No, it's no excuse. But when governments, like the New York City government
set their budget priorities, people with disabilities are not a high
priority. Of course, the schools in the city vary in what they provide,
depending on their location, on whom they serve. So it would be interesting
to know if the schools that serve a white upper middle class population,
have actually made the required changes while the majority of schools have
not.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 10:06 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: 25 years after
It is still no excuse for all public entities were to have conducted and
implemented an ADA transition plan on pre-1990 construction as of January
26, 1992.
But, people haven't done this in my experience or they conduct the surveys
but don't remove the barriers.
This was one of the many things we were protesting on our ADA celebration
event in which I was arrested for the Michigan State Capitol itself isn't
ADA compliant.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 9:31 AM
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: 25 years after
When I heard this item on WNYC, I thought that it is most likely
because the city has really very old school buildings and they've
never spent money to truly update them. The school buildings in the
city look very different from those in the suburbs. The elementary
schools have several stories and no elevators.
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of joe harcz
Comcast
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 8:42 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] 25 years after
Feds: Most NYC elementary schools violate disabilities act - Education
Week
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal investigation has found that 83 percent of
New York City's public elementary schools are not fully accessible to
children with
disabilities, and the nation's largest public school system is in
violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
In a letter addressed to the city Department of Education's top lawyer,
the
office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Monday said the two-year
investigation
also showed that six school districts, serving over 50,000 elementary
students, did not have a school that was fully accessible. The entire
system
serves
about 1.1 million students.
"Nowhere is it more important to tear down the barriers to equal access
than
with respect to the education of our children," Bharara's office said.
"But
today, in New York City, 25 years after passage of the A.D.A., children
with
physical disabilities still do not have equal access to this most
fundamental
of rights."
The letter describes the effect the violations had on one family that had
gone to "extreme measures" to keep a daughter enrolled in a local school
instead
of making the lengthy commute to the closest "accessible school."
"A parent of this elementary school child was forced to travel to the
school
multiple times a day, every school day, in order to carry her child up and
down stairs to her classroom, to the cafeteria, and to other areas of the
school in which classes and programs were held," the letter said.
The letter gives the city 30 days to respond, including an "outline and
timeline of corrective actions."
Department spokesman Harry Hartfield told The New York Times
(http://nyti.ms/1mwyQ3j) the agency was reviewing the letter and remained
"committed to increasing
the accessibility" of school buildings. He said the department was
cooperating with the investigation, adding that it has set aside $100
million for accessibility
projects.
"Our goal is to ensure that all our students have access to a high-quality
education, and a student's disability should never get in the way of their
access
to a great school," Hartfield said.
---
Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com
