A veteran with disabilities has filed a lawsuit against a major university, alleging discrimination and failure to provide necessary accommodations. Derjuan Tharrington lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on August 21, 2024, naming the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, along with its President William F. Tate IV, as defendants.
Tharrington, who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dyslexia, claims that despite being granted certain accommodations upon his acceptance into LSU Law for the Fall 2023 semester, he faced numerous challenges due to inadequate support from the university. He contends that these failures violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
According to Tharrington's complaint, he was initially granted accommodations such as double time on exams, dictation software, tape-recorded lectures, and note-taking assistance. However, during the Spring 2024 semester, he encountered significant issues accessing class recordings and notes essential for his studies. Tharrington alleges that while he received recordings directly from professors in Fall 2023, this method changed without proper notification or support in Spring 2024. As a result, he struggled to keep up with coursework due to inconsistent access to recorded lectures.
Tharrington detailed an incident where he failed a midterm exam in his Bankruptcy course because he did not receive accessible notes on time. Despite notifying Disability Services about this issue multiple times starting January 26, 2024, it wasn't until after his midterm that remedial action was taken. This delay caused him considerable stress and exacerbated his PTSD symptoms.
The plaintiff also highlighted another instance involving his Civil Law Property class where Professor J. Randall Trahan called on him to read aloud from an unprepared section of text. This incident led to embarrassment and ridicule from classmates when Tharrington couldn't locate or read the passage without his screen reader. Additionally, during the final exam for this course on April 26, 2024, Tharrington was given a paper supplement incompatible with his screen reader just before entering the exam room. This lack of accommodation severely impacted his performance.
Tharrington seeks both injunctive relief to ensure future compliance with ADA and Rehabilitation Act standards by LSU Law and compensatory damages for emotional distress and educational setbacks caused by these alleged failures. He argues that LSU's actions have not only breached their obligations under federal law but also violated their own policies outlined in "Policy Statement 26," which promises equal access and non-discrimination based on disability.
Representing Tharrington are attorneys Andrew D. Bizer, Garret S. DeReus, and Eva M. Kalikoff from Bizer & DeReus LLC based in New Orleans. The case is assigned Case ID: 3:24-cv-00686-JWD-EWD with Judge John W. deGravelles presiding.