Hy-Flex Curriculum: Now a Required ADA Accommodation?

[OneMoreYear]

I have not seen hy-flex designated as an ADA accommodation at my Uni on the accommodation forms, but we were strongly encouraged to do some aspects of hy-flex (e.g., stream and record all class sessions) for universal access. We are also strongly encouraged to be "flexible" with attendance/in-class work.  I don't grade on attendance, but I've had to adjust the format of "in-class" activities to allow for submission outside of class (I also have a certain number of drops).   I kept some exams online (only the ones designed to be open note/book--given the exam fail rates I still have, if my students are cheating, they are not doing it well).  Some of my major assessments do require in-person participation and, so far, I've not had any push back on those.

[Aster]

I have not seen hy-flex designated as an ADA accommodation at my Uni on the accommodation forms, but we were strongly encouraged to do some aspects of hy-flex (e.g., stream and record all class sessions) for universal access. We are also strongly encouraged to be "flexible" with attendance/in-class work.  I don't grade on attendance, but I've had to adjust the format of "in-class" activities to allow for submission outside of class (I also have a certain number of drops).   I kept some exams online (only the ones designed to be open note/book--given the exam fail rates I still have, if my students are cheating, they are not doing it well).  Some of my major assessments do require in-person participation and, so far, I've not had any push back on those.

Is this policy just for covid, or did your institution have it prior to the pandemic?

My college has a lot of "covid accommodation" policies. Some of them have already been phased out, and many others are expected to be removed by the end of the summer. The U.S. Department of Education and the regional accreditors are not expected to remain dormant for much longer, and their temporary waivers for things like remote learning, attendance verification for financial aid, etc... are not expected to persist.

[Caracal]

I have not seen hy-flex designated as an ADA accommodation at my Uni on the accommodation forms, but we were strongly encouraged to do some aspects of hy-flex (e.g., stream and record all class sessions) for universal access. We are also strongly encouraged to be "flexible" with attendance/in-class work.  I don't grade on attendance, but I've had to adjust the format of "in-class" activities to allow for submission outside of class (I also have a certain number of drops).   I kept some exams online (only the ones designed to be open note/book--given the exam fail rates I still have, if my students are cheating, they are not doing it well).  Some of my major assessments do require in-person participation and, so far, I've not had any push back on those.

Is this policy just for covid, or did your institution have it prior to the pandemic?

My college has a lot of "covid accommodation" policies. Some of them have already been phased out, and many others are expected to be removed by the end of the summer. The U.S. Department of Education and the regional accreditors are not expected to remain dormant for much longer, and their temporary waivers for things like remote learning, attendance verification for financial aid, etc... are not expected to persist.

Yeah, I think that's a good distinction to make. We should all be giving a lot of leeway for student absences and other issues caused by covid.

In some contexts, that could create a disability accommodation claim. If, for example, students who can't enter the country can take the class via a Zoom stream, it would be hard to argue that a student who can't attend class because of social anxiety shouldn't also be able to use the same zoom stream. What you aren't allowed to do is arbitrarily decide that a disability can't be accommodated.

[OneMoreYear]

I have not seen hy-flex designated as an ADA accommodation at my Uni on the accommodation forms, but we were strongly encouraged to do some aspects of hy-flex (e.g., stream and record all class sessions) for universal access. We are also strongly encouraged to be "flexible" with attendance/in-class work.  I don't grade on attendance, but I've had to adjust the format of "in-class" activities to allow for submission outside of class (I also have a certain number of drops).   I kept some exams online (only the ones designed to be open note/book--given the exam fail rates I still have, if my students are cheating, they are not doing it well).  Some of my major assessments do require in-person participation and, so far, I've not had any push back on those.

Is this policy just for covid, or did your institution have it prior to the pandemic?

