Court Opinion

ID: 9497296
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:47:38.197194+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:06.324714
License: Public Domain

THOMAS, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
One of the central purposes of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to provide equal opportunity for those individuals who are qualified to receive government services but cannot complete the program requirements without a reasonable accommodation of their disability. Unfortunately, the majority opinion turns this idea on its head by holding that, as a matter of law, academic success definitively disproves the existence of a learning disability. This interpretation places individuals with disabilities in a classic Catch-22 situation. In order to receive an accommodation, the disabled person must show that he or she can satisfy the program’s minimum eligibility requirements. However, under the majority theory, if the student meets those prerequisites, then the student cannot receive an accommodation because establishing qualification proves the student isn’t disabled. At a minimum, this interpretation precludes all students who, despite learning disabilities, have nonetheless achieved “academic success,” from receiving ADA mandated accommodations. Not only does this interpretation evert the ADA’s underlying theory, but it is antithetical to ADA’s requirement of individualized assessment of disability.
Therefore, I must respectfully dissent.
I
The elements of an action under the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the ADA are well established. As we held in the first iteration of this case:
To establish a prima facie case of discrimination based upon his disability in violation of the Acts, Wong must produce evidence that: (1) he is “disabled” as the Acts define that term; (2) he is qualified to remain a student at the School of Medicine, meaning that he can *1111meet the essential eligibility requirements of the school with or without reasonable accommodation; (3) he “was dismissed solely because of [his] disability;” and (4) the school “receives federal financial assistance (for the Rehabilitation Act claim) or is a public entity (for the ADA claim).” Zukle v. Regents of the Univ. of California, 166 F.3d 1041, 1045 (9th Cir.1999).
Wong v. Regents of University of California, 192 F.3d 807, 816 (9th Cir.1999).
In the first phase of this case, the University conceded arguendo that Wong was disabled. Instead, the University focused on the second element and successfully argued to the district court that he could not meet the essential requirements of medical school even with an accommodation. However, we held that Wong had tendered sufficient evidence of his ability to meet the requirements if given an accommodation to survive summary judgment. Quite naturally, on remand Wong attempted to shore up his proof that he could satisfy performance requirements if given a reasonable accommodation. The University filed a new motion for summary judgment, claiming that Wong was not disabled because he had shown academic success. The district court denied the motion, holding that there were genuine issues of material fact about that issue. However, some eight months later, the district court reversed course and granted summary judgment after oral argument on an in limine motion. The district court’s essential reasoning was that Wong’s record of academic success established that he did not have a qualifying disability. In short, Wong had proven himself out of a case in his attempts to show that he could succeed if given a chance. As the approving majority opinion puts it:
Regarding the activity of learning, Wong’s claim to be “disabled” is fatally contradicted by his ability to achieve academic success, without special accommodations. Most notably, Wong completed the first two years of the medical school program, the academic courses on a normal schedule, with a grade point average slightly above a “B,” and he passed the required national board examination at that point, both without the benefit of any special accommodations. That is not to say that a successful student by definition cannot qualify as “disabled” under the Acts.... Nor do we say that a successful student cannot prove “disability” based on a learning impairment. A learning-impaired student may properly be considered to be disabled if he could not have achieved success without special accommodations
... The level of success Wong has achieved without special accommodation precludes the possibility that he is disabled under the Acts based on a learning impairment.
If we were reviewing a jury verdict adverse to Wong, those sentiments might well be appropriate observations as a rationale for sustaining the jury verdict. However, this case comes to us on summary judgment where we do not weigh the preponderance of the evidence, but decide simply whether genuine issues of fact exist. In the summary judgment context— and particularly given the history of the case — a history of academic success alone cannot justify the conclusion, as a matter of law, that a plaintiff is not disabled. To do so places the ADA plaintiff in an untenable situation where”[s]uccess negates the existence of the disability, whereas failure justifies dismissal for incompetency.” Andrew Weiss, Jumping to Conclusions in “Jumping the Queue, ” 51 Stan. L.Rev. 183, 205 (1998).
That is not the theory or the purpose of the ADA. The idea of the ADA is to afford *1112equal opportunity to qualified individuals with disabilities; it is not to deny opportunity to the disabled solely because meeting the prerequisites of qualification demonstrates their abilities.
II
To analyze the issue before us properly, we need to return to the fundamental question of what constitutes a disability under the ADA, and how that determination is made in a particular case. The ADA defines a disability as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of [an] individual.” 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(A).
The first step is to determine whether the plaintiff has an ADA recognized “impairment.” There is no doubt that learning disabilities fall within the ADA definition of impairment. Indeed, mental and physical impairments are defined to include “specific learning disabilities.” 28 C.F.R. § 35.104. Federal law has long recognized learning disabilities as impairments. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400-1409, specifically recognized those students with learning disabilities as qualifying for coverage.1 20 U.S.C. § 1401(3). The Secretary of Education is empowered to make grants to colleges and universities to provide “professional development and technical assistance in order for students with learning disabilities to receive a quality post secondary education.” 20 U.S.C.A. § 1140a.
