How Stetson Law Champions Accessibility On & Off Campus
From on-campus events to learning opportunities for professionals, Stetson Law is a place where accommodating individuals of all ability levels is part of the campus culture.
Here are some top ways the College of Law is showing its commitment to the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensuring a sense of belonging among those it aims to protect.
Supporting success by accommodating students
Tour the Stetson Law campus and you will see that facilities have been outfitted to ensure those with physical limitations can move about with ease. This is the tip of the iceberg. The College of Law also employs an Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator, alumna Kathryn Pelham ’06 to ensure students with temporary or permanent physical or mental disabilities receive reasonable academic adjustments to equip them for success. Through an interactive evaluation process, which students can initiate via the Accommodate Student Portal or by emailing [email protected], Pelham and her staff are committed to helping all students feel welcome and ready for success in law school.
Elevating faculty who champion disability rights
By hiring law faculty like Professor Robyn Powell, a nationally recognized expert in disability law, the College of Law fosters a space for scholarship around disability law and the other areas with which it intersects, such as reproductive rights and family law. Powell returned to Stetson Law in fall of 2024 after previously serving as Bruce R. Jacob Visiting Assistant Professor of Law.
Encouraging students to collaborate on disability law
Through the Stetson chapter of the Disability Allied Law Student Association, disabled students and their allies are invited to explore disability law and advocacy. The group aims to identify opportunities to promote equal rights for disabled people at Stetson Law and beyond, as well as spread awareness of challenges the disability community faces and ways to combat stigma toward individuals with disabilities.
In early October of 2024, in observation of Disability Employment Awareness Month, the group collaborated with the Student Bar Association to hold an informative lunch session offering tips and tricks for how to be more mindful when interacting with disabled individuals.
Hosting events such as an annual Sign Language Interpreter Training
As a place of learning, Stetson Law strives to ensure that the knowledge, insights, and scholarship that emerge on campus can inform the legal profession on the whole. This is why the College hosts events such as the Sign Language Interpreter Training for interpreters who work or aspire to work in a legal setting. The multi-day event invites interpreters explore the challenges of conducting such work during a trial and other legal setting.
Inviting motivated students to become disability advocates
Through Stetson Law’s Social Justice Advocacy (SJA) Concentration as well as experiential opportunities within partner organizations, students are encouraged to pursue their passion and are often recognized for their work. One example is student Jessica King, who – with help from mentors like Professor Judith Scully – seized on numerous opportunities to promote accessibility on campus and beyond. While at Stetson Law, she served as a legal intern at Disability Rights Florida – and was honored for this and other efforts by Washington, DC-based nonprofit Equal Justice Works in 2023.
Learn more about National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
Post date: Oct. 21, 2024
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
[email protected] | 727-430-1580