Disabled students urge Regents to restore paratransit funding, expand accommodations and revise mask policy

Students and disability advocates told the Regents that cuts to paratransit services, long waits for accommodations and restrictive mask rules are limiting access for disabled and immunocompromised students.

Why it matters: Failure to fund disability services and accommodate assistive devices and protective masks risks excluding students from participation, impeding access to classes, housing and critical campus resources.

Josh Garland, a fourth-year undergraduate and student-government officer at UCLA, said Bruin Access, the campus paratransit service, faces service cuts due to funding shortfalls and urged the Regents to prioritize hiring more drivers and vans. He also asked the Regents to increase funding to the UCLA Center for Accessible Education so staff can lower caseloads and shorten wait times for housing and academic accommodations.

Jennifer Miyake, a graduating UCLA student who said she is disabled, asked the Regents to revisit the system’s transparent-mask policy for in-person meetings. She said the clear masks distributed at the meeting lacked filters and seals and do not provide the same air filtration as N95-style masks. Miyake argued that banning filtered masks for public comment prevents immunocompromised students from fully participating and may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act if reasonable accommodations are not provided.

The Regents did not immediately change the mask policy during the session; commenters asked administrators to consider alternatives that balance communication access (for lip reading) and infection control (for high-filtration masks). Staff follow-up was requested for funding and policy changes.