How one legally can justify distance learning for on campus programs? A few years ago we wanted to open a new program that will be based on distance learning,  however, getting accredited for having a master degree program that is based on distance learning and not on campus is literally a bureaucratic nightmare.
First, no one allowed us to use Zoom, Microsoft Teams or other currently popular distance learning tools, second it should be some sort of  "Moodle" program with clear guidelines for each week. Third everything needs to be under guidelines of the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, in current COVID19 teaching organizational crisis we don't follow those guidelines at all.
I wonder what are legal repercussions for doing distance learning when you are not accredited to do one. Can our students with disability complain since when they needed this option we couldn't provide to them since our excuse was that we weren't ready or accredited to do so? And last but not least, can we legally organize accredited on-campus program but perform it online or using distance learning completely?
Edit: this answer is somewhat specific to the context of the COVID-19 health crisis and about legal justifications for various exceptional teaching strategies being adopted by many universities all over the world these days. It’s not clear if that’s what you meant to ask about exactly. If it’s not, please clarify.



The COVID-19 situation and the way universities are responding to it is an illustration of the adage that “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission”. Basically the situation is so unprecedented that universities are doing whatever they can to stay operational, and leaving legal questions for later. My guess is that these will all be addressed by governments, legislatures, and regulatory bodies at a later time when the people in charge emerge out of panic mode and have time for dealing with such issues.

At the same time, the question of legality is indeed significant, and people are in fact paying attention. For example, in the US, I have heard that the visas of many foreign students explicitly forbid “online learning”. As a result, I have also heard (this is basically gossip and I can’t confirm it or cite a reference) that some institutions are referring to their current mode of operation as “remote learning” in a euphemistic attempt to pretend that that’s conceptually different from “online learning”. Silly? Perhaps, but that’s the kind of advice lawyers are giving apparently. Similar fig-leaf, CYA-style advice is being given about protecting your Zoom class meeting with a password to avoid being accused of compromising your students’ privacy. Does that mean using Zoom is technically legal in the sense of being fully FERPA-compliant? Who knows - probably not. But at least we make an effort to minimize whatever legal issues we have time to think about and energy to do something about.

But the short answer is, in the academic context as well as other contexts having to do with civil liberties, restrictions on people’s movements and many other aspects of our daily lives that are being disrupted, the law is lagging far behind. People in charge will do whatever they need to do without asking for permission, and ask for forgiveness later if they have to (they probably won’t).