Less Immunity for Public Colleges?

A federal appeals court has poked a hole in the immunity shield for state colleges.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled this week that the 11th Amendment does not protect public colleges from lawsuits filed by students under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The 11th circuit’s decision overturned a lower federal court’s 2001 ruling in a lawsuit brought against Florida International University by a group of hearing impaired students. They contended that the state-funded university had violated the ADA by failing to provide qualified classroom interpreters or note takers or to offer other ways for such students to understand classroom instruction.
The suit also charged that the students had received lower grades because of the university’s failure to communicate classroom material well, and that the institution had then failed to remedy that problem.

Full Story: http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/04/08/disabled