Ohio Administrative Code
Title 4112 - Ohio Civil Rights Commission
Chapter 4112-5 - Discrimination
Section 4112-5-09 - Discrimination against persons with a disability in institutions of higher education
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 4112-5-09
Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
(A) Applicability. This rule applies to post-secondary education programs and activities, including post-secondary vocational educational programs and activities as defined in section 4112.022 of the Revised Code.
(B) Admissions and recruitment.
(1) Generally. Qualified disabled
persons shall not be denied admission or be subjected to discrimination in
admission or recruitment on the basis of disability at an educational
institution covered by Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code.
(2) Admissions. In administering its
admission policies, an educational institution:
(a) May not apply limitations upon the number
or proportion of persons
with a disability who may be admitted;
(b) May not make use of any test or criterion
for admission that has a disproportionate adverse effect on
persons with a disability or any class of
persons with a disability unless:
(i) The test or criterion, as used by the
educational institution, has been validated as a predictor of success in the
education program or activity in question; and
(ii) Alternate tests or criteria that have a
less disproportionate adverse effect are shown not to be available.
(c) Shall assure itself that:
(i) Admissions tests are selected and
administered so as best to ensure that, when a test is administered to an
applicant who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking
skills, the test results accurately reflect the applicant's aptitude or
achievement level or whatever other factor the test purports to measure, rather
than reflecting the applicant's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills
(except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to
measure);
(ii) Admissions tests
that are designed for persons with impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills
are offered as often and in as timely a manner as are other admissions tests;
and
(iii) Admissions tests are
administered in facilities that, on the whole, are accessible to
persons with a disability; and
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (C) of
this rule, may not make preadmission inquiry as to whether an applicant for
admission is a person
with a disability but, after admission, may make
inquiries on a confidential basis as to disabilities that may require
accommodation.
(3)
Preadmission inquiry exception. When an educational institution is taking
remedial action to correct the effects of past discrimination or when an
educational institution is taking voluntary affirmative action to remedy
conditions that have resulted in limited participation by qualified disabled
persons, the educational institution may invite applicants for admission to
indicate whether and to what extent they are disabled, provided that:
(a) The educational institution states
clearly on any written questionnaire used for this purpose or makes clear
orally if no written questionnaire is used that the information requested is
intended for use solely in connection with its remedial action obligations or
its voluntary affirmative action efforts; and
(b) The educational institution states
clearly that the information is being requested on a voluntary basis, that it
will be kept confidential, that refusal to provide it will not subject the
applicant to any adverse treatment, and that it will be used only in accordance
with this rule.
(4)
Validity studies. For the purpose of paragraph (B)(2)(b) of this rule, an
educational institution may base prediction equations on first-year grades, but
shall conduct periodic validity studies against the criterion of overall
success in the education program or activity in question in order to monitor
the general validity of the test scores.
(C) Treatment of students.
(1) No qualified disabled student shall, on
the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or otherwise be subject to discrimination under any academic,
research, occupational training, housing, health insurance, counseling,
financial aid, physical education, athletics, recreation, transportation, other
extracurricular, or other post-secondary education program or activity to which
this rule applies.
(2) Any
educational institution to which this rule applies that considers participation
by students in education programs or activities not operated wholly by the
educational institution as part of, or equivalent to, an education program or
activity operated by the educational institution shall assure itself that the
other education program or activity, as a whole, provides an equal opportunity
for the participation of qualified disabled persons.
(3) An educational institution may not, on
the basis of disability, exclude any qualified disabled student from any
course, course of study, or other part of its education program or
activity.
(4) Educational
institutions shall operate their programs and activities in the most integrated
setting appropriate.
(D) Academic adjustments.
(1) Academic
requirements. Educational institutions shall make such modifications to its
academic requirements as are necessary to ensure that such requirements do not
discriminate or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of disability,
against a qualified disabled applicant or student. Academic requirements that
the educational institution can demonstrate are essential to the program of
instruction being pursued by such student or to any directly related licensing
requirement will not be regarded as discriminatory within the meaning of this
rule. Modifications may include changes in the length of time permitted for the
completion of degree requirements, substitution of specific courses required
for the completion of degree requirements, and adaptation of the manner in
which specific courses are conducted.
(2) Other rules. Educational institutions may
not impose upon students
with a disability other rules, such as the
prohibition of tape recorders in classrooms or of
animal
assistants in campus buildings, that have the effect of limiting the
participation of students
with a disability in the educational
institution's education program or activity.
