[Campus lawn and brick buildings at Yale University. Photo Credit to Pxhere] 

In a historic move, Yale University agreed to settle a federal lawsuit alleging the discrimination against students with mental health needs.

Elis for Rachael, the student group that filed the lawsuit in November 2022, claimed that school officials pressured students with suicidal thoughts to withdraw.

Yale graduate Rishi Mirchandani, one of the co-founders of Elis for Rachael, emphasized the significance of the settlement, stating, “Today is a watershed moment for anyone with a mental health disability and for the entire Yale community. This historic settlement affirms that students with mental health needs truly belong.”

Established after the 2021 suicide of Yale student Rachael Shaw-Rosenbaum, Elis for Rachael writes in its mission statement that “Yale has long had mental health policies that are inadequate at best and punitive at worst.”

Previously, Yale’s policies offered minimal support to students suffering from mental health issues, often pressuring them to withdraw from school instead of granting them proper medical leaves of absence.

The lawsuit describes how students, while hospitalized for suicide attempts or other mental health problems, were visited by Yale officials who warned that failure to leave the school might result in expulsion.

Moreover, students frequently lost access to health insurance, banned almost immediately from their dorms and campus, and faced daunting readmission requirements that became a barrier to returning.

Elis for Rachael argued that the arduous process dissuaded students from taking medical leave, resulting in negative outcomes like suicide.

One of the group’s founders, Dr. Alicia Floyd, remarked, “We discovered that there were just generations of Yalies who had had similar issues, who had kept quiet about it for decades and decades.”

Under the new agreement, Yale students can now study part-time if they have mental health or medical needs, and students given part-time accommodation will also receive a 50% reduction in tuition at the start of the term.

The agreement also guarantees greater access to campus resources for students while on leave.

There is a new three-day period when students can also change their mind about taking medical leave.

This is the first time the university has offered this option.

In September, a report by the New York Times highlighted the experiences of several Yale students who struggled with its mental health policies.

Before her passing, Ms. Shaw-Rosenbaum feared that withdrawing would mean losing her scholarship and opportunity to attend Yale.

In her first semester, she was hospitalized once, and shortly before her death, she wrote on Reddit, “Basically, if I go to the hospital again, I will not be able to resume college and will lose the opportunity I had to learn at an extremely competitive university.”

Another student, Lucy Kim, one of the last students to take a medical withdrawal under the old policies, recalled how she drained her savings for summer school classes to reapply for reinstatement. “I just kept thinking, if only I had gotten sick a year later,” she said.

Dean of Yale College, Pericles Lewis,expressed hope that the new changes “will make it easier for students to ask for support, focus on their health and wellbeing, and take time off if they wish, knowing that they can resume their studies when they are ready.”

Yale will also enhance mental health training for faculty and staff and make data available on the number of students who return from medical leaves of absence each year.

Overall, this settlement signifies a serious shift in Yale’s policies and culture toward students with mental health needs.