Independence Center launches campaign to improve business access for people with disabilities
This innovative program is funded by the Colorado Governor’s Advisory Council for Persons with Disabilities.
How To Navigate Common Concerns When Job Hunting With A Disability
Refinery29
Take a cursory look at the news, and chances are you'll see a fairly optimistic take on the job market: Roughly a decade after the Great Recession plunged many graduates into years of professional uncertainty, the Department of Labor is reporting that the U.S. unemployment rate is under 4%, the lowest since 2000. In some industries, there are even more jobs than workers.
Dig a little deeper, though, and it becomes clear that jobs aren't growing on trees for some workers. Job seekers with disabilities are still having a tough time: the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was at 7% in May 2018.
Q and A: A look into the accessibility problem within New York City mass transit
Spartan Newsroom
The MTA New York City Transit is one of the largest public transportation agency in the world with 472 operating subway stations.
According to the MTA, the subway system has a daily ridership of an average of 5.6 million people.
But there’s a population that finds the subway system one of the least accessible – those who face a mobility challenge or have a physically disability that require stair-free access.
Colin Wright is an advocacy associate for the TransitCenter, a research-based organization that works with transit agencies nationwide on how to improve public transportation services.
In his 2017 report “Access Denied,” Wright found that there are currently 110 subway stations out of 472 total – about 23% – that are accessible under the American Disabilities Act (ADA).
He explains more on why roughly 23% the city’s subway system isn’t accessible to those who require stair-free access and what the MTA is currently doing to try and fix the issue.
SC allows NEET qualified 'visually challenged' to be examined for disability
Daily Pioneer
The Supreme Court on Friday gave permission to a visually challenged student who cleared the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) to be medically examined but reserved its apprehension on whether persons with blindness or visual disability could be permitted to join the medical profession.
The minor student from Gujarat knocked the doors of the apex court after a Medical Board constituted by the Gujarat Government refused to examine his disability and certify him suitable for undertaking the undergraduate medical course.
The student represented by senior advocate Sanjay Hegde submitted that though his “low vision” disorder is a benchmark disability under the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, the Medical Board certifies persons only with locomotive disability to take MBBS course under the disabled category.
New beach chairs give disabled access to park
Clare County Review
This year, people with physical disabilities who visit Wilson State Park in Harrison won’t be left high and dry as in the past. Wilson State Park is adding two special beach wheelchairs to enable more people to enjoy the blue waters of Budd Lake.
In addition to the chairs, a new pathway to the water will be available in mid-June, along with rubber matting that will extend from the end of the pathway to the water. Visitors with a State Recreation Passport just need to inform the ranger at the entrance about their needs. They will be directed to a special parking area and the chairs will be made available.
Hawaii Will Pay $10.25 Million To Settle Special Education Lawsuit
Honolulu Civil Beat
Nearly 500 former Hawaii students have reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the state Department of Education in an 8-year-old class-action lawsuit that alleged they were illegally denied special education services.
The $10.25 million settlement reached in U.S. District Court stemmed from allegations that the DOE violated the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, which requires that states provide “free appropriate public education” to all people with disabilities who are under age 22.
“Once we identified that the state had taken this illegal action, we went to court to protect the rights of these special education students who deserved to be treated better,” Louis Erteschik, executive director of the Hawaii Disability Rights Center, said in a press release Thursday.