[blindLaw] assistance with accommodations for visual formatting in law school.

[Natalia Sulca]

Hello All,

I'm reaching out for advice regarding a challenging situation I'm facing
with accommodations in my legal writing course. I am currently a 1l. I've
encountered ongoing issues with my school's unwillingness to exempt me from
visual formatting requirements under the Bluebook, such as font color,
precise alignment, italics versus underlining, and other specific
typographic elements. These requirements are heavily visual, yet they
directly impact my grades, even though I have no way to ensure compliance
independently.

Despite repeatedly requesting and being promised accommodations, my school
has yet to deliver any workable solution. I continue to receive grade
deductions for elements I cannot see or verify, like page numbers, font
colors, and specific visual preferences. My professor prefers certain
Bluebook elements to be underlined rather than italicized, which conflicts
with both the instructions and my ability to format accurately with JAWS
limitations. Points are regularly taken off for such details, significantly
affecting my grades.

I have tried explaining that a screen reader cannot convey visual layout,
font color, or alignment with much accuracy, especially if I assign it one
way and word randomly changes it as its prone to happen. I have also
explained  that dictating these elements to someone else is impractical
since I cannot visually guide or verify the end result. Despite my efforts,
the school has been reluctant to implement a content-only grading approach,
which I believe would be a fair and appropriate solution. This has left me
feeling increasingly frustrated, as my academic performance is being
evaluated on factors that are inaccessible to me as a blind student.

I would be very grateful for any advice on how to approach this situation.
Has anyone on this list encountered a similar issue, and if so, what
strategies or resources were helpful? I want to find a way to advocate
effectively for accommodations that allow my work to be assessed on content
and legal understanding, rather than visual formatting elements that I
cannot independently control.

Thank you all for your time and guidance.

Best regards,
Natalia Sulca