US asks to join blind student’s lawsuit against Ohio school

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Justice Department wants to join a blind Miami University student’s federal lawsuit accusing the southwest Ohio school of using technology that presents a barrier to her education.

The government filed a motion Tuesday in federal court in Cincinnati to intervene in Aleeha Dudley’s lawsuit. Dudley, of New Paris, sued Miami in January 2014, saying the school failed to provide equal access and violated federal law.

The Justice Department alleges the university has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability. The government says Miami failed to ensure individuals with disabilities can interact with its systems equally with students without disabilities.

Miami’s deputy general counsel said today the university continues to deny that it has done anything wrong and that it does accommodate disabled students.