Office for Civil Rights threatens to cut university funding over failure to make stadium wheelchair accessible
The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has sent a letter to the University of Michigan (UM) threatening to cut federal funding to the university if it fails to reach an agreement with the agency about how to make Michigan Stadium accessible to wheelchair-bound fans. The 42-page letter describes the stadium as largely unfriendly to disabled fans and UM as largely unwilling to provide information about the stadium to the OCR. UM officials disagree with the letter's substance but have indicated their willingness will negotiate with the office. UM received almost $35 million in ED grants last year. On top of that, the department could also take away the millions of dollars in Pell grants, work-study funds, and student loans that University students receive each year, said ED spokesman Jim Bradshaw in an interview. Mr. Bradshaw said the department usually reaches an agreement with the offending party. "In the vast majority of cases, we're able to work with schools to help them come into compliance with the law," he said. "While cutting off funding is an option, it's a last resort. But it is an option. It is part of the law that we enforce."
The OCR's letter says that the university has broken those laws by failing to provide adequate accommodations for disabled fans. The letter says the university's facilities have discouraged fans who need wheelchairs from attending football games. In the letter, stadium patrons using wheelchairs reported being "crammed" into platforms designed for wheelchairs while fans in front of them stood, blocking their view. They also criticized the university for not offering a wide variety of seat locations, echoing the concerns of the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the number of wheelchair-accessible seats in the stadium. The letter also says UM has refused to provide the OCR with information, or has provided limited information, about renovation projects conducted over the last 15 years. "We note that our investigation was impeded by the University's failure to respond to our requests for information about many construction projects," the letter says. "OCR has been compelled to base its information on the limited information that the University has made available in addition to OCR's independent investigation."
University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham expressed surprise that the university received the letter, saying it has provided the department with requested information and has renovated its facilities in response to criticisms raised by the OCR. "They have all the information about the expansion project," she said. "We've been so transparent about everything we're doing with the expansion project that they've got to know what it is. I'm completely baffled." Ms. Cunningham said UM has already made some of the necessary changes outlined in the letter, including expanding bathrooms to make them accessible to wheelchairs and lowering counters at concession stands to accommodate wheelchair-bound patrons. ED’s letter says that the counters adjusted by the university are still several inches higher than required by the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards and that the university did not lower counters at all types of concessions stands.
Michigan Daily By Gabe Nelson, with Arikia Millikan
[Editor’s Note: The OCR letter, below, marks an especially forceful stance by the agency. UM’s 26-page response to OCR also is below. Information about the lawsuit by the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, including news reports and the legal complaint, is compiled on the website of the group’s lawyer. The last link is to information on litigation about the accessibility of school facilities in Richmond, Virginia, and federal resources on accessibility.]
OCR letter
UM response to OCR
Law Offices of Samuel I. Bernstein on lawsuit
NSBA School Law pages on Richmond litigation