Students at Yale University filed a lawsuit against the New Haven, Conn.-based school and its officials for alleged "systemic discrimination against students with mental health disabilities," CNN reported Dec. 2.
The lawsuit, filed with Connecticut's federal court, claims the university discriminated against students experiencing mental health issues and forced them to withdraw from school, according to the news outlet.
In one instance reported by CNN, a Yale official told a student dealing with a mental health crisis they were a liability to the university. The school's website, meanwhile, says the university has the right to withdraw students because of a medical condition if they are a danger to themselves or others, have disrupted communities or have refused to seek treatment deemed necessary by school officials.
The plaintiffs want the courts to enforce the elimination of the university's withdrawal policies that discriminated against students with mental illnesses, according to CNN. Plaintiffs are also campaigning for the case to be given class-action status, on behalf of the hundreds of students the lawsuit claims allegedly experienced the same discrimination from the university.
In response to the claims, university President Peter Salovey, PhD, said "a committee of Yale College student affairs professionals and mental health experts at Yale has been meeting since September 2022 to continue the review of our withdrawal and reinstatement policies," according to a Nov. 16 statement. "This group is poised to roll out policy changes in stages that will continue to support students."