Justice Department Seeks to Intervene in Lawsuit Against Law School Admission Council (LSAC)

The Justice Department announced yesterday that it seeks to intervene in a class action lawsuit against the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) in federal court in San Francisco to remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The department’s proposed complaint in intervention in the lawsuit, The Department of Fair Employment and Housing v. LSAC, Inc., et al., alleges LSAC’s practices of routinely denying needed testing accommodations and flagging test scores achieved with certain testing accommodations violates the ADA.

People interested in finding out more about the ADA and the Department’s recent motion to intervene and proposed complaint in the LSAC lawsuit can access the ADA website at http://www.ADA.gov or call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY). 

What You Need to Know about NICHCY’s Disability Fact Sheets

Categories: Education

By Elaine Mulligan, Project Director, National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)
Are you an educator with a new student in your class who has Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)? If so, there’s a NICHCY fact sheet that can help you prepare.
Are you a parent whose child was recently identified as having a learning disability? If so, there’s a NICHCY’s fact sheet that can help you understand how that disability affects learning.
NICHCY’s online Disability Fact Sheet series are the most visited pages on our website, and it’s no wonder! Each fact sheet includes a definition, causes, characteristics, incidence, educational considerations and helpful organizations for further information. Most also include available supports (broken down by age group), tips for teachers and parents and a brief story of a child with that particular disability. The fact sheets are a great starting point for anyone who is living or working with a child who has a disability.
What Fact Sheets Does NICHCY Offer?
NICHCY offers fact sheets on the following topics:

• Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) *
• Autism Spectrum Disorders*
• Blindness/Visual Impairment*
• Cerebral Palsy*
• Deaf-Blindness
• Deafness and Hearing Loss*
• Developmental Delay
• Down Syndrome*
• Emotional Disturbance*
• Epilepsy*
• Intellectual Disability*
• Learning Disabilities*
• Other Health Impairment
• Rare Disorders
• Speech and Language Impairments*
• Spina Bifida*
• Tourette Syndrome
• Traumatic Brain Injury*

These fact sheets are easy to read and easy to share. The ones with an asterisk (*) next to the topic name are also available in Spanish. Our most popular fact sheets are Intellectual Disability, Speech and Language Impairments, Emotional Disturbance and Other Health Impairment.
Why Should You Use NICHCY’s Fact Sheets
Of course there are great resources available on specific disabilities from a variety of medical sources, disability-specific advocacy organizations and education professionals. However, there are also a few less-than-accurate sources online that can be distracting and difficult to wade through.
NICHCY does the work of collecting the reliable information you need to get started on your search for information and puts it all in one place. We present accurate information that is written specifically to meet the needs of parents and educators, and include links to trusted sources so you can continue gathering information effectively.
How Can You Use the Fact Sheets?
First and foremost, the fact sheets are a starting point for building your own knowledge base. They’re also great to share with family members. If your child has recently been identified with a disability, it can be exhausting to repeatedly explain the condition to aunts, uncles and grandparents. Share a fact sheet instead, and empower that person to learn on his or her own. Parents can even share this information at Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings.
Educators can share the fact sheets with colleagues or families of children with disabilities, or collect all of them in an information binder for their staff’s professional development library. The “Education Implications” and “Tips for Teachers” sections of the fact sheets are excellent resources for general educators.
NICHCY’s materials are always copyright-free, so you can share them freely, either in print or electronically. Visit http://nichcy.org/disability/specific and help yourself!
Elaine Mulligan is the Project Director of the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). Prior to joining NICHCY, Elaine was the Assistant Director of the NIUSI-LeadScape principal leadership academy initiative. She also has extensive experience as a classroom teacher. 

