Student Loan Program Breached Equality Rights of Student With Disabilities, Court Rules

The way student loans are administered puts those with disabilities at an unfair disadvantage, ruled an Ontario court.

A deaf and blind woman lodged a lawsuit against Canada’s student loan program, arguing that students with disabilities must take on more debt because loans are based on the number of years a student is in school, and students with disabilities necessarily take longer to complete their programs. The plaintiff, Jasmin Simpson said that, instead, loan amounts should be program-based.

Ontario Court Sides with Disabled Students

In a recent ruling, Superior Court Justice Lorne Sossin sided with Simpson, ruling that federal and provincial student loan programs need to take measures to ensure that the debts for students with disabilities and their able-bodied peers in the same programs are the same.

“It is apparent that those administering the CSLP had the policy and administrative tools under the CSLP to redress the additional debt Ms. Simpson accrued due to taking longer as a consequence of her medical treatment and due to her disability,” Justice Sossin stated in his ruling.

According to The Star, the court did note that there is no inherent bias in Canada’s student loan administration, however. The order reportedly points to discretionary powers and procedures that the student loan program can use to help students with disabilities handle their debt.

Lawsuit Says Students Need More Time, Not Debt

In her lawsuit, Simpson alleged that students with disabilities need more time to complete academic programs; however, since the Canada Student Loan Program bases loans on the amount of time in school, students with disabilities were coming out of programs with the same degrees as their peers, but with additional debt.

Simpson is both legally deaf and blind. According to CBC News, she began a postgraduate degree program in 1999. She attended one of the only programs that is taught mainly in American Sign Language. She alleged that her disabilities required her to take a longer amount of time to complete the program.

Classes taught in American Sign Language were exhausting and Simpson says that she suffered eye strain from reading materials. Reportedly, Simpson had to take time off to deal with a medical condition; however, despite only taking classes for part of the time, she was charged the full year’s tuition.

As a result of her disabilities, Simpson says she took nine years to finish the program and was saddled with debt for each of those years. CBC News reports that the program Simpson completed would generally take five years for a student without disabilities.

In her lawsuit, Simpson sought to change the program to be more like the travel accommodation system in Canada, reports CBC News, where travelers need only buy one ticket to travel, even if their disabilities require them to take two seats.

Student Loan Administration Says Accommodations Adequate

In response to the lawsuit, Canada’s student loan administration pointed out that students with disabilities are already entitled to a number of accommodations.

Indeed, the Ontario Superior Court did not rule to scrap the current system, according to CBC News. However, administrators must now ensure that students with disabilities do not face a higher debt loan than their peers.

Student Says Change Will Help Others

According to the plaintiff, students with disabilities not only take longer to complete academic programs, they also have a harder time finding jobs. CBC News reports that 2017 statistics show that while four in five adults without disabilities are employed, only three in five adults with disabilities are employed in Canada.

“I’m not just thinking about myself, I’m thinking about all the people with a disability,” the plaintiff reportedly stated in an interview. “This sets the precedent for all of them. They all deserve equal access to education and accommodation, and the level of debt owing after graduating with those degrees should be equal for all.”

Are you a student with disabilities? What do you think about Canada’s student loan program? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

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