A 400-pound student is suing Wayne State University for $1 million for not letting him to teach physical education online, as a student teacher. He says this discriminates based on weight and disability.
David Lopez is a middle-aged student who suffers from diabetes, asthma, and hypertension. He says he finished all the requirements for the physical education/kinesiology program except the student teaching component. Given his impediments, Lopez reportedly “could not stand or walk for prolonged periods.” The school district at which he was assigned to student teach agreed to accommodate his request to teach online; but Wayne State reportedly did not.
With the help of a gym teacher at his assigned school and “some unofficial accommodations,” Lopez finished the first component of his student teaching assignment. But he says Wayne State told him “not to report” for the second part. The Detroit News reports:
“They don’t think I fit the description of what a PE teacher was because I’m very overweight,” Lopez said. “They didn’t want me to graduate with my certification because I didn’t fit what they perceived to be a gym teacher because of my size and because of my weight. There’s no doubt that was the reason why. There was no other reason. I passed everything.” …
“It got to the point where I had no other choice left,” Lopez said. “I left with no degree, no certification, no nothing.”
One of his professors had previously tried to get him to leave the university with a degree but no teaching certificate, Lopez said. He said the professor told him he didn’t think he was qualified to be a gym teacher and he wouldn’t be good at it.
While he isn’t able to physically participate in some of the sports and activities, Lopez said his weight does not impact his ability to be a good teacher.
Lopez has always loved sports, especially team sports. He coached as a summer job after high school and enjoyed it. But going through this with Wayne State took the joy out of teaching, he said.
Wayne State says Lopez’s suit is “frivolous” and it notes that “there is no legal claim for weight discrimination against an educational institution” under Michigan state law or federal law. (Wayne State University is located in Michigan). Weight is a protected characteristic in Michigan’s employment laws, unlike in most states (a growing number of progressive cities like New York do ban weight discrimination). But it is only a protected characteristic in Michigan’s employment laws, not its public accommodation laws or school-specific civil-rights laws. Lopez is not suing the district, and the fact that he seeks to teach does not make him an employee, anymore than an intern qualifies as an employee under federal employment laws (which they generally don’t, according to the courts).
Disability discrimination by colleges is forbidden both by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. But these laws don’t require colleges to “fundamentally alter” the nature of a job or education to accommodate a disabled person, as the Supreme Court explained in Southeastern Community College v. Davis (1979). Letting someone teach virtually rather than in-person — when physical education teachers invariably teach in person — seems like a “fundamental alteration” of the teacher’s job. Lopez concedes he “can’t stand or walk for prolonged periods,” as many activities by physical education teachers require. So Lopez’s disability discrimination will probably fail.
