Discrimination - what the law says - Education - Post 16

Part 4 of the DDA 1995, as amended, makes it unlawful for a responsible body to discriminate against a disabled person;

in the arrangements it makes for determining admissions to the institution or enrolments to a course
in the terms on which it offers to admit or enrol the person
by refusing or deliberately omitting to accept an application for admission or enrolment on grounds of their disability
by excluding the person temporarily or permanently from an institution on grounds of their disability
in the provision of Services

One form of discrimination is to fail to make reasonable adjustments where existing arrangements or provision of Services place disabled students at a substantial disadvantage.

Another form of discrimination is for a responsible body to treat a disabled person less favourably for a reason relating to the disability, than it treats (or would treat) a person to whom that reason does not or would not apply without justification.

Scales of Justice

Less favourable treatment may be justified only if one of the following conditions is fulfilled;

it is necessary to maintain academic standards

it is necessary to maintain other prescribed standards
it is of a prescribed type
it occurs in prescribed circumstances
the reasons are both material to the circumstances of the particular case and substantial

A responsible body's duty to make reasonable adjustments is an anticipatory duty owed to disabled people and students at large. It is not simply a duty to individuals.

Disclaimer
The above information should not be regarded as an authoritative statement of law. All legal documents reproduced on this site, or abstracts thereof or comments and or statements made concerning the law cannot be regarded as authoritative statements of law. Appropriate professional advice should be sought.

Clicking the link below will take you directly to the website of the Disability Rights Commission - 'The law' where you will find links to the Act and the relevant Codes of Practice.

Discrimination - what the law says - Education - Post 16

http://www.drc-gb.org/thelaw/index.asp