.
Health Services and Wellness
Widener University Commonwealth Law School (Harrisburg)
Contact/ Disability Resource Center
Widener Law Commonwealth seeks to provide reasonable academic accommodations necessary to afford equal opportunity and accessibility in all University programs for qualified students with professionally verified disabilities. A qualified student with a disability may submit a request for accommodations to the Office of Student Affairs. A student making a Request for accommodation must submit the request in a timely manner with verification of disability.
Contact: Randi Teplitz
Assistant Dean of Students
Phone: 717.541.3901
Email: [email protected]
Health Services and Wellness