Zachary Featherstone, pictured with his wife and daughter, had been accepted for admission to Pacific Northwest University of Health Science’s osteopathic medical program before having the decision rescinded last April.
A federal judge ordered the university in Yakima, Wash., to allow Zachary Featherstone to enroll and attend with sign language interpreters and captioning services.
U.S. District Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. said Featherstone “established he is likely to prove that he sought reasonable and necessary accommodations that do not alter the nature of the educational program offered, the accommodations are available to PNWU and will not create an undue burden on the school.”
As for the university’s expressed concerns about patient safety and clinical requirements, Mendoza called them “unfounded based upon the growing trend of successful deaf health care professionals.”
Featherstone was accepted for admission for fall 2013 after a timed interview with an integrated teamwork component in which he used an interpreter, the decision said. After his acceptance, he asked for captioning for lectures and interpreting for clinics and labs. He gave PNWU information about state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation funding for universities for auxiliary aids and services for deaf students.
He agreed to PNWU’s request to defer enrollment until 2014 to provide more time for it to arrange aids and services, the decision said. The university created a 14-member accommodation committee for him.
But in April 2014, PNWU withdrew his admission, claiming concerns for patient safety in clinical situations, “compromised educational experiences for classmates” and an expected inability to finish performance exams on time.
