On July 7, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched a formal investigation into Geisel Medical School following allegations of disability discrimination filed by Chad Markey MED ’26 in December 2025.
Markey filed six claims against Geisel, citing a yearslong dispute over the medical school’s handling of his ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic arthritic disease that causes autoimmune inflammation in the spine and lower hips. Ankylosing spondylitis can eventually lead to fusion of the spinal vertebrae, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Markey was formally diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in spring 2021 and subsequently took a year-long leave of absence from Geisel during a flare-up, the first of three leaves of absence before his graduation in 2026.
“I wasn’t completely bedridden, but there were months at a time where I could not walk down the driveway,” Markey said, recalling his first flare-up.
The Office for Civil Rights is formally investigating two of these claims under Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act: whether or not Geisel “retaliated” against Markey for raising concerns about his disability in relation to a denied grade appeal, and whether or not the school “ignored” Markey’s requests to revise his Medical Student Performance Evaluation.
The Medical Student Performance Evaluation is a narrative summary of a medical student’s performance and transcript, which Markey said was a “key part” of his applications to residency programs after graduation. According to Markey, his appeal to Student Affairs to revise his MSPE concerned description of his leaves of absences in his MSPE as “voluntary … due to personal reasons” instead of due to medical causes; the appeal was denied.
Markey is currently in psychiatry residency at Columbia University. In May, he was interviewed by WIRED magazine about challenges he faced applying to residency programs through the AI-powered screening program Cortex — which he said negatively flagged the “voluntary” absence in his MSPE. Cortex — whose parent company has a partnership with the American Association of Medical Colleges, which owns and administers the MCAT — told WIRED in their article that it did not “algorithmically score or rank applicants” during Markey’s admissions cycle.
Four other claims were dismissed due to untimely filing by Markey, according to a letter, which was obtained and reviewed by The Dartmouth, from the Office for Civil Rights to Markey. In the letter, the Office wrote that opening an investigation “does not mean that [the Office] has made a final determination with regard to the merits” of the case.
“During the investigation, [the Office] is neutral; [the Office] will collect and analyze the evidence it needs in order to make a decision about the complaint,” the Office wrote.
Markey said that after formally filing an accommodations request for a cane and chair in January 2022, he was informed during a call with the Geisel accommodations office that he could not be provided with disability accommodations because his paperwork had “slipped through the cracks.”
Markey subsequently paid for his own cane during a clerkship at a psychiatric facility in Maine at which he was placed by Geisel. The clerkship program director was unaware he needed one, according to Markey, because “no one really knew about [his] accommodation” due to the administration “dropping the ball.”
“I was doing everything I should not be doing to be a medical student,” Markey said. “I felt abandoned by these people.”
During an assessment at the Maine clerkship in which medical students were expected to physically restrain patients, Markey sustained a shoulder injury. Markey said his injury was the result of Geisel’s “negligence.”
Markey said he was not warned in advance that the activity would be strenuous, and that he “didn’t want someone to poorly evaluate [him] for sitting out on a required workshop that [he] didn’t know was going to be dangerous in the first place.”
On his final transcript for the Maine clerkship, Markey received a grade of “high pass,” — rather than “honors” — which he formally appealed to the Geisel administration because of his lack of accommodations during the restrainment assessment. He was denied an appeal after meeting with “several deans” at Geisel.
“They basically said, ‘No one knew you had ankylosing spondylitis, and you did not tell anyone. You had every right to not participate,’” Markey said. “They gave all these reasons that it was my fault.”
“Even if I had all the free will in the world, you feel pressured as a student learner with no leverage to do what you’re asked to do,” Markey added. “I wasn’t under the assumption that … no one had any idea I had ankylosing spondylitis.”
College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote in a statement to The Dartmouth that the College “takes seriously its commitment to support students with disabilities.”
“At the Geisel School of Medicine, we have a robust network of support — spanning students, faculty and staff — designed to ensure that every member of our community has the opportunity to succeed academically and prepare for their careers,” Barnello wrote.
Barnello declined to comment on the specifics of Markey’s case.
The Office for Civil Rights declined a request for comment, citing policy that they do not comment on active investigations. The Office launched a separate investigation into Geisel over allegations of racial discrimination in admissions on July 22.
Max Hubbard '29 is a reporter from Boston, Mass., and is majoring in government and minoring in French. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, running and watching movies.
