Towards Universal Design in the Classroom

In this Article, I will discuss how we can make the law school classroom more accessible through the use of universal design features. I am sure my list is incomplete and that others, including the contributors to this issue, can add to this list. Nonetheless, I think there are two key benefits to a discussion of universal design principles. First, the use of universal design features will lessen the need for students to identify themselves as disabled and seek to use an often-clumsy accommodation process. It is expensive to receive a disability diagnosis from a trained professional, and some universities require documentation with adult norms that would not have been used for K-12 testing, when students were not yet adults. Further, some universities require students to renew their requests each semester. Even if the renewal request is automatically approved, it is time-consuming, anxiety-producing and disrespectful to one’s dignity to have to say “yes, I still have a visual impairment.” Second, I have found that all students benefit from many universal design features. On my end-of-year student evaluations, I often get comments from students thanking me for my use of a universal design feature, such as posting Powerpoint slides in advance of class, even though they do not identify as disabled. My students with disabilities often also thank me for allowing them to access instruction more fully without going through an accommodation process. The “universality” aspect of universal design has broad appeal. It saves time and money while respecting the dignity interests of students with disabilities. As a starting point to learn more about universal design, I would recommend that instructors learn to use resources such as ones made available by CAST. CAST is a nonprofit education research and development organization that created the Universal Design for Learning framework, which is used throughout the world to make education more inclusive. It provides strategies to have multiple means of engagement (the “why” of learning), multiple means of representation (the “what” of learning), and multiple means of action and expression (the “how” of learning) to reach the broadest possible audience. Within each of these categories, they offer guidelines on how to gain access, build knowledge and internalize learning so that students become expert learners. In this Article, I will discuss most of the sections on the CAST universal design chart and suggest ways that universal design can be achieved in a law school classroom. In making my suggestions, I am going to assume that some of my students are on the autism spectrum, some have visual or reading impairments that require the use of a screen reader, some have low vision, some have dyslexia, some have physical or motor disabilities, some are deaf or hard of hearing, some have an anxiety disorder or depression, some have ADHD, and some have a visual impairment such as color blindness. Some students, of course, may have several of those impairments. I will also add content to the issue of how to test students under principles of universal design, a topic not featured on the CAST website. While CAST is certainly not the only entity providing assistance with how instruction can proceed under principles of universal design, I am featuring it in this Article because I have found it helpful in my work. I encourage others to amplify what I have learned through their work.