| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §10909 is enacted to read: |
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| | | §10909.__Reasonable accommodation |
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| | | The university shall make reasonable accommodation for a | | student with a disability or a student with an illness.__The | | following requirements apply to making accommodations under this | | section. |
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| | | 1.__Form.__The university shall design a form for requesting | | accommodation for a student with a disability or a student with | | an illness.__The form must comply with federal and state law and | | must be designed so that a health care professional may provide | | information regarding the student's disability or illness. |
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| | | 2.__Priority.__In determining whether to make an accommodation | | and what types of accommodation to make and accommodation | | services to offer, the university must give particular weight to | | the opinions, diagnoses and recommendations of health care | | professionals who provide information under subsection 1. |
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| | | 3.__Decision.__The university shall make a determination | | regarding accommodation for a student with a disability or a | | student with an illness within 30 days of receiving a completed | | request form.__If the university fails to make a decision as | | required by this subsection, the university shall fully refund | | all tuition and fees paid by the student and shall reimburse the | | student for the student's expenses and any lost wages from missed | | employment as a result of pursuing the request. |
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| | | 4.__Direct accommodations and services.__The university shall | | offer to a student with a disability or a student with an illness | | who qualifies for accommodation options that must include, but | | are not limited to, lecture notes or tapes from the student's | | classes, section meetings and laboratory sessions and reasonable | | accommodation services as required for the student. |
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| | | 5.__Direct accommodation costs.__A majority of the | | university's funds budgeted for disability accommodation must be | | spent on accommodations and accommodation services. |
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| | | 6.__Legal fees.__The university shall establish a limitation | | on legal fees for an accommodation request that is legally | | disputed.__If the university anticipates exceeding the legal fee | | limitation for a request, the university shall notify the joint | | standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over | | education matters for the committee to consider reference of the |
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