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Ohio Civ. Rights Comm. v. Case W. Res. Univ.3/6/1996
COOK, J.
In this case, we are presented with the question of whether CWRU violated R.C. 4112.022(A) by denying a totally blind applicant admission to its medical school. We affirm the judgment of the court of appeals finding no violation.
OCRC charges that CWRU violated R.C. 4112.022, which prohibits discrimination against handicapped persons by educational institutions. Specifically, the statute provides:
"It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any educational institution to discriminate against any individual on account of any handicap:
"(A) In admission or assignment to any academic program, course of study, internship, or class offered by the institution[.]"
Similarly, Ohio Adm.Code 4112-5-09(B)(1) provides:
"Qualified handicapped persons shall not be denied admission or be subjected to discrimination in admission or recruitment on the basis of handicap at an educational institution covered by Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code."
The parties agree and we hold that a prima facie case of discrimination in education under R.C. 4112.022(A) includes three elements: (1) the plaintiff is a handicapped person within the meaning of R.C. 4112.01(A)(13); (2) the plaintiff was otherwise qualified to participate in the program; and (3) the plaintiff was excluded from the program on the basis of a handicap. See Hazlett v. Martin Chevrolet, Inc. (1986), 25 Ohio St.3d 279, 281, 25 OBR 331, 333, 496 N.E.2d 478, 480 (discrimination against handicapped in employment context). See, also, Southeastern Community College v. Davis (1979), 442 U.S. 397, 99 S.Ct. 2361, 60 L.Ed.2d 980 (construing federal law prohibiting discrimination against handicapped in education); Doherty v. S. College of Optometry (C.A.6, 1988), 862 F.2d 570, 573, certiorari denied (1989), 493 U.S. 810, 110 S.Ct. 53, 107 L.Ed.2d 22. The parties also agree that the only element at issue in this case is whether Cheryl Fischer is "otherwise qualified" to participate in CWRU's medical school program.
The term "otherwise qualified handicapped person" in the educational discrimination context is not defined by statute or regulation. In the employment discrimination context, however, a "qualified handicapped person" means "a handicapped person who can safely and substantially perform the essential functions of the job in question, with or without reasonable accommodation." Ohio Adm.Code 4112-02(K). In the past, we have looked to federal law to support a finding of discrimination under R.C. Chapter 4112. Little Forest Med. Ctr. of Akron v. Ohio Civ. Rights Comm. (1991), 61 Ohio St.3d 607, 575 N.E.2d 1164, certiorari denied (1992), 503 U.S. 9061 112 S.Ct. 1263, 117 L.Ed.2d 491 (federal case law interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applied to R.C. Chapter 4112 employment discrimination claim). Accordingly, in the context of discrimination by educational institutions, we refer to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, codified at Section 794, Title 29, U.S.Code, to assign meaning to the term "otherwise qualified" handicapped person.
Our inquiry into the meaning of "otherwise qualified" as used in Section 504 begins with the United States Supreme Court's analysis in Southeastern Community College v. Davis, supra, 442 U.S. 397, 99 S.Ct. 2361, 60 L.Ed.2d 980. In that case, a deaf student alleged that a nursing school had discriminated against her after the school refused to admit her into its program. The Davis court defined an "otherwise qualified person" as "one who is able to meet all of a program's requirements in spite of his handicap." Id. at 406, 99
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