Although learning disabilities are unquestionably considered to be qualifying impairments, not all impairments are considered to be disabilities under the ADA. In order to be entitled to any kind of accommodation under the ADA, an individual must demonstrate that the qualifying impairment “substantially limits” a “major life activity.” 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(A). It is uncontested that “learning” is considered a major life activity under the ADA. See 28 C.F.R. § 35.104 (2003) (defining “major life activity” to include learning). In the ADA context, “substantially limits” means”[s]ignificantly restricted as to the condition, manner or duration under which an individual can perform a particular major life activity as compared to the condition, manner or duration under which the average person in the general population can perform that same major life activity.” 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)(l)(ii) (2003).
Thus, in our case, we start from the agreed premise that learning disabilities constitute qualifying ADA impairments, and that learning is a major life activity. The remaining disability issue is whether Wong’s learning disability substantially limits his ability to learn. Accordingly, to survive summary judgment on the question of disability, Wong was required to tender sufficient evidence to demonstrate that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether his learning disability significantly restricted the condition, manner or duration of his learning ability as compared to the average person in the general population. To that end, Wong tendered proof that:
• He was first identified as having learning disabilities while in kindergarten and required special tutoring;
*1113• In middle school, he was assigned to a special class for assisted learning;
• During high school, junior college, and San Francisco State University, he spent all of his time outside school reading in order to keep up, and regularly requested extra time on assignments and essay exams;
• The University’s own Disability Resource Center diagnosed him as having a learning disability or impairment that limited his ability to process information;
• His reading comprehension scores were in the 99th percentile when he was allowed to read without time limits, but that under time constraints his scores dropped to the eighth grade level; and
• When Wong was accorded — at the suggestion of a Medical School’s faculty member- — -an additional reading period prior to his clerkships in Medicine and Surgery, he passed both with generally positive evaluations and “B” grades.
In sum, Wong tendered evidence of a long history of diagnosed learning disability that significantly restricted his ability to learn in the same manner as the average population. This is sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on the question of the existence of a disability, and that should be the end of the inquiry.
However, the apparent problem in this case is that Wong worked too hard and succeeded too well. As with many students with learning disabilities, Wong developed alternative strategies to compensate for his disability and received special assistance throughout his elementary, secondary, and undergraduate education. As the result of his diligence, coupled with accommodations, Wong achieved sufficient academic success to be admitted to medical school. Without accommodation, he was able to successfully complete his first two years. On this basis, the majority concludes, as a matter of law, that “a student cannot successfully claim to be disabled based on a limitation of his ability to ‘learn’ with such a record of achievement.” Although evidence of past academic success is certainly relevant to an ultimate factual determination of whether Wong is disabled, it plainly does not entitle the University to judgment as a matter of law. If so, as a matter of law, no student admitted to medical school could ever be considered to have a learning disability because the very act of admission would definitively disprove it.
The ADA does not draw such bright lines. Its guiding principle is that a disability determination is an individualized inquiry. Toyota Motor Mfg., Ky., Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184, 199, 122 S.Ct. 681, 151 L.Ed.2d 615 (2002); Thornton v. McClatchy Newspapers, Inc., 261 F.3d 789, 794 (9th Cir.2001). Aside from those impairments that might constitute a per se ADA disability, see Albertson’s, Inc. v. Kirkingburg, 527 U.S. 555, 566, 119 S.Ct. 2162, 144 L.Ed.2d 518 (1999), a determination whether a plaintiff is disabled within the meaning of the ADA requires a sensitive, fact-based analysis, which includes the nature and severity of the impairment, 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)(2)(i), and the effectiveness and burdens of mitigating measures used by the plaintiff, see Sutton v. United Air Lines, 527 U.S. 471, 488, 119 S.Ct. 2139, 144 L.Ed.2d 450 (1999), among other considerations. In an individualized disability assessment”[w]e do not decide whether every diabetic is disabled, and we do not decide whether every severely obese person is not disabled.” Fraser v. Goodale, 342 F.3d 1032, 1039 (9th Cir.2003). This admonition is particularly apt in the examination of learning disabilities: The diagnosis of the nature and severity of dyslexia, dyscalculia, aphasia, and attention deficient disorder is far more complex and less precise than, for example, the detection of a staphylococci infection. Dis*1114abilities covered by the ADA, and learning disabilities in particular, defy generalization and uniform treatment. Thus, in our context, it is just as inappropriate to decide that all persons of achievement are per se not disabled as it is to decide that all persons with learning disabilities are disabled within the meaning of the ADA. See, e.g., Vinson v. Thomas, 288 F.3d 1145, 1153-54 (9th Cir.2002) (finding a genuine issue of material fact where a college student alleged that his dyslexia substantially impaired his ability to learn). In this case the holding that academic achievement precludes a disability finding is also belied by the subsequent events. Indeed, if our story had concluded at the end of Wong’s second year in medical school, no suit would have ensued. However, Wong’s performance in clinical clerkships was not stellar. He failed his first clerkship and withdrew from his second. Wong nonetheless believed that if given the accommodation of extra time to prepare for his clerk-ships, he could successfully complete them. And, when given extra preparation time, he successfully completed his clerkships. However, when denied extra preparation time, he did not succeed. Thus, even if we focus our inquiry on his academic record, the record is far from conclusive. But that is a matter for a trier of fact.
The majority’s approach effectively bars the entire class of learning disabled students from receiving ADA accommodations in graduate school. This plainly contradicts the required individualized assessment of disability. The grant of summary judgment based on academic achievement as a matter of law cannot be reconciled with the ADA, Supreme Court case law, or Ninth Circuit precedent.
For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.

. The IDEA defines a learning disability as "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. Such term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Such term does not include a learning problem that is primarily the result of visual, hearing or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.” 20 U.S.C. § 1401(26).