Source: http://usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2012/08/29/what-you-need-to-know-about-nichcys-disability-fact-sheets/

When Professional Is Personal – Celebrating 22 Years of the ADA

Categories: Civil Rights

By Joy Welan, Trial Attorney, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted, I was only six years old. At that time, I don’t think I knew what it, or a disability, was. Yet, even before I was aware of its existence, the ADA and related laws made it possible for me to attend public schools and enjoy movies, restaurants, museums, parks, vacations and all of the other activities that an integrated life with friends and family offers.
But perhaps more importantly, the existence of the ADA has allowed me to grow up never doubting that I was a full and equal citizen, someone with worth and dignity, who had talents and skills to share with the rest of the world. It never crossed my mind that I was somehow inferior or had less to contribute than anyone else. As one school administrator told my parents when they inquired about enrolling me in a “special” school for children with disabilities, “There is nothing wrong with your daughter. She just can’t walk.”
The path that my life has taken since then has proven him right. With the love, patience and support of my friends and family, I have thrived and made the most of the opportunities that would not have been available but for the ADA. I excelled in school, lived in a dormitory at college, moved into my own apartment in Washington, D.C., graduated from law school and now, against all odds, I have become an attorney who represents the United States as it enforces the ADA. The overlap between my own experiences and my work in the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is striking.
When I was still in elementary school, my dad brought home a computer. Using that first computer, with its grainy screen and unbearably slow, screechy modem, I learned how to type so that I could more quickly and easily share my thoughts with the rest of the world. I met other people with disabilities and eagerly awaited their bulletin board postings that offered a glimpse of what life as an adult with a disability could be like. I also discovered a passion for technology that continues to this day. My experience with that first computer, as well as every device I have owned since then, reflects the importance of the department’s work to apply the ADA to new technologies and the Internet. My department recognizes that technology has the power to create opportunities for people with disabilities, and works to ensure that emerging technologies and websites are accessible to all.
Aside from a few brief flirtations with the dream of owning my own beauty salon and sailing around the world, I have always wanted to be a lawyer. But the path to my chosen career was not smooth. I struggled to obtain accommodations for my law school entrance exam and for the bar exam. My otherwise stellar application arrived at law schools with a “flag” informing every school that I had received accommodations and my (hard earned) score should be interpreted with caution. The Civil Rights Division has worked to ensure that students like me receive needed accommodations, and that high stakes tests are offered in a way that best ensures that they measure knowledge and skill – not disability. We are also challenging testing providers’ practice of “flagging” the scores of students who get accommodations, thus undermining their perceived validity.
I am particularly proud to be part of the department’s aggressive efforts to enforce Olmstead, the Supreme Court decision that held that unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities is discrimination. My department has participated in more than 40 Olmstead cases in 25 states, and has entered into agreements to ensure that individuals with disabilities in Georgia, Delaware and Virginia are not unnecessarily institutionalized.
These cases are deeply personal to me. Every time I hear the stories of people who are affected by the discriminatory policies at issue in our Olmstead cases – sometimes people who share my diagnosis – I am reminded that, but for a few twists of fate, their life could be mine. I know how fortunate I am to have grown up surrounded by my family and friends, not in a segregated facility with other people with disabilities.
Instead of moving into an institution when I finished school, I rented a wheelchair-accessible apartment in the heart of Washington, D.C. I know that my ability to enjoy city living like any other young professional is thanks in no small part to the ADA and the Fair Housing Act. Every day that I turn the key in the lock of my very own apartment, decide what to make for dinner and decide when (or when not) to get out of bed, I am thankful that Olmstead will protect the quality of life that I enjoy, and will help others to experience the same small pleasures.
I feel privileged to play a small role in my department’s ADA enforcement work and profoundly grateful for the ADA, which has enriched not only my life, but the lives of millions of other Americans with disabilities.

Source: http://usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2012/08/06/when-professional-is-personal-celebrating-22-years-of-the-ada/

A Call for Nominations: FCC Chairman's Awards for Advancement in Accessibility

A Call for Nominations: FCC Chairman's Awards for Advancement in Accessibility

by: Kris Monteith, Acting Bureau Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau

