"WA: Legal Trouble" Case
Case Description
You are a chief administrator in the department of History. The spring semester has started and one of your instructors approaches you with a potential problem. Simon, a student who is blind, has registered for your instructor's course and presented her with a letter of accommodation from the Disability Support Services (DSS) office requesting the following:
- Extended time for all tests, quizzes and examinations up to double-time
- Use of a speech-enabled laptop computer during class to take notes
- Brailled tests and course materials
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT:
1. Simon's DSS counselor has checked into getting a Braille copy of the textbook. A third-party transcription service has promised to have the book to you in four weeks. Your instructor's other course materials, including paperback readings, were already available in Braille from a variety of sources. Your DSS office converted the lecture notes easily because your instructor had them in electronic format.
2. Your DSS office is able to Braille the tests using in-house equipment as long as your instructor is able to forward the tests to the DSS office at least a week in advance.
3. The primary access problem is your instructor's textbook. Much of the reinforcing information for her lectures and guest lecturers during the first half of the class is contained in the textbook. Because you were unable to obtain accessible textbook content, Simon has complained that he does not have the same opportunity to access the material as the same time as his classmates. Simon says that he may not be able to keep up without the text material and may have to drop the class. This will cost him time and money.
4. As an administrative solution, your instructor offered to postpone Simon's first test until after the Braille book is complete, even though it means that she may have to create a separate test for Simon.
5. DSS has offered to record the book on tape as a temporary accommodation until the Braille copy is finished by the transcriber. But Simon doesn't like books-on-tape. The DSS counselor tells you that this is the best we can do until the Braille book is completed. The DSS counselor has not told Simon that the book is available on cassette yet.
6. Simon is threatening to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights because he says that you have not provided the material in a "timely" fashion.
Based upon what you have learned and after conferring with your DSS office, which solution is most appropriate?
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