Racism, Ableism, and Apparentness: Using Disability Justice to Reimagine Institutional Accommodation Processes

In this chapter we explore the racialized dynamics embedded in disability accommodation practices within higher education. We draw on DisCrit, whiteness as property, and research on how racial identity influences experiences of apparentness of disability in educational settings. Institutional processes for approving accommodations often reflect and reinforce structural racism, disproportionately privileging white students while marginalizing students of color with disabilities. Through an intersectional lens, we challenge the idea that accommodation policies and processes are race neutral and we advocate for more equitable practices. Readers are introduced to foundational disability rights legislation in education and guided to critically assess how policies and procedures may reproduce systemic inequities. By engaging with data and case‐based analysis, the chapter empowers practitioners, educators, and administrators to make informed decisions that actively support the disability community. We call for a recognition of the ways many widely used practices in higher education compound existing access issues and fail to account for the systemic intersection of racism and ableism. Summary Readers will gain exposure to a brief overview of essential disability rights in education legislation. Readers will better understand the context of compounding oppressions of racism and ableism in the lives of disabled students of color. Readers will be able to examine inequities and make data‐informed decisions that center the disability community. Readers will be able to identify disability justice principles and their applicability in reframing campus accommodations processes.