Many LSU students have reported pushback from both faculty and disability services staff when receiving disability accommodations from the university. 
Natasha Landrum, a pre-med and psychology freshman, has had problems with two different professors who took issue with her accommodations.
One of Landrum’s accommodations is consideration for absences, meaning she is able to miss class for reasons related to her disability.
“I hadn’t gone to two out of the three days of his class and he emailed me and he goes, ‘I’m gonna have to start questioning the days that you’re out,’” she said.
Professors are not permitted to ask students details of their disabilities. LSU’s disability services website clearly states, “For those students with documented disabilities, faculty do not have the right to ask the nature of the disability.”
Another time, a professor pushed back on Landrum’s request to take an exam in the disability services testing center, where students with the proper accommodation can take their tests in a distraction-reduced environment.
“He goes, ‘I don’t understand why you can’t just do that in my class, this is an excuse. I hope that you know that you’re taking [the test] in Johnston [Hall] isn’t going to be easier, like they’re not going to allow you to cheat,’” she said.
Landrum didn’t take kindly to the insinuation that she was using her accommodations to cheat. She elevated the situation to the dean, who allowed her to use her accommodations and take the exam in the testing center.
Once, a professor even outed her to the class as having a disability. Landrum said that the professor addressed her during class, letting her and the class know that the professor had received her accommodation letter and would be giving Landrum the extra time she is entitled to.
“One of the kids goes, ‘Why does she get extra time?’ and then she’s like, ‘Oh, because she has a letter,’” Landrum said.
Just 6% of all LSU students, about 2,400 students, receive accommodations for a disability, according to Benjamin Cornwell, director of disability services at LSU.
While Jennie Stewart, the ADA coordinator at LSU, could not comment on any particular situation that she did not have knowledge of, she said that students who experience pushback from faculty should start by bringing it to the attention of the Office of Disability Services. 
In the rare instance that a case ends up on her desk, Stewart said “my process is to to help problem solve, to increase accessibility for folks who have disability related barriers and limitations in our community.” 
Marin Michaelson, an interdisciplinary studies sophomore, said that she also has had her privacy violated.
Michaelson also receives consideration for absences. When she tried to exercise her right to miss class due to her disability, she said that her professor reported her, leading to somebody at the university contacting her estranged father without her consent, a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
“I had to miss a couple of classes because of my personal stuff that falls under my accommodations,” Michaelson said. “She reported me, I guess for missing too many classes.”
“No one contacted me about the problems she had but they sent text messages to my father, which is against the law.”
Michaelson has not been able to receive confirmation about who at the university reached out to her father, although she has reached out to several departments for answers. She’s considering taking legal action against the university due to the emotional damage she experienced.
Kimsey Stewart, a mass communication junior, said she was encouraged by a professor to drop out of school after using her accommodations.
Stewart, like Michaelson and Landrum, receives consideration for absences. After using her accommodation, her professor expressed concern that she was enrolled in school but still needing to use accommodations.
“He encouraged me to consider taking time off of school, that it would be okay if I wanted to do that for my health,” she said. “I think it was intended to be like, ‘Oh, nobody’s gonna be mad at you if you have to take time off of school.’ But in my opinion, it is not the correct way to respond.”
Stewart said she didn’t think that a professor would respond the same way if a nondisabled student had to miss a single class due to food poisoning or another mundane illness.
She encountered the same problem with the professor again later in the semester, when she asked the professor not to call on her during a class, as she had a sinus infection and lost her voice.
“He again told me that I should consider taking time off of school,” Stewart said. “I just felt like he would not be encouraging me to drop out if he did not know that I had disability paperwork.”
Stewart said that while her accommodations have been what she needs to succeed, actually getting them was too difficult.
To receive accommodations, a student needs to provide documentation of their disability. Students must have their doctor fill out a form provided by LSU, an action that may require students to pay out of pocket.
According to a 2009 survey from the Medical Group Management Association, 64% of doctors charge a fee for paperwork. Patients report that the fee can range from as little as $5 to as much as $100.
Stewart paid $25 to have her paperwork done, a fee she thinks the university should reimburse for.
“I have parents who have good health insurance and are able to help me with health insurance costs like that,” Stewart said. “I know college students who $25 means whether they eat that week or they don’t.”
Stewart said she worries for students who don’t have parents who are in a position to help them with fees or guidance in the process.
“I’m very strong willed and I know my rights, but most students don’t,” Stewart said. “And that’s why I’m very vocal about this because there are students who are going to drop out of school. There are students who are going to give up on [getting] these accommodations and not do well in school.”
Richard Godden, an English professor, tries to structure his class with empathy, setting them up to be preemptively accommodating to all students.
“An accommodation is something that you are reacting to that you’ve set up your class in a way that doesn’t accommodate all students,” Godden said. “So you’re reacting to a situation whereas thinking about different learning styles, maybe being a bit more flexible with deadlines, allowing things like laptops in the classroom, etc.”
“You can plan for that diversity as opposed to creating a situation that is going to increasingly require accommodations.”
Godden said he doesn’t require in-person exams, meaning students don’t need to request extra time on tests. He tries to be flexible on deadlines, meaning students don’t need to have a formal disability to get the help they need. If students learn differently, he encourages them to come to him to have a dialogue on how he can improve their experience.
“I try to work with them and try to be very flexible and forgiving,” Godden said.
Godden said he would like to see the university be more accommodating for students.
“To be honest, few universities do enough. It’s certainly an evolving situation. But there are things that we can do better,” Godden said.