Introduction: Since the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, school boards across the United States have attempted to implement new methods of teaching students to ensure that courses are as accessible as possible. Much of this accessibility problem has been helped through the advancement and creation of new technologies that exist to assist users who had problems with accessibility. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for better access to these technologies became apparent as people were having to rely on them more and more. However, many issues have reemerged when it came to the overreliance of these technological tools as people became more aware that the tools themselves may not be accessible for everyone. Such issues make one wonder if it is school courses in themselves that could be the problem. One such solution could be to ensure that courses follow Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

In this paper I argue that school classrooms should follow the UDL model to ensure that students with disabilities are able to succeed along with their peers. To start this argument off, the paper includes a review of literature from sources that discuss the problems facing students with disabilities in the writing classroom. The sources included come from writing centers, teachers with their own disabilities and/or impairments, accommodation model critics, technology use in the classroom advocates, and others who push for UDL. The overall purpose of the review is to discover where these sources intersect and to learn more about disability, accessibility, technology, and where the issues of all three are found in the writing classroom. Following the literature review is a proposal of how UDL could be implemented in the writing classroom. The proposal includes information on designing writing classrooms specifically as it is within writing courses where a disproportionate number of students with disabilities fail.

Award: The James Woodall Award 2023 – Outstanding Pedagogical Essay

Presentation: The Association of College English Teachers of Alabama.

Citation: Dickey, T. (2023) “The Accommodation System is Hell: An Argument for UDL”.