Disabled students tell UC mask ban excludes and risks participants; cite ADA and lawsuit

Two disabled students who spoke during the University of California Investments Committee public-comment period on July 15 said a UC policy banning non-transparent masks at region meetings discriminates against people who rely on high-filtration masks and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Roxas Hayes, a rising senior and disabled undergraduate at UCLA, said the policy bars high-filtration nontransparent masks that protect against COVID-19 and other airborne harms, and that designating disabled people to an overflow room or requiring them to call in "is segregation." "Banning high-filtration masks puts disabled people at risk barring them from meaningful participation in the public comment process," Hayes said. Jennifer Miyake, a recent UCLA graduate who said she is disabled, described months of student protest against the regional mask ban and said that segregating or requiring disabled community members to call in or sit in designated rooms is discriminatory. She said the university is already subject to a disability-discrimination lawsuit and urged regents to include students with disabilities in policy discussions. Both speakers cited the Americans with Disabilities Act and said that the masking policy lacks reasonable accommodations. Their remarks were part of the public-comment period; regents did not act on the policy during the Investments Committee session.