Use interactive process to determine if accommodations for Long COVID create fundamental alterations

Abstract

Although the worst of the COVID pandemic appears to be over, its impact on disability services providers will continue through the effects of Long COVID and through continued fear of illness. Recent guidance from the Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Justice (https://bit.ly/3IPSbYh, which I previously discussed here: February 2022, https://bit.ly/3IPSbYh) notes that Long COVID, an occasional consequence of even mild COVID infections, can be a disability if it substantially limits a major life activity, and therefore can be expected to trigger requests for academic adjustments and reasonable accommodations. The guidance notes that common symptoms associated with Long COVID include but are not limited to fatigue; difficulty thinking or concentrating, sometimes referred to as brain fog; depression; anxiety; and heart palpitations, all of which may directly interfere with the ability to think and learn.