Complaint alleges TU violated civil rights

TIFFIN — Tiffin University is facing a civil rights complaint alleging the school failed to uphold disability protections and retaliated against a student who sought accommodations. The complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in April, according to documents obtained by The Advertiser-Tribune from OCR. The student claims the university repeatedly failed to implement approved disability accommodations and mishandled the student's senior-year internship, which was terminated after more than 50 hours of work. "Despite being registered with Disability Services and approved for a 504 Accommodation Plan, Tiffin University subjected me to systemic procedural barriers throughout my academic career," the student wrote. The complainant also alleges the university minimized the student's accommodations: "Several necessary accommodations were labeled as 'blanket accommodations,' minimizing their legitimacy and chilling my access to equal educational opportunity." Problems escalated after the student filed a formal grievance early this year. Instead of fixing the issues, the filing states, TU imposed additional burdens. "Following my submission of a formal academic grievance, Tiffin University escalated adverse actions against me rather than remedying the underlying issues. Every escalation, the shifting remedies, refusal to allow recording, misrepresentations by senior officials, increased academic burdens, and confusion over paper submission, occurred directly after I asserted my disability rights." The student further alleges the university "directly violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA, resulting in disproportionate educational harm based on disability status." In the filing, the student asked federal officials to require the university to take corrective action. Among the requests: formally acknowledge responsibility for violating disability protections, amend the student's academic record to restore credit for the terminated internship and remove retaliatory requirements such as the 10-page paper. The complaint also calls for institution-wide reforms, including mandatory staff training on disability law, revisions to accommodation and internship procedures, improved recordkeeping and a three-year monitoring period by OCR. Neither Tiffin University nor the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights responded to requests for comment. How OCR handles complaints According to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights website, complaints must generally be filed within 180 days of the alleged discrimination. If OCR asks for more information, complainants have 14 days to respond. OCR may dismiss complaints if they are untimely, outside its jurisdiction or lack sufficient detail. If a complaint is accepted, OCR notifies both parties and begins an investigation, which may include document review, interviews and site visits. At the conclusion, OCR issues a Letter of Findings. If violations are found, the office usually negotiates a resolution agreement with the institution and monitors compliance. If the school refuses, OCR can move to cut federal funding or refer the case to the Department of Justice. Complainants may appeal OCR decisions within 60 days, according to the agency. Next steps OCR does not publish timelines for the length of investigations. Its online database of pending cases, normally updated weekly, has not been refreshed since January 2025. The status of the complaint against Tiffin University remains unclear.