Disability Law (Harris)
Faculty
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| Jasmine E. Harris Professor of Law jashar@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Team Projects
Other Professional Skills: Regular hypotheticals and group work in class to practice applying the statutory and regulatory materials. Presentation of arguments/discussion.
Grading
25% Participation,
75% Exam,
Other (Please note that "Class Participation" includes regular attendance and active participation in class.)
Exam
Multiple Choice,
Short Answer,
Essay,
In Class,
Open-Book ("Open book" means access to your casebook, outlines prepared by you for this course during the semester (no hornbooks), copies of relevant statutes/regulations you have downloaded/printed, my course slides, your individual notes from this course. )
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email Dean Sara Pyle, Associate Dean of Students. Upon receipt of her authorization, I will email instructions to you for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
- I will make PowerPoint slides or other class materials routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
M 1:30PM - 4:10PM
Silverman Hall 280
Category
Upper-Level
Credits
3.0
This survey course examines disability law and theory. The course is largely devoted to the Americans with Disabilities Act (and the 2008 ADA Amendments Act) as it applies to employment, education, public accommodations, and government services and programs. In addition, this course offers an overview of related disability laws including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Topics include the history of state regulation of disability; statutory and cultural definitions of disability; social and medical models of disability; the nature of disability discrimination, including the use and limitations of traditional cost-benefit models to understand disability antidiscrimination goals and remedies; the construction of effective remedies; the role of medical expertise in disability cases; reasonable accommodations and defenses; the values and challenges of rights, justice, and human rights frames; and the relationship between disability and other antidiscrimination laws. The course will also include at least one “special topics” class selected by the students based on their interests in this field of law. The course materials are necessarily interdisciplinary to understand the nature of disability and disability discrimination in law and society and will include materials from history, philosophy, bioethics, literature, sociology, and psychology in addition to legal sources. Grades will be based on class participation (including regular attendance) and a final, in-class examination.
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
Courts and the Judicial System Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of both substantive and procedural issues in the operation of our legal system; Perform legal analysis in the context of procedural issues and the judicial process; Communicate effectively on topics related to procedure and the judicial process; Demonstrate an understanding of how procedural issues and the judicial process affect all other area of our legal system.
Employment Law and Employee Benefits Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of employment law and employee benefits; Perform legal analysis in the context of employment law and employee benefits; Communicate effectively on topics related to employment law and employee benefits; Demonstrate an understanding of how employment law and employee benefits affect other areas of law.
Health Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of health law and policy; Perform legal analysis in the context of health law and policy; Communicate effectively on topics related to health law and policy; Demonstrate an understanding of the interconnection among health law and policy and issues of access to services, public and private financing of health industries, and the political and economic issues surrounding issues of health law and health services.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Administrative and Regulatory Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of administrative and regulatory law and the administrative process, including the role of statutory authorization and work of administrative agencies; Perform legal analysis in the context of administrative and regulatory law; Communicate effectively on topics related to administrative and regulatory law; Demonstrate an understanding of the role administrative and regulatory law play in our legal system and in society as a whole.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Textbooks
"Disability Rights Law, Cases and Materials " by Samuel R. Bagenstos |