SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

A. BACKGROUND

This Settlement Agreement resolves the United States' investigation under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act with respect to Southern Illinois University Law School, DOJ Number: 204-25-85; USAO Number: 2014V00198. The parties to this Agreement are the United States of America and Southern Illinois University.
Southern Illinois University (“SIU”) is a public entity subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This matter is based upon a complaint filed with the United States Department of Justice (“Department”) by an SIU Law School student who has chronic fatigue syndrome (“Complainant”), who alleged that he was discriminated against due to SIU Law School’s failure to reasonably modify its policies in order to accommodate his disability.
The parties agree that it is in the parties' best interests, and the United States believes that it is in the public interest, to resolve this dispute amicably and without litigation. The parties have therefore voluntarily entered into this Agreement, agreeing as follows:

B. TITLE II COVERAGE AND FINDINGS

Under title II of the ADA, no qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity. 42 U.S.C. § 12132; 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(a).
Southern Illinois University, including the Law School, is a public entity under the ADA and thus subject to the statute's nondiscrimination mandate. See 42 U.S.C. § 12131; 28 C.F.R. § 35.104.
Complainant is an individual with a disability. Complainant has chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, including concentrating and the operation of the neurological and neuromuscular systems. 42 U.S.C. § 12102; 28 C.F.R. § 35.104. Complainant has attended SIU Law School from Fall 2012 until his graduation.
Based upon the United States' investigation, the United States found that SIU Law School's attendance policy is not enforced in a consistent manner, and that it would have been a reasonable modification for SIU Law School to modify its attendance policy for Complainant.
SIU accepts the Department's determinations, but SIU's entry into this Agreement shall not be construed as an admission of liability or wrongdoing.

C. ACTIONS TO B E TAKEN BY THE UNIVERSITY

Adoption and Dissemination of Polices

Within one hundred twenty (120) days of the effective date of this Agreement, SIU Law School shall adopt and implement policies to ensure that no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of SIU Law School, or be subjected to discrimination by SIU Law School.
SIU Law School will work cooperatively with SIU's Office of Disability Support Services so that, within one hundred twenty days (120) of the effective date of the Agreement, SIU Law School will transfer from the Associate Law School Dean to the Office of Disability Support Services the authority to address and resolve requests for disability-related accommodations and modifications. The Office of Disability Support Services will determine whether individual students have a disability which qualifies them for reasonable modifications, engage in an interactive process to determine what modifications are appropriate, coordinate services between law students with disabilities and the law school, and explain those modifications to their instructors.
SIU Law School will maintain an on-site point of contact, currently the Associate Law School Dean, for law students with disabilities and law school faculty and staff. Additionally, SIU Law School will maintain all necessary records.
SIU Law School shall provide its faculty and staff no fewer than 2 hours of training regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. This training shall be given no later than October 1, 2015, may be provided using in-house resources, in person or on-line, and may be completed in such a manner that permits law school faculty to utilize the training for CLE purposes. Additionally, faculty and staff includes:
1. all individuals who provide any course-related instruction to SIU Law School students (including, but not limited to, professors, instructors, other faculty, the associate dean’s clerical staff, the Registrar, and teaching assistants) (collectively, “Instructors”), and
2. all SIU Law School administrators, (collectively, “Administrators”).
3. Any other clerical staff not otherwise identified are excluded.
The ADA Training shall address the requirements of title II of the ADA. It must also specifically address the University’s resources for students and Instructors on disability-related matters; instructors’ obligations to provide all modifications approved for students by SIU’s Office of Disability Support Services or its successor; title II “best practices” to ensure the University’s compliance with the ADA; and what students are required to do to obtain and maintain ADA modifications .
Every year thereafter for the term of this Agreement, the University's Law School faculty and staff shall receive ADA training. For persons who must receive ADA Training pursuant to this Agreement, but who did not receive training on a designated training date required under this Agreement (for instance, because they were on leave from the University Law School, because they began their affiliation with the University Law School subsequent to the training date, or because they assumed a position within the University Law School subjecting them to coverage under this paragraph subsequent to the training date), the University Law School shall provide the ADA Training to such persons within sixty (60) days after the individual's commencement of service to the University Law School in a position covered by this paragraph or within sixty (60) days of their return to the University Law School (for instance, from leave). The University Law School shall maintain attendance logs reflecting the names and titles of attendees for each session of the ADA Instructor/Administrator Training conducted under this Agreement.
SIU Law School shall continually post accurate contact information for individuals seeking information on disability-related accommodations, including but not limited to (1) the SIU on-site point of contact required by Paragraph 11 of this Agreement and (2) the SIU Office of Disability Support Services. SIU Law School shall also continually post accurate information for filing disability discrimination complaints with the Department (via mail, email, and via telephone/TTY), as reflected at http://www.ada.gov/fact_on_complaint.htm. In addition, SIU Law School shall send a copy of each and every complaint involving claims of disability discrimination by an SIU Law School student to the United States Attorney Southern District of Illinois, Nine Executive Drive Fairview Heights, Illinois 62208.
During orientation sessions offered during the term of this Agreement to incoming law students (including “1Ls” and transfer students), SIU Law School shall include a mandatory presentation by a member of SIU’s Office of Disability Support Services, either as a stand-alone module or as part of other mandatory orientation on the resources available to students (“ADA Law Student Training”). The ADA Student Training shall include, but not be limited to, the functions of SIU’s ADA Coordinator, the SIU Law School point of contact, and SIU’s Office of Disability Support Services (including the process for obtaining a University-issued “Accommodations Letter”).

