Accommodating dental students with disabilities

The passage of The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) has broadened the legal protection afforded students with disabilities. Since it is most likely that dental schools, or their parent universities, have been in compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, they should experience minor additional requirements, in the academic arena, from the ADA. Dental schools increasingly will be asked to consider the special needs of disabled students, and may encounter conflicts between students' accommodation needs and clinical requirements and academic standards. This paper reviews federal law that protects the disabled from discrimination. More specifically, federal court decisions that have interpreted federal law were examined to see how the respective interests of disabled professional students and school administrators were treated.