My college has a lot of "covid accommodation" policies. Some of them have already been phased out, and many others are expected to be removed by the end of the summer. The U.S. Department of Education and the regional accreditors are not expected to remain dormant for much longer, and their temporary waivers for things like remote learning, attendance verification for financial aid, etc... are not expected to persist.

Yeah, I think that's a good distinction to make. We should all be giving a lot of leeway for student absences and other issues caused by covid.

In some contexts, that could create a disability accommodation claim. If, for example, students who can't enter the country can take the class via a Zoom stream, it would be hard to argue that a student who can't attend class because of social anxiety shouldn't also be able to use the same zoom stream. What you aren't allowed to do is arbitrarily decide that a disability can't be accommodated.

For my Uni, it's currently a response to COVID. We were theoretically supposed to have most of our classes in-person this semester and to be able to have the expectation that students attend in person, but there was an immediate departmental pivot at the beginning of the semester for continued flexibility. So, I stream for all classes (my lab-based class as it's own complications I won't get into here). And we don't ask for a reason (e.g. you could be streaming because you are exposed to COVID, because you're car won't start, because you don't have childcare, because you don't feel like coming, whatever). I am required to teach from the classroom no matter how many students (if any) actually show up in person.

[Puget]

it would be hard to argue that a student who can't attend class because of social anxiety shouldn't also be able to use the same zoom stream. What you aren't allowed to do is arbitrarily decide that a disability can't be accommodated.

Actually not hard to argue because enabling someone with social anxiety to avoid social situations is the very worst thing you can do for them (avoidance increases the anxiety over time). Our accessibility office would not give such an accommodation, but rather refer the student to the counseling center for help with their social anxiety (which is going to include exposure therapy).

[marshwiggle]

it would be hard to argue that a student who can't attend class because of social anxiety shouldn't also be able to use the same zoom stream. What you aren't allowed to do is arbitrarily decide that a disability can't be accommodated.

Actually not hard to argue because enabling someone with social anxiety to avoid social situations is the very worst thing you can do for them (avoidance increases the anxiety over time).

This raises a question, which you might be in a position to answer. Is there a stated principle in disability accommodations that they should be geared toward the students' long term improvement, rather than making them feel better in their current situation? I could see those potentially being in conflict at least some of the time.

[Puget]

it would be hard to argue that a student who can't attend class because of social anxiety shouldn't also be able to use the same zoom stream. What you aren't allowed to do is arbitrarily decide that a disability can't be accommodated.

Actually not hard to argue because enabling someone with social anxiety to avoid social situations is the very worst thing you can do for them (avoidance increases the anxiety over time).

This raises a question, which you might be in a position to answer. Is there a stated principle in disability accommodations that they should be geared toward the students' long term improvement, rather than making them feel better in their current situation? I could see those potentially being in conflict at least some of the time.

Not in terms of the ADA so far as I know. But our student accessibility office certainly takes into account what is in the best interests of the student when determining what a reasonable and appropriate accommodation is. So this is going to vary locally.

They also take seriously that a reasonable accommodation cannot fundamentally alter the educational objectives and requirements of the course, so what is reasonable depends on the course. e.g., for a course fulfilling our "oral literacy" requirement, giving presentations live in front of the class is non-negotiable because that's the skill being evaluated, even if the student might otherwise get an accommodation to give presentations in some other format. Likewise, a student is not going to get an online accommodation for a lab course, etc. A lot of times the accommodation letter will append "when educationally appropriate" to an accommodation.

[aside]

The ADA just requires "reasonable accommodations". It is up to the university to determine what those reasonable accommodations are. So this is on that university's accommodations office, not federal law.

This is very true on the front end.  However, should a lawsuit arise, it will be up to a judge or jury to determine what is "reasonable." 

[mythbuster]

I had a student ask for essentially HyFlex before the start of this semester. .  It was not for COVID, but they clearly got the idea because of COVID accommodations. They did not YET have any official ADA accommodations, but rather a newly diagnosed medical condition that will ultimately result in some sort of accommodations. Thankfully for me, the class in question also has a lab, and it became clear when talking to this student that they were not yet at a point with their medical issues to be safe while in the lab. I convinced this student to wait to another semester to take this class.

