The Undergraduate Law Review at UC San Diego

Legal standards for disability law emphasize equal access to reasonable accommodations. These accommodations are expected to be provided to students in a timely manner, especially in higher education. The experience of disabled students at the University of California (UC) schools demonstrates violations of state and federal law. Systemic barriers to accommodations prevent students from receiving the equal access to education that's legally granted to them. These barriers manifest in the form of staffing shortages and resource constraints, difficult documentation requirements, delayed accommodation processing, and failures in digital accessibility compliance, all of which violate Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title II of the ADA, and California Government Code Section 11135. Drawing on federal case law, past federal investigations into the UC, and active litigation against UC campuses, this paper argues that the UC system must adopt a system-wide Universal Design for Learning mandate, formalize specialist-to-student ratios, standardize documentation processes, and establish accountability mechanisms to fulfill its legal obligations to disabled students.