Reporting

Initial Report. No later than 120 days after the implementation of this agreement, SIU's ADA Coordinator, or their legal representative, shall submit a report to the Department confirming SIU's implementation of the policies referenced in this Agreement. SIU shall provide the Department with the attendance logs associated with its ADA Training.
Subsequent Reports. Every year on the anniversary of the due date of the first report, SIU's ADA Coordinator shall submit a report to the Department regarding SIU's compliance with this Agreement. The report shall include, for the period subsequent to its immediately prior report to the Department, the following:

The dates of the SIU Law School's ADA Training;
All attendance logs associated with ADA Training;
The dates of the SIU Law School's ADA Law Student Training;
Notification to the Department of all disability-related complaints, formal or informal, received by SIU or SIU Law School as of the effective date of this Agreement (including complaints made directly to the SIU's Office of Disability Support Services or to any individual who provides course-related instruction to SIU Law School students). Such notification shall include the name of the SIU Law School course; the professor(s) or instructor(s) teaching it; and a detailed description of the status or resolution of the matter.

All reports required pursuant to this Agreement shall be delivered to the undersigned counsel via electronic mail at jennifer.hudson2@usdoj.gov.

D. RELIEF TO THE COMPLAINANT

As a result of negotiations with the Department, the SIU Law School has restored the .3 reduction in Complainant's grade taken during the Spring Semester 2012.

E. OTHER PROVISIONS

In consideration for this Agreement, the Department will not institute a civil action against SIU alleging discrimination based on the allegations contained in 2014V00198, except as provided in the immediately following paragraph.
The United States may review SIU's compliance with this Agreement or title II of the ADA at any time. If the Department believes that this Agreement or any portion of it has been violated, the Department will provide the University with written notice of the breach, and will attempt to resolve the concerns in good faith. If the United States' concerns are not fully resolved within thirty (30) days of the written notification, the United States can institute a civil action in the appropriate United States District Court to enforce this Agreement or to otherwise enforce title II of the ADA.
Failure by the Department to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of the right to do so with regard to any provisions of this Agreement.
If any term of this Agreement is determined by any court to be unenforceable, the other terms of this Agreement shall nonetheless remain in full force and effect. However, if the severance of any such provision materially alters the rights or obligations of the parties, the Department and SIU shall engage in good faith negotiations in order to adopt mutually agreeable amendments to this Agreement as may be necessary to restore the parties as closely as possible to the initially negotiated terms.
A signatory to this document in a representative capacity for any party represents that he or she is authorized to bind that party to this Agreement.
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties on the matters raised herein, and no other statement, promise or agreement, either written or oral, made by any party or agents of any party, that is not contained in this written agreement, including any attachments, shall be enforceable.
This Agreement is not intended to remedy any other potential violations of the ADA or any other law that is not specifically addressed in this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement changes SIU's obligation to otherwise comply with the requirements of the ADA.

F. EFFECTIVE DATE/TERMINATION DATE

The effective date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature below.
The term of this Agreement will be three years from the effective date.

1 Currently, the University’s paperwork refers to title II modifications as “accommodations.” Both parties understand, agree, and use both the terms modifications and accommodations to refer to modifications as defined by title II.