Do schools have to follow the ADA?

I go to University and they say they can't accommodate for Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD because the academic department refuses to acknowledge them as disabilities. I get very good grades but I have trouble attending, and because it's a small university, attendance gets graded, and that usually ****s up my grade.

I live an hour away from the university and I can't live there due to having an ESA at home. We're applying for a service dog in hopes that it will help me cope when my symptoms act up at school, but it seems like the further I get, the less understanding my teachers are, even when I have medical notes.

What would be your advice in this situation? Literally I am trying my hardest and I do all my assignments on time, even if I procrastinate a bit. I never ask for extensions--it's just sometimes my symptoms act up and it gets in the way of attending to the point where my teachers have noticed.

Hello BlueberryDonut: Well... I'm no expert when it comes to ADA. But I'm not aware of any company, organization or agency that is exempt. My suggestion would be to contact a disability rights organization in your area to inquire with regard to this & perhaps receive some assistance in resolving the issue.

I agree I don't know of any exemptions from this law. It affects all public and private schools...

If a school accepts any federal monies they must follow the ADA laws. Some private schools try to get around the rules. A good bet would be trying to see if Disability Rights( your state) could help. They are a national federally funded legal aid program that help with any discrimination in schools, workplace and apartments. You can google national disabilty rights to find out how to contact the one in your state. They don't accept all cases however due to lack of funding but it's worth a telephone call to find out if they can help.

Absolutely they have to accommodate! Unless they are a private faith-based group that only allows members... they need to comply. Did you speak with the counselor, administrator?

Are you talking with your teachers or did you talk with Disability Services? It sounded like you were giving these doctors notes to you professors, but correct me if I'm wrong.

If you are only talking to your teacher, despite your doctors notes, they are not obligated to accommodate you because the university does not have you as being qualified as a student with a disability.

You have to go through the college's disability services to set up academic accommodations. The teachers aren't going to do it without directive from that office. If it is a private college that does not receive any federal funding, it gets murkier, but most will have some system of accommodation.

I went to the disability services and they told me they don't accommodate for depression, anxiety, and ptsd. They said they let the teachers call the shots with attendance

I guess you need to decide to confront them or go to a different school... Can you share the school's name and location? If you do I will research it for you.