Since the ruling for Southeastern Community College v. Davis, the courts have required that individuals involved in professional/education-related disability cases be assessed for whether they can execute essential functions of the program, with or without reasonable accommodations, in spite of their disability. 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The Court unanimously ruled in favor of Southeastern Community College, stating that “the ability to understand speech without reliance on lip-reading is necessary for patient safety during the clinical phase of the program [and] this ability also is indispensable for many of the functions that a registered nurse performs.”


Ruling of the Supreme Court in Southeastern Community College v. Davis


Rothstein, Laura, Higher Education and Disability Discrimination: A Fifty Year Retrospective (August 4, 2010). Journal of College and University Law, Vol. 36, pp. 843-874, 2010 , University of Louisville School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series No. 2010-05, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1653466


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