By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton University students with mental health problems and other disabilities will have better access to seeking “reasonable” housing and other accommodations, according to a settlement agreement Nassau Hall reached with the U.S. Justice Department.
The federal government said Monday that starting in May 2014, it had looked into, “among other things, policies and procedures Princeton had for dealing with students with mental health disabilities. The review came after a federal lawsuit was brought against the school two months earlier, although details of the suit were not disclosed.
The government said the outcome of its review, into the school’s compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, was an agreement both sides reached calling for steps the university agreed to take including revising policies and updating websites to make it easier for students to get the information they need.
For instance, the disability and accessibility policy will have to spell out, “explicitly,” that Princeton makes “reasonable accommodations” for students, who can request academic, housing and dining accommodations, according to the agreement. The policy also will state where students can submit those requests, and the university website will be updated to have a section “Requesting Modifications to University Policies, Practices or Procedures” that will inform students about making their requests.
The agreement states that the university had already updated its leave of absence and reinstatement policy for undergraduates, something that occurred during the time of the compliance review by the government.
“When a university undergraduate student takes a leave of absence, the office of the dean of the college sends the student a letter confirming the student’s leave of absence,” the agreement read in part. Going forward, the agreement continued, “the university will revise this letter to reflect the revised leave policy and, for eligible students, to state that such students have the right to petition for a one-semester leave, pursuant to the university’s one-term leave of absence policy.”
“Through this agreement, students with disabilities move closer to achieving full equality and integration into places of higher education,” U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman said in a statement announcing the settlement with Nassau Hall.
For its part, the university has maintained that it had complied with the law.
“(The Department of Justice) did not make any findings of non-compliance, but asked Princeton to update its policy language to better explain university procedures and options available to students with disabilities, which Princeton has agreed to do,” the university said in a news release posted Monday on its website.
“Princeton has worked for years to make the university more accessible to and supportive of students with disabilities,” Michele Minter, vice provost for institutional equity and diversity, said in the same news release. “The Department of Justice agreement focuses on better explaining what we are doing. This is an opportunity to re-stress and raise the profile of policies we have in place.”
Matthew Reilly, a spokesman for Mr. Fishman, said Monday that the government would monitor the university to make sure Nassau Hall is complying. The settlement is for three years starting Monday.
