Inclusion Daily Express -- Judge Says Student Had No Disability, Tosses ADA Suit Against Online University

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Judge Says Student Had No Disability, Tosses ADA Suit Against Online University
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 4, 2008

SANTA ANNA, CALIFORNIA--A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against an online university after reasoning that the plaintiff, a student, did not have a right to file the suit because he was not protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In the suit filed in June 2005, Jeffry La Marca claimed that the new online course-management software that Capella University had started using was too confusing.

"It was just a navigational nightmare," he told the Chronicle of Higher Education in August of 2005. "It made it impossible for me to study."

La Marca said his grades dropped radically after the new software was installed. La Marca added that the university failed to accommodate his disability, which he said included cognitive and memory problems.

According to Thursday's Chronicle of Higher Education, U.S. District Court Judge Marc L. Goldman of the Central District of California ruled last month that, given the fact that La Marca earned A's in his earlier courses, his disabilities did not substantially limit his capability to learn. Therefore, he was not covered under the ADA.

Judge Goldman added that Capella University had offered one-on-one instruction to students, and that "a directed study program would have addressed every issue [the] Plaintiff raised."

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