June 14th, 2012

The Commission recently announced that it would be accepting nominations for the second annual Chairman's Awards for Advancement in Accessibility (Chairman's AAA). This project, coordinated by the Commission's Accessibility and Innovation Initiative (A&I Initiative), seeks to recognize innovations in the field of Accessibility and Technology. The Chairman's AAA and the A&I initiative are based on recommendations in the National Broadband Plan, an FCC report to Congress in 2010.
In a rapidly changing world, we must ensure that newly developed technologies continue to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Technological advances, moreover, provide opportunities to bridge current accessibility gaps in a cost-effective and efficient manner. To this end, the A&I Initiative works to foster collaborative problem-solving among industry, consumer, and government stakeholders so that people with disabilities can reap the full benefit of broadband communication technologies. The Chairman's AAA encourages innovation in this field through high-profile recognition.
In 2011, nominations for the inaugural Chairman's AAA were received from a variety of entities, including small and large communication businesses, institutions of higher learning, app developers, government agencies, the assistive technology industry, and public-private partnerships. A cross-bureau advisory group was formed inside the Commission to review the nominations and advise the Chairman on the awards. Chairman Genachowski and Commissioner Copps presented awards to winners and honorable mentions at a ceremony held at the Commission on October 28, 2011. The FCC's Technology Experience Center also featured demonstrations of technologies by award winners during that month of October.
This year, the awards have been split into the following seven categories: (1) Education, College/University; (2) Deaf-Blind Solutions; (3) Video Programming Device Solutions; (4) Geo-location Solutions; (5) Mobile Apps; (6) Consumer Empowerment Information; and (7) Civic Participation Solutions. Nominations may be submitted in these categories for any technology, product, service, or practice designed to increase or promote accessibility, which is introduced to the public during the year starting July 31, 2011 and ending July 31, 2012.
The Commission is accepting nominations during the two-month period from May 31, 2012 to July 31, 2012 at the email address ChairmansAAA@fcc.gov. A nomination should include a brief description of the innovation, identification of the category of innovation, the date the innovation was introduced, and why the innovation qualifies for the Chairman's Award. Applicants can nominate themselves or others they think are deserving of such an award. Award winners will again be selected by an internal cross-bureau advisory group comprised of subject matter experts on accessibility issues. For more information please contact us at ChairmansAAA@fcc.gov. We look forward to hearing from you!

ADA and Public Facilities Presented by: Richard Londono AAIA, CGC, BN

ADA and Public Facilities

Presented by: Richard Londono AAIA, CGC, BN

Thursday June 21st 2012

Time: 11:10 AM

Orlando Marriot World Center

You are all invited, contact us for more information: www.adaag-consulting.com

U.S. Access Board Releases Proposed Guidelines for Emergency Transportable Housing

U.S. Access Board Releases Proposed Guidelines for Emergency Transportable Housing

The U.S. Access Board has released for public comment accessibility guidelines for temporary housing provided by the government in emergencies and natural disasters. The proposed guidelines would supplement the Board’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines, which cover many types of facilities, including dwelling units, by adding provisions that specifically address emergency transportable housing. It would also supplement companion guidelines the Board maintains under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), which applies to federally funded facilities.

Emergency transportable housing units, which are designed and manufactured for transport over roadways, have a smaller footprint than other types of housing and pose unique accessibility challenges. Access to such housing was found to be problematic in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The proposed rule would revise certain provisions in the ADA and ABA guidelines to address these types of units, including requirements for ramps, floor surfaces, kitchens, showers, and bedrooms. The proposal would require additional features, such as folding seats in roll-in showers, to improve accessibility. Some changes are responsive to design constraints and would provide exceptions from certain technical criteria for elements such as entry ramps under certain conditions. Accessible communication features, including smoke alarms and weather alert systems, are also addressed.

The proposed changes are based on consensus recommendations prepared by an advisory panel organized by the Board, the Emergency Transportable Housing Advisory Committee. This committee included representatives from disability groups, industry and code groups, and government agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The proposed rule includes a discussion of these requirements that highlights areas where additional information is sought. The deadline for comments on the guidelines is August 17. Comments can be submitted or viewed at www.regulations.gov. The Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule in Washington, D.C. on July 11 that will provide an additional forum for submitting comment and will offer a call-in option for those unable to attend in person. Additional details are posted on the Board’s website.

For further information, contact Marsha Mazz at mazz@access-board.gov, (202) 272-0020 (v), or (202) 272-0076 (TTY).

Public Hearing on the Proposed Guidelines for Emergency Transportable Housing

July 11, 9:30 – 11:30

Access Board Conference Center

1331 F Street, NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC

Call-in option (listening only):

Dial: (517) 308-9247 or (888) 469-2078 (toll-free)

Passcode: 4144

To submit comments by phone, contact Kathy Johnson in advance at johnson@access-board.gov, (202) 272-0041 (voice), or (202) 272-0065 (TTY).