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A Kootenay nursing student has been given two weeks to accept a $44,000 settlement from a Castlegar college after she alleged the school discriminated against her because of her dwarfism and anxiety.

According to a recently published July 30 BC Human Rights Tribunal decision, the student claimed she faced discrimination from Selkirk College after it failed to provide her with accommodations during her nursing practicum, which led her to quit the program.

She launched a case against Selkirk College at the BC Human Rights Tribunal, and was then offered a $44,000 settlement to drop the case.

However, the nursing student, referred to only as Student D in the decision, rejected the money and, in turn, the College applied to have the case dismissed.

The decision said the student started a four-year Bachelor of Nursing program at Selkirk College in September 2017.

The student has achondroplasia, more commonly known as dwarfism, as well as generalized anxiety and auditory processing disorder.

School appeared to have gone well until she began her nursing practicum in 2020.

"She (says she) made requests for accommodation to her instructors and school administrators who failed to provide her the requested accommodations," the Tribunal said.

The following September she quit the program.

She did entertain enrolling in the program again in 2021 and talked to the College about the available accommodations. However, she did not reenrol.

She went to work as a care aide and special education assistant and at some point filed a BC Human Rights complaint.

Without admitting liability, the College offered a settlement of $24,000 for lost wages and $20,000 for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.

The school also said it would provide her with a letter of regret acknowledging the distress she experienced in the program and change her transcript from "fail" to "no credit granted."

"The College will also provide a transfer letter endorsing Student D as a candidate for any nursing programs in other post-secondary institutions," the decision read.

However, the student rejected the offer.

In the decision, she claimed the loss of her future earnings would be $700,000, which is the difference between her expected lifetime earnings and the amount she would make if she had become a registered nurse.

However, the Tribunal didn't agree.

"There is no evidence that there were barriers to Student D’s return to the program. On the contrary, the evidence is that the College was actively engaging in the accommodation process, inquiring about the specific accommodations Student D would require upon returning to the program and preparing to issue a letter of accommodation when Student D chose not to reenrol," the Tribunal said.

The student said she was "averse to returning to a nursing program" and had anxiety about the possibility of being criticized if she returned to school.

However, the Tribunal said she could have gone to a different school to finish her nursing program, and the evidence showed she was delayed in completing her nursing program by one year due to the discrimination.

The Tribunal ruled $24,394 was a reasonable offer for lost wages.

The student also argued for $75,000 to $100,000 for injury to dignity.

Again, the Tribunal rejected the amount.

"While any discrimination is serious, I cannot accept that the evidence before me supports that the nature of the discrimination in this case... would attract the quantum of award she says is reasonable," the Tribunal ruled.

The Tribunal said between $15,000 and $35,000 was within a reasonable range of compensation, and while $20,000 was on the lower end it was acceptable.

While the student wanted the case to go to a full hearing, the Tribunal rejected her plea.

"The Tribunal routinely hears and decides cases that concern disability accommodation in educational settings, and I am not persuaded that the circumstances of the present case engage broader public policy issues that warrant proceeding in the face of a reasonable settlement offer," the Tribunal said.

Ultimately, the Tribunal gave the former nursing student two weeks to accept the $44,000 in compensation.

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