So it's coming. It's just a question of whether your Accommodations office wants to push for it.

[Hibush]

The ADA just requires "reasonable accommodations". It is up to the university to determine what those reasonable accommodations are. So this is on that university's accommodations office, not federal law.

This is very true on the front end.  However, should a lawsuit arise, it will be up to a judge or jury to determine what is "reasonable."

How many times has your school had such a case actually go to a jury?

[aside]

The ADA just requires "reasonable accommodations". It is up to the university to determine what those reasonable accommodations are. So this is on that university's accommodations office, not federal law.

This is very true on the front end.  However, should a lawsuit arise, it will be up to a judge or jury to determine what is "reasonable."

How many times has your school had such a case actually go to a jury?

I will not comment on what has happened at my school.  If you are suggesting most cases are settled before reaching a trial, then I would agree that is likely. If you're suggesting such lawsuits are unlikely in the first place, then a quick Google of "ada lawsuit against university" might be helpful.

My point remains that it is not always up to the university to determine what reasonable accommodations are.  I'll happily revise my earlier statement to "However, should a lawsuit arise, it may be up to a judge or jury to determine what is 'reasonable'."

[Mobius]

I had to tell students the first day of class that Zoom class was not an option if they can't come. F2F or bust.

[Aster]

I had to tell students the first day of class that Zoom class was not an option if they can't come. F2F or bust.

I think that every one of us has had that conversation within the last year.

As schools and universities reopen more and more, paid ZOOM licenses are going to be expiring en masse. I have been mildly curious to see how many of ZOOM's 4,000+ employees will be left by 2023.

[Caracal]

I had to tell students the first day of class that Zoom class was not an option if they can't come. F2F or bust.

I think that every one of us has had that conversation within the last year.

As schools and universities reopen more and more, paid ZOOM licenses are going to be expiring en masse. I have been mildly curious to see how many of ZOOM's 4,000+ employees will be left by 2023.

Well, I'm still using Zoom to have individual meetings with students on days when I'm not on campus, or when students can't make it to campus but want to meet with me. I doubt universities are that big a portion of Zoom business anyway and many companies have realized that they can save a lot of money by having many people do much of their work remotely.

[Aster]

I had to tell students the first day of class that Zoom class was not an option if they can't come. F2F or bust.

I think that every one of us has had that conversation within the last year.

As schools and universities reopen more and more, paid ZOOM licenses are going to be expiring en masse. I have been mildly curious to see how many of ZOOM's 4,000+ employees will be left by 2023.

Well, I'm still using Zoom to have individual meetings with students on days when I'm not on campus, or when students can't make it to campus but want to meet with me. I doubt universities are that big a portion of Zoom business anyway and many companies have realized that they can save a lot of money by having many people do much of their work remotely.

I believe that you may be underestimating universities. You might be only thinking about ones based out of the U.S., rather than globally. Although checking ZOOM's financials, the bulk of their revenue stream is still coming out of the Americas.

But it is the K-12 schools that are by far the greater customers.

The education sector currently makes up one of the larger profit categories for ZOOM, with at least 100,000 separate institutions using it. ZOOM subsidies for education were extremely generous during the pandemic. Indeed, ZOOM's CEO was extraordinarily charitable to the education sector during covid. But most of the ZOOM subsidies, discounts, and free accounts for schools are either already gone or will be going away soon.

Don't get me wrong, ZOOM is still a very good bargain, and a great piece of software But the company is cresting the top of its growth wave right now, and most economists are predicting a plunge in 2022. And a lot of schools will probably be cutting the cord in 2022. My own institution has been wanting to do it for over a year now, but between covid resurgences and vigorous faculty pushback, we're still holding onto our ZOOM license for the short term.