The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is investigating a former student’s allegations of discrimination and retaliation by Brown University on the basis of their disability status, according to a Jan. 4 letter reviewed by The Herald.
OCR will investigate three allegations of retaliation and discrimination made by the student, who was dismissed from their program last year.
The student alleged that the University failed to promptly address a request for accommodations related to their disability status. The student also alleged that Brown retaliated against them over their request for accommodations, including that their advisor declined to continue advising them and threatened reputation damage after learning they had been granted an approved academic adjustment of extra time.
OCR dismissed two additional allegations made by the complainant because one did not describe a violation of laws enforced by OCR and another was already resolved.
Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by institutions receiving federal funding. It also prohibits retaliation against anyone asserting their rights or filing complaints under federal disability law.
OCR informed Brown about the investigation on Jan. 4, University Spokesperson Brian Clark confirmed.
“We believe the complaint is without merit, and we will provide details directly to OCR,” he wrote in an email to The Herald.
“Brown is deeply committed to sustaining a campus in which every student can fully participate in academic and co-curricular activities, and routinely provides accommodations for students with disabilities to ensure equitable access to courses, services and programs,” he wrote.
This is not the first time the University has been investigated for allegations of disability-based discrimination.
This latest OCR investigation joins 11 other investigations into Brown still pending as of Dec. 29 — including alleged race- and national orientation-based, sex-based and disability-based discrimination — according to the Education Department’s database of pending cases. Opening an investigation does not imply OCR has made a decision on the allegations.
Other investigations into the University have since concluded.
In 2017, the University was investigated by OCR for alleged disability discrimination across university websites. The University agreed to resolve all issues of the investigation before the OCR completed its investigation and made a determination about potential wrongdoing, according to a copy of the resolution agreement.
The University was also investigated by the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney’s Office for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act against students on mental health-related leave between 2012 and 2017. The University settled the case in 2021 for $684,000 and revised its readmission policies after the DOJ found Brown denied readmission to students on mental health medical leaves, The Herald previously reported.
Other Ivies including Cornell have also faced investigations by OCR for disability-based discrimination in recent years.
The Cornell School of Law was investigated by OCR for alleged failure to consistently provide a student with proper accommodations. That case was resolved in 2018. OCR found that the student was not provided the appropriate accommodation “in a timely manner” and reached a resolution agreement with Cornell. OCR also investigated further allegations of the school denying the student academic adjustments but found no such violations.
Samantha is a University News editor who oversees the Affinity & Activism beat. She is a sophomore from Tampa, Florida concentrating in Sociology. In her free time, Samantha likes to cook and watch Survivor.
