Archive for February 2009
Mark Your Calendars! Handicapable Events in March 2009
March 9, 2009 is Community Awareness Day which will be held at City Hall in Peru from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. According to Sandy Chittum, the President of The Miami County Chamber of Commerce, they are participating in this event to personally see what challenges those that are wheelchair bound face every day. Mayor Jim Walker and The Chamber are fully aware of these challenges and have been working with Handicapable for the past year. Their goal is to see what needs to be addressed and what needs to be done to make businesses, sidewalks, etc. easier and more accessible. In addition, Kurt Kiefer, Director of Miami County CASA will also be participating.
March 28, 2009 is Handicapable’s Annual Chicken Noodle Dinnerat Lutheran’s Church on the corner of W. Main & Freemont Street in Peru.
Call Jeff Morehead for more details at: 765.472.0722
See you there!
Upcoming Local Family Support Sessions
Parents of children with disabilities could benefit from two upcoming parent-to-parent support events, offered by Ask Special Kids (ASK), in collaboration with other organizations. Participants will have the chance to learn about experiences of other parents in similar situations. They’ll also get information about the supports that are available to families, how to create supports, and how to choose supports that best fit their families needs.
A session will be held Saturday, Feb. 28, 9-11AM at the Wabash Center in Lafayette, IN. A webcast will be held Wednesday, March 11, 7-9 PM at http://breeze.iu.edu/f2fsuportgps.
Both events are free, but attendees are asked to register online at www.inf2f.org/F2Fevents-train09.htm, or via email to fif@indiana.edu (subject line: F2F training) or by calling 1.800.825-4733.
New Higher Education Act Becomes Law
Former President George W. Bush signed The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) into law before leaving office to help make post-secondary education more accessible for all Americans. The HEOA, which is the first re-authorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 in more than a decade, includes several provisions that may be of particular interest to students with disabilities. Key provisions include:
- Create a new web site to make costs more transparent
- Establish a national center to provide support services and best practices for colleges, students with disabilities and their families
- Assist colleges with recruiting, retaining and graduating students with disabilities
- Improve educational materials and facilities for people with disabilities
- Provide tips to reduce educational barriers for students with disabilities
- Define Universal Design for Learning, a framework for curriculum design that fosters access to learning for everyone, and prepare educators to use UDL principles in their instruction
- Increase the maximum Pell Grant from $5,800 to $9,000 per academic year and make it available year around for the first time
- Simplify the federal financial aid application process
After the HEOA was signed into law, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif) chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement:
“Today is truly a momentous day for America’s current and future college students and families. With this bill signed into law, we have taken the next critical steps towards restoring the promise of our nation’s higher education programs: To help all students gain access to a world-class college education.”
National Council on Disability assesses Rehabilitation Act of 1973
The National Council on Disability (NCD) recently published a reported title “The Rehabilitation Act: Outcomes for Transition Age Youth” to assess the effectiveness of the Rehabilation Act of 1973, which intends to help young adults with disabilities gain necessary skills to transition into living and working in their communities. A possible re-authorization of the Rehabilitation Act during the 111th Congress will provide the opportunity for changes to be made.
According tothe report, the national average employment rate for transition-age individuals (ages 16-24) was about 58% in 2006. The average hourly wage for transition-age youth was $10.24 in 2005, they were working an average of 32.7 hours, and 30% of these individuals were receiving health insurance through their employers. Other key findings included:
- Vocational rehabilitation programs are serving only a small percentage of youth who could benefit from transition services.
- The number of transition-age youth served by vocational rehabilitation has increased steadily over the past five years. Employment rates and earnings have improved, given age and workforce experience of this population.
- A lack of continuous research and evaluation of the Rehabilitation Act policy changes has limited the ability of vocational rehabilitation agencies to identify successful programs and best practices.
These findings, among others, were submitted to former President George W. Bush and other federal officials during the National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October 2008. The NCD has called upon Congress to work toward improving the vocational rehabilitation system to increase opportunities for students with disabilities.
Related information:
- National Disability Policy: A Progress Report PDF
- The No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act:
A Progress Report PDF - Youth with Disabilities in the Foster Care System: Barriers to Success and Proposed Policy Solutions PDF
- Inclusive Livable Communities for People with Psychiatric Disabilities PDF
Driving not covered by ADA?
A recent ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrates how the ADA Amendments Act, which took effect Jan. 1, extends coverage to people with disabilities who were not originally protected by the ADA of 1990.
In this case, the 10th Circuit Court ruled that driving is not a “major life activity”, as defined in the ADA, and that, in turn, epilepsy does not fall under the law’s definition of “disability”. Because this case began before the ADA Amendments Act took effect, the decision was based on the original ADA. (View court documents)
Ireane Kellogg brought forth the case after she was fired from her job at Oilind, an industrial safety company for which she traveled to oil fields to provide services. Kellogg was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2005 and was subsequently fired from Oilind because she could not provide a “full release” from her doctor that would allow her to drive on the job.
Kellogg sued Oilind, alleging the company discriminated against her according to the ADA by firing her after the epilepsy diagnosis, and the district court ruled in her favor. The ADA defines “disability” as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits an individuals ability to conduct one or more major life activities. Oilind won on appeal, where the 10th Circuit Court said the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s regulation on major life activities does not mention driving, and stated that driving is merely a “means to and end” and not a major life activity in and of itself.
Because the court ruled driving is not a major life activity, and Kellogg was unable to present evidence that she was substantially impaired in any activity except driving, the court ruled that she did not have a disability. However, the new ADA Amendments Act broadens the definition of “disability” to ensure individuals with conditions such as epilepsy, depression and cancer are covered by the ADA.
