NYS Anti-discrimination Laws

[tmacon]

What is the name of your state? New York

Our non profit county music organization is being challenged that our strict participation policy may conflict with NYS Anti-discrimination Laws. Our group oversees the the selection, rehearsal, and performance of our county's All County Music Ensembles.

part of the policy:
"Your child’s full participation in all rehearsals is required..." "...Students must be in their seat, ready to warm up and tune 15 minutes before the scheduled rehearsal time. Late arrivals will be dismissed from the ensemble. Because rehearsal time is limited, it is our group's policy that students may not miss any rehearsal or any part of a rehearsal for any reason including illness. No exceptions will be made."

Our participation policy is included in all materials sent out to accepted students and parents. The rehearsals take place on 3 different days over a couple weekends. If a student is sick and cannot attend a rehearsal they are removed from the group going forward.

Firstly where can I find these exact laws that the person is claiming we are violating? Secondly are we as a non profit entity (not an employer, or school) subject to these laws? and finally, if so is this student's acute illness (not a chronic impairment that would preclude them from attending) that kept them from attending the rehearsal covered by these laws?
These participation policies had previously been approved by legal counsel and school administrative advisors to our board, but now are being challenged.

Hope I was clear enough as to the issue here.

 

[xylene]

Who EXACTLY is challenging the policy?

How are they challenging the policy? Are you being sued?

What SPECIFICALLY have they cited as basis for the challenge?

 

[tmacon]

Who EXACTLY is challenging the policy?
A parent of a child that was ill this past weekend and realized that this made their child ineligible for future rehearsals and the performance.

How are they challenging the policy? Are you being sued?
Not being sued, but they are appealing our decision and asking that we be sure that we are in compliance with these laws.

What SPECIFICALLY have they cited as basis for the challenge?
The usual, a friend of theirs is a lawyer and told them they have a leg to stand on. One quote from their email:
"New York State Antidiscrimination Act defines disabilities as physical, mental or medical impairments."

 

[Just Blue]

Who EXACTLY is challenging the policy?
A parent of a child that was ill this past weekend and realized that this made their child ineligible for future rehearsals and the performance.

How are they challenging the policy? Are you being sued?
Not being sued, but they are appealing our decision and asking that we be sure that we are in compliance with these laws.

What SPECIFICALLY have they cited as basis for the challenge?
The usual, a friend of theirs is a lawyer and told them they have a leg to stand on.

Is the child disabled? Or did child just have the flu?

 

[tmacon]

A Fever that was treated with a antibiotic. Did not feel well enough to attend.

As an aside, we do make accommodations for students with chronic illnesses or disabilities, but those accommodations never include missing any part of a rehearsal. They are more for enlarging music for sight impaired, allowing personal aides to attend rehearsal for students on the autism spectrum, have the conductor use a mic that transmits to a child with cochlear implants.

 

[Just Blue]

A Fever that was treated with a antibiotic. Did not feel well enough to attend.

As an aside, we do make accommodations for students with chronic illnesses or disabilities, but those accommodations never include missing any part of a rehearsal. They are more for enlarging music for sight impaired, allowing personal aides to attend rehearsal for students on the autism spectrum, have the conductor use a mic that transmits to a child with cochlear implants.

IMO the parents are being ill-advised by the attorney friend.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I don't know what county you are in, but this looks like the policy in force when my child participated in SCMEA last year.

If it is something like SCMEA, with a very short list of available rehearsals, and this child does not have a chronic illness that you were made aware of for the purposes of accommodation, then I don't think that enforcing the policy is unfair.

It is an honor to be allowed to participate in New York all-county festivals and the rehearsal portion is part of it; my child was delighted with her first rehearsal experience at SCMEA last year - "These are my people!" she told me. (It is unlikely that she will be nominated ever again. The teacher at her current school has hated her from day 1.) Not every child gets this opportunity - my child's perfect NYSSMA score was not enough for her teacher to consider nominating her for anything this year.

Parents have to sign an agreement that the children will attend every rehearsal as part of the application process, correct?

There are only 2 or 3 rehearsals before the performance, one of which is focused on chair assignments.

The child is not being discriminated against based on a disability. I suspect that the nominating school has had a lot of this behavior from the parents as well.

Consult an attorney.

I don't like the idea of pushy parents always getting their way. I personally would be more inclined to accommodate someone who came up with the dr's documentation and asked nicely, than someone whose first inclination is to threaten with legal action.

 

[xylene]

So, they sent an email and they don't actually have a lawyer.

If they aren't going to court, how are they appealing? and to whom?

I'm still not really understanding what 'law' they are asserting you are violating.

You attendance policy is harsh, but that doesn't make it illegally discriminatory.

It's slightly off topic but how old are the children?

 

[cbg]

Not all illnesses are disabilities. Missing a rehearsal because she doesn't feel well isn't the same as missing a rehearsal because the rehearsal fell at a time when she's scheduled to be on dialysis. I doubt if you have anything to worry about.

 

[Taxing Matters]

These participation policies had previously been approved by legal counsel and school administrative advisors to our board, but now are being challenged.

Then I would not worry about this parent's griping about his/her kid getting cut from the program. Your lawyers have said the policy meets the requirements of the applicable law. You can always ask the organization's legal counsel about this particular parent complaint, though.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and most state laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability, a short illness like a cold, flu, or other virus is not considered a disability and not covered by the law. My guess without researching the NY case law is that NY law is likely similar on this point, too.

Even if the child's condition was considered a disability, the law bars discrimination because of the disability. Your policy treats all students exactly the same with respect to the attendance policy. It doesn't matter why the student missed the rehearsal. Reasonable accommodation is not really possible given the facts you have. The rehearsals are extremely limited and the students need all of them to be prepared. I can't see what might be reasonably done to work around that.

It is also not clear that your group is covered by any of the part of the NY state human rights law. Your group is not a place of public accommodation (which essentially are businesses/facilities open to the general public) and it's unclear that you would qualify as an "education corporation". The law regarding discrimination by education corporations is very narrow and would not appear to cover this situation anyway:

4. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for an education corporation or association which holds itself out to the public to be non-sectarian and exempt from taxation pursuant to the provisions of article four of the real property tax law to deny the use of its facilities to any person otherwise qualified, or to permit the harassment of any student or applicant, by reason of his race, color, religion, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, age or marital status, except that any such institution which establishes or maintains a policy of educating persons of one sex exclusively may admit students of only one sex.​

​

NY Human Rights Law § 296(4).