General E-Bulletin Nov 2000

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General E-Bulletin

Table of Contents

*Enforcing the ADA: A Status Report from the Department of Justice Released November 28
*Va. Student Sues for More Time on LSAT
*A Right, Not a Favor: Coverage of Disability Act Misses Historical Shift
*Disability Statistics
*Creating Accessible Schools: New Publication
*Other Key Disability Laws Explained
*Sharing the Dream: Is the ADA Accommodating All?
*Tools for Parents to Assist Parents in Understanding the Individuals with Disabilitities Education Act
*Proposed TWWIIA Regulations Released

Enforcing the ADA: A Status Report from the Department of Justice

(November 28, 2000) (Text with hyperlinks, or PDF format) April -September 2000 http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/statrpt.htm

"Va. Student Sues for More Time on LSAT"

by Brooke A. Masters, The Washington Post, November 29, 2000. Link: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2111-2000Nov29.html.

A Right, Not a Favor: Coverage of Disability Act Misses Historical Shift

By Janine Jackson

"Despite some limitations, the 10-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is an historic call for an end to barriers facing this country's 50 million disabled people in nearly every arena of life. But major news outlets present the ADA as mainly a regulatory issue affecting private businesses, rather than a human rights issue facing society as a whole."

Disability Statistics

The Texas Governor's Committee recently posted new information on its website providing a snapshot of disability statistics. For example, it gives how many people who are deaf live in Smith County and then gives the link to the county-by-county disability statistics.

The information includes:

Texas Disability Statistics
National Disability Statistics
Access, Housing and Transportation
Education
Employment
Health and Community Services
Social Security
Technology and Communication
Veterans with Disabilities

For more information please log on to:
http://www.governor.state.tx.us/Disabilities/Policy/Stats/index.html

Creating Accessible Schools: New Publication

The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF), an affiliate clearinghouse of the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) of the U.S. Department of Education, recently released a new publication entitled, "Creating Accessible Schools" (June, 2000). Written by James Ansley of ADAPT Associates in Boston, MA, the publication examines the many issues surrounding federal mandates to accommodate students with disabilities. This 14-page publication addresses the need for careful consideration when planning new or renovating old facilities, as well as adhering to the many accessibility laws, such as requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of Title V of the Rehabilitation Act, and advisory guidelines from the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

In addition to the above publication, there are many other useful resources which can be downloaded from their Web site. Check out the Accessibility
Resource List at:
http://edfacilities.org/ir/accessibility.cfm.

In addition, individuals may receive free research by using the online form or by contacting their toll free number below.

To receive a copy of the publication, contact: NCEF Phone: 888-522-0624
Fax: 202-289-1092 Email: ncef@nibs.org
Web: http://www.edfacilities.org/ir/irpubs.html

Other Key Disability Laws Explained

The Access Board has a new section on their website that briefly explaines other key disability related laws such as the Architectural Barriers Act and the Rehabilitation Act. This site also has a chart that compares these laws with the ADA and enforcement is discussed. For more information please log on to: http://www.access-board.gov/publications/FilingAComplaint/A14.html

Sharing the Dream: Is the ADA Accommodating All? (Draft)

This report contains significant recommendations for accomplishing the goals and the vision of the ADA. A final version of this report will be available in December.

Contents:
Executive Summary
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Road to the ADA
Chapter 2: The Effects of the ADA
Chapter 3: Judicial Trends in ADA Enforcement
Chapter 4: Substance Abuse under the ADA
Chapter 5: Psychiatric Disabilities and the ADA
Findings and Recommendations
Sharing the Dream: Is the ADA Accommodating All? as well as other Commission publications, may be obtained from:
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
624 Ninth Street NW
Washington, DC 20425
Telephone: (202) 376-8128
You may visit this website at: http://www.usccr.gov/ada/main.htm

Tools for Parents to Assist in Understanding the Individuals with Disabilitities Education Act

"Understanding Tests and Measurements for the Parent and Advocate."

Comments from readers:

"I read your article about "Understanding Tests & Measurements" three years ago. It completely changed the way I viewed my child's special education program. You tell people that they have to read the article several times before they understand it. You were right. I read that article three times before I really "got it" - after that, nothing was the same. Thank you!"

"Your article, Understanding Tests & Measurements, is the single most valuable article I've ever read. This article actually helped me advocate for my child."
http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/tests_measurements.html

TIP: Download this article to your hard drive before you print it. The article includes several tables and graphs - if you try to printdirectly from the site, your computer may not print these illustrations.

"TEST DESCRIPTIONS" & OTHER RESOURCES ABOUT TESTS, EVALUATIONS

The site maintained by Ron Dumont and John Willis is a good source of information about tests and evaluations.

For an overview of commonly used tests, download "Test Descriptions" by John Willis at: http://alpha.fdu.edu/~dumont/test_descriptions.htm

Spend time exploring this valuable site. Check the "Test Reviews and Commentary" page at: http://alpha.fdu.edu/~dumont/test_reviews__and__comment.htm

Drs Willis and Dumont co-authored the book, "Guide to Identification of Learning Disabilities." You can get information about "Guide to Identification of Learning Disabilities" at: http://alpha.fdu.edu/~dumont/guide_to_identification_of.htm

Proposed TWWIIA Regulations Released

Attached is the official copy of the TWWIIA Notice Proposed Rule Making - the draft regs for public comment. The official comment period starts when they are published in the Fed Reg which should be soon.

Welcome to the General E-mail bulletin distribution list of the Southwest ADA Center. The bulletin is distributed monthly to provide subscribers with an update on the Americans with Disabilities Act events, trainings, resources, agency rulemaking and enforcement activities. We also want to use the bulletin as a vehicle to post information on any ADA-related events your organization or group are planning in your state or community. Please feel free to forward us any information about your event(s). They will be posted the following month. Questions and feedback may also be submitted in the same manner. Project staff are also available at 800-949-4232 from 9:00a.m.–5:00p.m. Central Time to answer your ADA questions. All questions are answered confidentially.

The mission of the Southwest ADA Center is to promote proactive compliance with the ADA in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Based at ILRU (Independent Living Research Utilization), a program of TIRR in Houston, Texas, the DLRP is funded by NIDRR, an agency of the Department of Education, under grant #H133D60012, to provide information, materials, and technical assistance on the ADA. NIDRR is not an enforcement agency.

The information herein is intended solely as informal guidance and is neither a determination of your legal rights or responsibilities under the Act, nor binding on any agency with enforcement responsibility under the ADA. To unsubscribe to the general E-bulletin, or to subscribe to the HR or legal E-bulletin, to ask a question or give a comment, please send an E-mail to swdbtac@ilru.org. All questions are answered confidentially.

You are welcome to reproduce all or part of the text on this web page electronically or in print, crediting as your source the Southwest ADA Center at ILRU. We would greatly appreciate receiving a copy of your use of our material. Please send to:

Tajauna Dunning, Communications Director
Southwest ADA Center
2323 S. Shepherd #1000
Houston, Texas 77019
713-520-0232 (v/tty)
713-520-5785 (fax)
tdunning@ilru.org