A Princeton University freshman with learning disabilities has filed a lawsuit against the university after it denied her request for extra time while taking exams.

   The Ivy League university informed student Diane E. Metcalf-Legette in September that she would not be granted 100 percent extended time, or double time, on examinations and other course assessments as she had requested, according to court documents.

   In response, her attorneys filed a civil complaint last week in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey. Brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it seeks injunctive relief, attorneys fees, costs and other expenses.

   The day after it was filed, U.S. District Judge Anne Thompson denied a temporary restraining order on the basis the plaintiff failed to show she would suffer irreparable harm if it were not granted.

   The denial came on the day of Ms. Metcalf-Legette’s first timed midterm examination. The next court date is scheduled for Jan. 11 when a judge will decide whether a preliminary junction will be granted before fall term final exams, which begin two days later.

   University spokeswoman Emily Aronson said the lawsuit still is in its early stages, and the university will in the meantime remain committed to ensuring students with disabilities have access to its programs.

   ”We are attentive to our obligations under state and federal law to ensure equal access to our programs and activities, and we have an Office of Disability Services that helps respond to these requests on a case-by-case basis as they pertain to the specific individual needs of each member of our community,” she said in an e-mail.

   A resident of Centreville, Va., Ms. Metcalf-Legette has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mixed receptive expressive language disorder, disorder of written expression and developmental coordination disorder, according to the complaint.

   These disorders impact a person’s ability to comprehend and express language, recall previous material, communicate in writing and focus on work, among other difficulties.

   As a result of her mixed receptive expressive language disorder, she must read sentences four or five times before she understands it, according to the complaint. And her developmental coordination disorder affects her ability to write and organize thoughts and ideas in written compositions, according to the complaint.

   She disclosed her learning disabilities to the university during the application process and, according to university procedure, submitted her request in August to its Office of Disability Services.

   The request included documentation of her disabilities from a clinic psychologist and a recommendation for the accommodation.

   A member of the university’s intercollegiate soccer team, Ms. Metcalf-Legette received double time on her SAT and triple time for the ACT standardized test, according to the complaint. Her secondary school also granted her double time on her exams.

   In early September, the university informed her that she could receive a reduced-distraction testing environment, rest breaks, electronic texts, use of a computer and a one exam per day limit, according to the complaint. However, she was denied her request for extended exam time.

   The plaintiff’s older brother graduated from Princeton in 2008 and was granted extended time on examinations because he also had learning disabilities, according to the complaint.

   But according to the complaint, the plaintiff was informed the accommodation of extended examination time is no longer extended to any Princeton students under a policy that has been adopted across the Ivy League.

   However, this is challenged in the complaint, which asserts all other Ivy League universities, as well as the administrators of the GRE and the LSAT, will grant extended exam time in certain cases.

   Ms. Metcalf-Legette did not respond to a request for comment.

    ksnodgrass

@centraljersey.com