Angelica Guevara, False Promises: How Society and the Law Continue to Undermine People with Disabilities Seeking Education and Employment, 51 UC L. Const. (2023):
This Article explores how education is a commodity, not a constitutional right. Education is a service that only a few (including some people with disabilities) can afford. The recent Supreme Court ruling in Biden v. Nebraska exposed the hardship of many Americans struggling with educational debt; unfortunately, the impact on students with disabilities is far greater. The average American who wants more and better employment opportunities borrows and acquires educational debt to attend top-ranking schools that seemingly would provide these opportunities. But the average American struggles with paying back student loans regardless of whether they have a well-paying job because the debt is often significant. However, for students with disabilities, who on average make sixty-six cents on the dollar if employed, the burden of loan repayment is greater. Many people with disabilities do not obtain employment with an employer willing to provide the reasonable accommodations they need to succeed. The disability discrimination theory of reasonable accommodations highlights the inefficiency of disability antidiscrimination law. As a result, students with disabilities have worse financial outcomes even with an education because they rely on the false promises that obtaining a college education will facilitate financial security through better employment opportunities. Until those constructing our laws stop using an “able-body standard” and embrace human variation, the level of education will remain irrelevant for people with disabilities, unable to compete in the job market among the average American who also struggles with educational debt.