Clearinghouse coding complete
A blind college student at Louisiana Technical University ("Louisiana Tech") filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice against Louisiana Tech alleging that he was discriminated against based on his disability, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132. Specifically, the student alleged that his instructor at Louisiana Tech, a public institution, adopted an inaccessible internet-based application called MyOMLab for numerous aspects of coursework, thereby discriminating against him by denying him the ability to participate in course in violation of the ADA. The student claimed that as a result of the professor's adoption of MyOMLab and the failure of the professor or the vendor of MyOMLab to provide an accessible version of MyOMLab a month into the semester, he was forced to withdraw from the course. The student further claimed that in another course the same instructor provided inaccessible hard-copy versions of assignments that were not converted to an accessible format until days after the assignments were distributed to the class, denying the student access to course materials equal to his non-disabled classmates in violation of Title II of the ADA.
On July 12, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice, Louisiana Tech, and the University System of Louisiana entered into a settlement agreement. The agreement provided that, among other things, Louisiana Tech would adopt a policy that would only adopt technology and use web pages and applications that were accessible by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 level AA standards. Louisiana Tech was required to conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance with these standards. Louisiana Tech agreed to pay the complainant $23,543. The agreement was set to remain in effect for five years.
After five years, by July 12, 2018, there were not any further reported issues and this matter now appears closed.
Summary Authors
Brian Kempfer (6/1/2014)
Hope Brinn (11/1/2018)
Bond, Rebecca B. (District of Columbia)
Hill, Eve L. (District of Columbia)
Langford, Anne E. (District of Columbia)
Guice, Leslie K. (Louisiana)
Perez, Thomas E. (District of Columbia)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:46 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Louisiana
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Closing Date: 2018
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
blind college student
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Special Case Type(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Amount Defendant Pays: 23,543
Order Duration: 2013 - 2018
Content of Injunction:
Develop anti-discrimination policy
Provide antidiscrimination training
Implement complaint/dispute resolution process
Issues
General:
Access to public accommodations - governmental
Disability and Disability Rights:
Screen readers and similar accessibility devices
Discrimination-area:
Discrimination-basis:
Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)
Type of Facility: