Leveling the Playing Field for Nursing Students With Disabilities: Implications of the Amendments to the Americans With Disabilities Act

Abstract

Faculty have reported a significant increase in the number of nursing students with disabilities; however, misinformation regarding legislated changes in the definition of a disability, as enacted in 2008 under the American with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, has contributed to faculty confusion when working with students with disabilities. This article identifies the circumstances under which nursing faculty are legally required to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended in 2008, and the strategies faculty may use to assist students to successfully complete core requirements. When this knowledge is integrated into a nursing program's culture and curriculum, students with sensory loss, paralysis, mental illness, learning disabilities, limb differences, chronic illnesses, or other disabilities associated with impaired bodily functions can successfully complete nursing programs and provide excellent care to clients, the profession, and their communities.

Success for Students and Nurses With Disabilities

“…15 Any current or future discussion about the provision of reasonable accommodations that are legally mandated for students with disabilities must include the ADA and the ADAAA. Dupler et al 16 identify the circumstances under which nursing faculty are legally required to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities under the ADA of 1990 and ADAAA of 2008. The conflation of accommodations requested by students with disabilities versus requests for ''flexibility based on personal circumstance'' from students who are not requesting formal disability-related accommodations 2 is both disingenuous and problematic.…”

Building Academic Communities to Support Nursing Students with Disabilities: An Integrative Review

“…Many papers note in this context that nursing faculty and preceptors must be given clearer guidelines as to what is required by the law and how reasonable accommodations can be fashioned without endangering patient safety (Ashcroft, 2012). It is critical that schools seek an interdisciplinary approach including assistance from the university disability office (Griffiths et al, 2010;Marcyjanik & Zorn, 2011), train faculty in the law (Dupler et al, 2012), and develop educational models that integrate individualized needs of learners (Sin, 2009;Ridley, 2011;Heelan et al, 2013;Marks & McCulloh, 2016).…”

“…Misinformation and misunderstanding regarding the legal requirements of the ADA as amended by the ADAAA had led to inadvertent and unintended discrimination. Correcting this could enable students of varying disabilities to successfully complete nursing programs (Dupler, Allen, Maheady, Fleming, & Allen, 2012;May, 2013;May, 2014).…”

The procedure in the classroom setting by which nursing faculty construct academic accommodations for undergraduate nursing students with learning disabilities: A scoping review

“…In electronic databases, searches were limited to the search years of 2008-2017 as regulations governing students with disabilities in higher education took effect in 2009. [25] However, two studies published in 2006 were discovered and included as the only articles that pertained specifically to students with learning disabilities in the classroom setting of nursing education. Grey literature was not eliminated, and the selected relevant articles reference lists underwent reviews by hand; they were also limited to the search years of 2008-2017.…”

“…These interventions, referred to as academic accommodations, provide students with an equal opportunity of success when compared to non-disabled students. [17,20,21,25] However, faculty's understanding of the procedure and implementation of academic accommodations could inhibit or promote the use of such services. [16] Unfortunately, a scarcity of literature inhibits nursing faculty to promote services for successful inclusion of students with learning disabilities in the classroom.…”