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CNN
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Current students and an advocacy group are suing Yale University and its governing body, alleging “systemic discrimination against students with mental health disabilities,” according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Connecticut federal court.
The lawsuit alleges that the university discriminated against students with mental health disabilities and forced students to withdraw from school after displaying severe symptoms of mental health disabilities.
Yale officials pressure students to take “voluntary” leaves of absence for at least one or two terms when they experience significant symptoms of a mental health disability, suggesting they would otherwise face “involuntary” withdrawal, the lawsuit alleges .
Students withdrawing from the university are prohibited from visiting campus and all campus activities without prior permission from the school, including in-person summer classes that are open to non-students, the lawsuit claims.
Policies require withdrawing students to move out of their on-campus housing. within 48 hours.
Rishi Mirchandani, a Yale alumnus and plaintiff in the lawsuit, described his problems with the school when he was dealing with his own mental health crisis as a college student there.
“I think Yale tends to wash its hands of cases of mental illness that are too severe because they don’t want to be associated with that student. They want the student to deal with his problems anywhere except on the Yale campus,” Mirchandani told CNN. “And in some cases, taking time off is a healthy decision. In other cases, it separates students from their primary support group.”
An attorney with the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law representing the students and the advocacy group said Yale’s politics are difficult to navigate.
“We’ve been researching and collecting data on mental health issues on campuses across the country and using it to inform policy change we’re advocating for at the national level. We found that Yale is a particularly egregious example,” Monica Porter told CNN.
Yale has been reviewing its retirement policies since September, the Yale president said in a november statement.
“A committee of Yale College student affairs professionals and mental health experts has been meeting since September 2022 to continue the review of our withdrawal and reinstatement policies,” the statement said. “This group is prepared to implement policy changes in stages that will continue to support students.”
And the university has been working on policy changes that address the emotional and financial well-being of students, a Yale spokesperson told CNN Wednesday in a statement.
“Yale faculty, staff, and leaders care deeply about our students. We recognize how distressing and difficult it is for the student and their loved ones when a student is facing mental health challenges. When we make decisions and establish policies, our primary focus is the safety and health of students, especially when they are most vulnerable. We believe in creating and maintaining strong, sensible support structures for our students, and in many cases, the safest plan includes the student’s parents and family,” spokesperson Karen Peart said.
“We have taken steps in recent years to make it easier for students with medical withdrawals to return to Yale and to provide additional support for students. We are also working to increase resources to help students. The University trusts that our policies comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Nonetheless, we have been working on policy changes that are responsive to the emotional and financial well-being of students,” she said.
The lawsuit details instances in which students were required to be accompanied by a police escort to collect their belongings from campus housing after being discharged from the university.
Students who leave for disability-related reasons voluntarily or involuntarily often end up losing part of their tuition and room and board payments depending on when they leave, and also lose their student health insurance, the lawsuit says.
the demand cites a 2018 report from the Ruderman Family Foundation which awarded Yale an “F” for its absences and withdrawal policies, behind six other Ivy League schools. A student named in the lawsuit described being called “accountable” by university officials after mental health episodes.
“If something happened to (her), (she) would be a liability for the university,” an official told the student, who was admitted to a local hospital after being reported for self-harm.
The student ultimately withdrew from Yale voluntarily and graduated from another school because she could not afford Yale’s class requirements in order to return.
The named plaintiff, Hannah Neves, alleges in the lawsuit that Yale officials visited her in the hospital after she overdosed on aspirin in February of her junior year, pressuring her to withdraw voluntarily or be withdrawn from the school against of his will.
Despite being hospitalized without access to her cell phone, the university informed her via email that she had 72 hours to leave campus, the lawsuit alleges. Born in Brazil on a student visa, Neves was forced to return to her home country on short notice. Ultimately, Neves was allowed to return to the university for the spring 2021 semester and she is on track to complete her degree next year, the lawsuit says.
According to the university’s website, the school reserves the right to withdraw students for medical reasons when it determines that “due to a medical condition, the student is a danger to self or others, the student has Seriously disruptive to others in your academic or residential environment. communities, or the student has refused to cooperate with efforts deemed necessary by Yale Health and the Dean of Yale College to make such determinations. Each case is evaluated on an individual basis based on all relevant factors, including, but not limited to, the level of risk presented and the availability of reasonable accommodations.”
Yale’s review of retirement policies in recent months, followed by a Washington Post article detailing similar allegations by students and alumni.
Two Yale officials were “disappointed to read” the story, they said wrote in response to a Washington Post opinion piece, noting that confidentiality prevents the school from commenting on specific cases. Continued enrollment isn’t always the best option for the mentally ill, and in recent years, more than 90% of students who applied for reinstatement were successful on their first try, their opinion piece states.
The lawsuit asks the court to approve their class action status, alleging that there are likely hundreds of current Yale students who could qualify as plaintiffs with mental health disabilities. The plaintiffs have asked the court to bar the university, except for discriminatory policies it claims are illegal under federal law, and award attorneys’ fees and costs.
A nonprofit organization named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, Elis for Rachael, contacted university officials in August in an attempt to resolve the students’ claims without litigation, according to the lawsuit, but the parties have not communicated. met or discussed the issues raised in the complaint. complaint, she says.
“A committee of Yale College student affairs professionals and mental health experts has been meeting since September 2022 to continue the review of our withdrawal and reinstatement policies,” the university president said in a statement. “This group is prepared to implement policy changes in stages that will continue to support students.”
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