Jackson v. Univ of TX SW Medical

── Jackson v. Univ of TX SW Medical ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: April 29, 2026 Category: Civil Rights Case: 25-10942 Document: 46-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/29/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 25-10942 April 29, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Penny Alexandra Jackson, Clerk Plaintiff—Appellant, versus University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center School of Medicine, Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:24-CV-495 ______________________________ Before Stewart, Engelhardt, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Plaintiff-Appellant Penny Jackson is a black woman, a veteran, and a former medical student at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.  Case: 25-10942 Document: 46-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/29/2026 No. 25-10942 Center (“UTSMC”). 1 Jackson failed two courses in her first semester before requesting disability-related academic accommodations. She then failed three additional courses in her second semester, at least one of which she took with accommodations in place. These failures resulted in her dismissal from UTSMC. Jackson filed suit, claiming that UTSMC discriminated against her because of her disability and her race. She also claimed that UTSMC failed to provide her with reasonable accommodations. The district court granted UTSMC’s motion for summary judgment. We AFFIRM the district court’s judgment in full. I. In 2021, Jackson began medical school at UTSMC with a full scholarship that was contingent upon Jackson maintaining an “ongoing [and] strong academic performance.” 2 After Jackson failed two courses in her first semester, 3 UTSMC revoked her scholarship and placed her on “Academic Warning.” In this warning, UTSMC stated that “[a]ny additional academic _____________________ 1 When Jackson originally filed her lawsuit against Defendant-Appellee, she listed the “University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center School of Medicine.” The district court also used this name during the course of litigation. For purposes of this appeal, we address Defendant‑Appellee as the “University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.” 2 Out of 300 students in her class, Jackson was one of twelve black students. 3 If a first-semester student fails a course, the school may record the failing grade as “incomplete” and allow the student to remediate the course over the summer. “If the student passed the remediation, the ‘incomplete’ would be changed to a ‘pass’ on the transcript. If the student failed the remediation, the ‘incomplete’ would be changed to a ‘fail’ on the transcript. The purpose of this transcription system was to ease students’ transition to medical school.” Accordingly, UTSMC listed Jackson’s two failed first- semester courses as “incomplete” so that she could remediate those courses over the summer.