(3) Course examinations. In its course
examinations or other procedures for evaluating students' academic achievement
in its program, educational institutions shall provide such methods for
evaluating the achievement of students who have a disability that impairs
sensory, manual, or speaking skills as will best ensure that the results of the
evaluation represents the student's achievement in the course, rather than
reflecting the student's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills
except where such skills are the factors
that the test purports to measure.
(4)
Auxiliary aids.
(a) Educational institutions
shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that no
student with a disability is denied the benefits of, excluded
from participation in, or otherwise subjected to discrimination under the
education program or activity operated by the educational institution because
of the absence of educational auxiliary aids for students with impaired
sensory, manual, or speaking skills.
(b) Auxiliary aids may include taped texts,
interpreters or other effective methods of making orally delivered materials
available to students with hearing impairments, readers in libraries for
students with visual impairments, classroom equipment adapted for use by
students with manual impairments, and other similar services and actions.
Educational institutions need not provide attendants, individually prescribed
devices, readers for personal use or study, or other devices or services of a
personal nature.
(E) Housing.
(1) Housing provided by the educational
institution. Any educational institution that provides housing to its
non-disabled students shall provide comparable, convenient, and accessible
housing to students
with a disability at the same cost as to others.
Such housing shall be available in sufficient quantity and variety so that the
scope of students with a disability's choice of living
accommodations is, as a whole, comparable to that of non-disabled
students.
(2) Other housing. An
educational institution that assists any agency, organization, or person in
making housing available to any of its students shall take such action as may
be necessary to assure itself that such housing is, as a whole, made available
in a manner that does not result in discrimination on the basis of
disability.
(F) Financial and employment assistance to students.
(1)
Provision of financial assistance.
(a) In
providing financial assistance to qualified disabled persons, an educational
institution may not:
(i) On the basis of
disability, provide less assistance than is provided to non-disabled persons,
limit eligibility for assistance, or otherwise discriminate; or
(ii) Assist any entity or person that
provides assistance to any of the educational institution's students in a
manner that discriminates against qualified disabled persons on the basis of
disability.
(b) An
educational institution may administer or assist in the administration of
scholarships, fellowships, or other forms of financial assistance established
under wills, trusts, bequests, or similar legal instruments that require awards
to be made on the basis of factors that discriminate or have the effect of
discriminating on the basis of disability only if the overall effect of the
award of scholarships, fellowships, and other forms of financial assistance is
not discriminatory on the basis of disability.
(2) Assistance in making available outside
employment. An educational institution that assists any agency, organization,
or person in providing employment opportunities to any of its students shall
assure itself that such employment opportunities, as a whole, are made
available in a manner that would not violate paragraph (F)(1)(a) of this rule
if they were provided by the educational institution.
(3) Employment of students. An educational
institution that employs any of its students may not do so in a manner that
violates paragraph (F)(1)(a) of this rule.
(G) Nonacademic services.
(1) Physical education and athletics.
(a) In providing physical education courses
and athletics and similar programs and activities to any of its students,
educational institutions may not discriminate on the basis of disability. An
educational institution that offers physical education courses or that operates
or sponsors intercollegiate, club, or intramural
athletics shall provide to qualified disabled students an equal opportunity for
participation in these activities.
(b) An educational institution may offer to
students with a disability physical education and athletic
activities that are separate or different only if separation or differentiation
is consistent with the requirements of section
4112.022 of the Revised Code,
and only if no qualified disabled student is denied the opportunity to compete
for teams or to participate in courses that are not separate or
different.
(2) Counseling
and placement services. An educational institution that provides personal,
academic, or vocational counseling, guidance, or placement services to its
students shall provide these services without discrimination on the basis of
disability. The educational institution shall ensure that qualified disabled
students are not counseled toward more restrictive career objectives than are
non-disabled students with similar interests and abilities. This requirement
does not preclude an educational institution from providing factual information
about licensing and certification requirements that may present obstacles to
persons with a disability in their pursuit of particular
careers.
(3) Social organizations.
An educational institution that provides significant assistance to
fraternities, sororities, or similar organizations, including the use of
services and facilities for social functions, shall assure itself that the
membership practices of such organizations do not permit discrimination
otherwise prohibited by this rule.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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