Michigan girl goes before Supreme Court for OK to take dog to school
Detroit Free Press
A 12-year-old girl with cerebral palsy sat quietly inside the Supreme Court on Monday as the justices clashed over whether her family can sue for damages against a Jackson County school district for denying access to her service dog, a Goldendoodle named Wonder.
Wonder stayed outside. But the two were reunited after an hour's debate — at which time Ehlena Fry pronounced the proceedings "cool" and offered a prediction: "I think we will win."
The Michigan case focuses on whether Ehlena's family can seek unspecified damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) without first going through a lengthy administrative process under the separate Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Ehlena's family, the American Civil Liberties Union and the U.S. government say she should not have to go through the IDEA process when the damages her family seeks aren't an option under that statute.
Jefferson County Disability Voting Settlement
Alabama Public Radio
Jefferson County and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for North and Central Alabama have come to a settlement on voting access for the disabled.
An investigation began nationwide earlier this year with combined efforts from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Joyce White Vance is the U.S. Attorney for the northern district of Alabama. She says they checked 36 polling sites in Jefferson County, and had a lot of work to do.
“Only 4 were completely compliant with the ADA for use on Election Day. 26 had non-compliant elements that could be fixed with temporary measures like cones, ramps, propping doors open, etc. 6 polling places could not be fixed with temporary measures and locations needed to be changed.”
The settlement agreement will bring Jefferson County into compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Alabamians head to the polls next Tuesday.
Kingman settles federal disabilities act lawsuit
Salina Journal
A city in south-central Kansas has settled a lawsuit involving a federal act on accessibility for the disabled.
The city of Kingman recently settled the case over the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Hutchinson News reported.
The settlement stems from a case filed in federal court in October 2015. In the settlement, the city denies violating the law but authorizes payment to two Kingman residents who use wheelchairs.
Under the settlement, the city will pay the two residents, David Lemen and Theodore Osborne, $1,500 each, and will pay their lawyer, David Calvert, of Wichita, $10,000 for prosecuting the action and monitoring the city’s compliance with the agreement.
“The suit was necessary to bring a lot of things to their attention,” Calvert said Friday. He said the parties worked together on the self-evaluation and transition plan, calling it “a cooperative process.”
The settlement agreement also showed that training for city staff on the ADA took place from September 2015 to February 2016, and that the city agreed to establish an Access Advisory Board.
A transition plan also spells out a schedule for ADA improvements through June 2022. Projects include adding parking for disabled, repairing sidewalks and ramps and purchasing new ADA park equipment in Kingman, a city of about 3,100 residents located about 40 miles west of Wichita.
What Is Dyscalculia? Overview and Symptom Breakdown
ADDitude
"All learning occurs because the brain develops specialized structures for different tasks," says Glynis Hannell, a family psychologist and author of Dyscalculia: Action Plans for Successful Learning in Mathematics. "Some of us are blessed with brains that quickly develop networks that make math easy, obvious, and interesting. Students and adults with dyscalculia find math puzzling, frustrating, and difficult to learn. Their brains need more teaching, more targeted learning experiences, and more practice to develop these networks."
Learning disabilities related to math are called dyscalculia. Estimates vary, but most experts believe 3 to 6 percent of the population has symptoms of dyscalculia. It has a strong association with females who have Turner Syndrome — a condition where one X chromosome is partially or completely missing — though the exact reason for the link is not fully understood.
Deaf citizen sues OK legislature for impeding his civic responsibility
KSWO
A deaf Oklahoman has filed a lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Senate and House of Representatives for the failure to caption hearings and other proceedings streamed online.
“Participation in government is an essential American right,” stated Howard Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf. “And participation is not possible if government proceedings are not open and accessible to everyone including deaf and hard of hearing people.”
The Party Is on the Second Floor, So Where Is the Elevator?
U.S. News & World Report-
People with disabilities still face frustrating accessibility hurdles.