Button v. Board of Regents of University and Community College System of Nevada

Lezlie Button (plaintiff) was a student at the Community College of Southern Nevada and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (institutions). The Board of Regents (board) (defendant) governed the institutions. Button also lived with a hearing impairment. As a student, Button sought several accommodations for her hearing impairment. First, in a spelling class, Button sought an interpreter. But Button repeatedly complained in emails to the institutions that the interpreters were inadequate. Additionally, Button’s expert later testified that the institutions did not respond to her emails in a timely manner. Second, regarding a science class, Button repeatedly emailed the institutions regarding the adequacy of a notetaker. But the institutions delayed in rectifying the claimed inadequacy. Again, Button’s expert later testified that the inadequacies in notetakers indicated a systemic problem. Third, in an economics class, Button requested Real Time Captioning (RTC) because the professor spoke quickly. For this class, Button specifically made the RTC request in lieu of requesting an interpreter. The institutions did not provide RTC for the class, even though it was provided for the spelling class when an interpreter was not available. Indeed, the institutions summarily denied the request for the RTC. The board’s expert and Button’s expert later disputed whether this summary denial was appropriate. Button sued the board under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act, seeking damages but not injunctive relief. The district court granted the board’s motion for summary judgment, reasoning that there was no genuine dispute of material fact as to whether (1) the requested accommodations were reasonable or (2) the institutions acted with deliberate indifference. Button appealed.