Lawsuit Claims Universidad Carlos Albizu Violated the ADA
Last Updated on May 8, 2018
Mohandes v. Universidad Carlos Albizu (Carlos Albizu University), Inc.
Filed: February 17, 2017 ◆§ 1:17-cv-20646-DPG
Puerto Rico's Universidad Carlos Albizu (Carlos Albizu University) is the defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the institution violated the ADA.
Puerto Rico’s Universidad Carlos Albizu (Carlos Albizu University) is the defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the institution violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Florida Civil Rights Act by operating its Miami, Florida campus in a way that “excludes, disenfranchises, and discriminates against” individuals with hearing disabilities or impairments. The 61-page lawsuit says the university, a Puerto Rican corporation, is registered with the State of Florida Secretary of State, Division of Corporations, as a foreign non-profit corporation and is licensed by the Commission for Independent Education of the Florida Department of Education.
Seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, the case alleges that students who have attended the defendant’s Miami campus have been deprived of appropriate auxiliary aids and communication services necessary to fully participate in what the university has to offer.
“By failing to provide auxiliary aids and modification in policy for disabled student’s needs, [the defendant] has created a hostile environment for the disabled community,” the complaint argues.
The plaintiff, a hearing-impaired Florida woman, claims that, as a result of the defendant’s alleged actions, deaf and hard-of-hearing students must re-take—and again pay for—classes through which they’ve already sat. The lawsuit argues hearing-impaired students should not be forced to re-take and pay double tuition for classes they failed because of the university’s alleged failure to provide the proper accessibility accommodations. The complaint lays out the following alleged pattern of discrimination:
- Hearing-impaired students inform school officials (professors, instructors) of their need for auxiliary aids or reasonable communication modifications
- The university’s officials then fail to provide the requested accommodations, even refusing to allow proposed class members to use their own recorders to record classes
- Proposed class members, the lawsuit speculates, are then more likely to receive failing grades because of their difficulty in comprehending oral lessons
- Proposed class members are later required to re-take classes and re-pay tuition costs for those courses, which delays graduation
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