Editing Herzing Issues: ADA and Disability Accommodations (section)

=== HU-198: The reporting student informed Herzing that a Department of Education investigator had requested updated psychological evaluation documentation, and that his updated diagnosis newly includes Autism Spectrum Disorder ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
! style="width:14em" | Severity
| High
! Status
| CONFIRMED as to the content and transmission of this email; the underlying claim that an OCR investigator requested the evaluation, and the content of the attached evaluation report itself, have not been independently reviewed in this entry
|-
! Issue type
| Active OCR Investigation Involvement; Updated Disability Diagnosis Disclosed; Additional Complaint Under Consideration
! Date added
| 2026-09-13
|-
! Owner
| colspan="3" | Dr. Danielle Laban (Associate Vice President, Student Affairs); U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (investigator identity not stated in this email)
|}
'''Finding.''' On June 22, 2026, the reporting student informed Dr. Laban, copying Herzing's ADA office, Emilie Thompson, David Steele, and Dr. Nicole Franklin, that he had obtained an updated psychological evaluation on June 19, 2026, stating this was done in anticipation of a request from an investigator on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education. He stated his updated diagnosis now includes Autism Spectrum Disorder and attached the evaluation report. In the same email, he stated he was considering filing an additional OCR complaint, citing a 180-day filing requirement, that morning's exam issue, anxiety caused by a lack of accommodations on his first exams, denial of an accommodation request on a retake, and a failure to promptly provide an exam link, and stated this had not been resolved in several weeks and continued as a result of the ProctorU issue. He asked whether the university wished to address the matter with him that day before he filed an additional complaint. This is the first indication in this tracker's records that a Department of Education investigator had directly engaged with the reporting student regarding his existing OCR complaints and requested updated documentation from him, and the first indication that his diagnostic profile has been updated to include Autism Spectrum Disorder since the diagnoses referenced in earlier entries in this tracker.

'''Evidence.''' Email, the reporting student to Dr. Danielle Laban, cc ADA, Emilie Thompson, David Steele, and Dr. Nicole Franklin, June 22, 2026, subject "Update," with attachment, the reporting student: statement that an updated psychological evaluation was completed June 19, 2026 in anticipation of an OCR investigator's request, statement that the updated diagnosis includes Autism Spectrum Disorder, and statement of intent to consider filing an additional OCR complaint based on that day's exam issue and a pattern of unresolved accommodation failures.

'''Reported statement.'''
<blockquote>As of 19 June 2026, I had an updated psychological evaluation done in anticipation of a request from the investigator on behalf of the Dept of Ed. My updated diagnosis includes Autism Spectrum Disorder.</blockquote>

'''Standards.''' This entry does not itself allege a Herzing policy violation; it documents the status of the reporting student's engagement with OCR's investigative process and a material update to his documented disability profile, both of which bear directly on the two OCR complaints already drafted in this project and on {{HU|HU-197}}'s stated intent to file a third. Section 504 and ADA analysis of any of the reporting student's accommodation requests should account for the full, current diagnostic picture, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, rather than only the diagnoses referenced in earlier entries in this tracker.

'''Impact.''' If an OCR investigator is in fact actively requesting documentation from the reporting student directly, this indicates his existing complaint or complaints have progressed to an investigative stage, which is significant given the OCR backlog concerns discussed elsewhere in this project's research. The updated Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis may be relevant to accommodation requests not previously framed in those terms, including the sensory and processing related aspects of the screen-based testing accommodation disputes documented throughout this tracker.

'''Notes.''' IMPORTANT: it is recommended that the reporting student be asked directly (1) whether an OCR investigator has in fact contacted him, and if so, which complaint or complaints that investigator is handling and what documentation has been requested or provided since; (2) whether the additional OCR complaint referenced in this June 22, 2026 email was ultimately filed, and if so, that the same confirmation records used for the two OCR complaints already documented in this project be obtained; (3) whether the attached evaluation report (the reporting student) should be reviewed and incorporated into this tracker's evidence base, since it was not reviewed in preparing this entry; and (4) whether the Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis should be reflected in the accommodation letter discrepancy already flagged in {{HU|HU-175}} and {{HU|HU-189}}. This entry should be treated as a priority follow-up given its direct bearing on active federal proceedings. Cross-References: {{HU|HU-175}}, {{HU|HU-185}}, {{HU|HU-186}}, {{HU|HU-195}}, and {{HU|HU-197}} (the accommodation and testing disputes this evaluation update and potential complaint would relate to), and the two OCR complaint drafts already prepared in this project.