Disability Services
To facilitate equal educational and learning opportunities for students with documented disabilities, the Office of Disability Services (ODS) oversees disability access and accommodations for the law school.
The Office of Disability Services serves as a valuable resource to students with disabilities and establishes partnerships with faculty and staff to promote an understanding and awareness of accessibility issues that may arise both in and out of the classroom in order to provide a supportive and engaging setting for our students. Our overarching goals are to ensure our programs, activities, and curriculum are accessible and that we operate in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. (See our Essential Performance Standards Policy.)
Students with permanent or temporary disabilities seeking accommodations must self-identity to the Office of Disability Services, submit relevant documentation, and schedule an intake appointment to review their accommodation(s) requests. Full information on the process of registering with ODS can be found at the Registering with ODS page. For further questions, please contact the Office of Disability Services by email at [email protected] or at 617-573-8034.
For more information about the process for requesting exam accommodations, see the “Exam Accommodations: Law School” section on the Office of Disability Services’ Accommodations page.
A student who is dissatisfied with any decision of the Office of Disability Services regarding reasonable accommodations may file a grievance. See Disability Accommodations Grievance Procedure.
Accommodation Request Deadlines
We encourage students to contact the Office of Disability Services prior to the start of each semester to arrange or renew their accommodations. Because some coordination between the Office of Disability Services and faculty is needed for in-class accommodations, students will ideally request to renew accommodations three weeks prior to the start of classes. ODS will meet with students and coordinate accommodation requests that are received after this time, but the timing of certain accommodations may be delayed. Accommodations cannot be made retroactively. Exam accommodation requests are due two weeks after the start of the semester. Deadline extensions may be provided to students who were unable to meet the deadline due to extenuating circumstances.
For more information about the process for requesting exam accommodations, see Suffolk University Law School's Academic Accommodation Policy.
Admissions Inquiries
Suffolk University Law School is committed to providing services to our students who present with a wide variety of disabilities, chronic illnesses, mental health issues, and medical conditions. Accommodations are provided on a case by case basis in consultation with clinical documentation, a student's history, and our curricular requirements. It is not appropriate to request a documentation review or approval for services during the admissions process. These decisions and level of information sharing begin after enrollment with the law school. We highly recommend that during your law school search, you actively research Disability Services at each prospective school, review the entrance and exit requirements at various law schools, and explore the Dean of Students and Disability Services websites. Students who enroll at Suffolk University Law School are encouraged to contact Disability Services as early as possible to introduce themselves and initiate the process.