What is a “reasonable accommodation” and what else are those called in the educational setting?
For us as educators, ‘reasonable accommodations’ means we’ll need to change the way things are usually done. Changes may be made to the environment, the tasks, providing assistive aids, technology, or services.
What might make an accommodation unreasonable?
Unreasonable accommodation is an interesting topic. If I understood it correctly, in Mark Weber’s “Unreasonable Accommodation and Due Hardship” paper, he posits that there is no accommodation that would be unreasonable and no hardship that is undue. He says this duty to accommodate is not subject to a cost-benefits, balance, but a cost-resource balance. He acknowledges that accommodation may be expensive to satisfy.
Alex Long, in “Is There an Unreasonable Accommodation? Is There a Due Hardship?” discusses other court cases arguing about this topic. Employers definitely need to stay as well informed as possible.
Stephen Sonnenberg brought up some interesting scenarios in his article, “Unreasonable Accomodation” at Workforce.com. Employers don’t want to ‘play favorites’ with preferential treatment. Instead, “antidiscrimination laws should guarantee disabled individuals an opportunity to compete equally, with or without accommodation. His scenarios are worth reviewing for additional discussion. Sonneberg advocates special consideration, but not preferential treatment.
Jeff Polsky shares ADA accommodations in his slideshare show below. Here is the text from slides 8 and 9 of his slideshow:
Slide 8: Reasonable accommodation/Undue Hardship
“Reasonable accommodation” may include• (A) making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible; and • (B) job restructuring, part–time/ modified work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position; acquiring or modifying equipment; modifying exams, training materials or policies; qualified readers or interpreters; and other similar accommodations
Slide 9: Reasonable accommodation/Undue Hardship
“Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of: • the nature and cost of the accommodation; • the facility and the employer’s financial resources and number of employees; and • the effect on operations.
The ADA, IDEA, and me
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