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SPECIAL REPORT
posted July 6, 2010
IOWA CITY, IA - The Disability Law & Policy e-Newsletter of the Law, Health Policy & Disability Center at the University of Iowa College of Law and the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University noted an accord between a Pennsylvania school and parents of disabled students abused in the special ed setting.
The lawsuit alleged seven students at the Clarks Summit Elementary School (Lackawanna County were abused physically 2001-2003, when they were aged 5-11.
Plaintiffs asserted teacher Susan Comerford Wzorek pulled hair, slapped, and stepped on the feet of the children on multiple occasions, once breaking a student's arm.
Makeshift restraints were used, including rope and duct tape.
When allegations first arose in 2006, Wzorek was charged criminally and pled no contest to a single charge of reckless endangerment of the welfare of a child, and got probation.
Under the settlement, okayed by Judge A. Richard Caputo in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the children's parents will receive collectively $5 million.
Haven Manor, an assisted living facility in Lincoln, NE, was sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for violating the ADA. EEOC alleges Haven Manor violated federal law when it didn’t accept Amanda Huff as an employee. The lawsuit was filed after the Nebraska EEOC and U.S. EEOC tried to reach a voluntary pact with Haven Manor. Huff was a certified nursing assistant with impaired hearing who was sent to Haven Manor by a temporary staffing agency. The suit states Ms. Huff was in an orientation meeting with Haven Manor when she asked her supervisor if she could have her pager alert set to vibrate instead of producing an audible noise. After discovering from this meeting that Huff had a hearing impairment, a Haven Manor supervisor told Huff her temporary employment would no longer be required. Huff sought legal help from the state and federal EEOC, which began an employment claim under the ADA.
Three blind law school students, with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), are suing four California law schools and the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) over its inaccessible application process. The lawsuit was filed initially against LSAC, but was amended to cover: University of California Hastings School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Whittier Law School, and Chapman University School of Law. The suit alleges the process required by the schools, specifically LSAC's centralized online application, isn’t accessible for blind students. The suit states blind persons are unable to use the online process without resorting to sighted aid because LSAC's site, used only by the four law schools, doesn’t allow screen access software. Law School Admissions Test preparatory study materials, available at the LSAC site, are similarly not accessible, alleges the complaint.
Iowa, Kansas, and North Carolina want to cut funds they use for special ed under an escape clause in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) aimed at financially-struggling states. Under IDEA, waivers can be given out in exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances (i.e., natural disaster or unforeseen decline in state financial resources). Iowa and Kansas have been guaranteed the waiver; however, the federal government has asked for more data from North Carolina. There’s speculation more states may request waivers to cut special ed funding, especially when many states have grim financial outlooks. Despite the budget problems in 2009, federal stimulus dollars helped to support state budgets. Budget crises in 2010 are far worse than 2009, and it’s believed they’ll be even worse in 2011. Under IDEA, when a waiver is granted it’s only for one fiscal year. On expiration of the waiver, the state must return to the same level of funding for special ed they provided before the waiver was granted.
At Fort Bliss in Texas, one of the three largest the U.S. military bases, some vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010 have trouble getting treatment for mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs). They report waiting weeks, sometimes months, for appointments with neurologists, and physical, speech, and occupational therapists. When treatment is received, it’s often for less time than in civilian life, and some medical officers suggest the soldiers are malingerers, or suffer from psychological trauma instead. The lack of focus on MTBIs may be due to an overall military focus of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At Fort Bliss, two new medical buildings were constructed, which handle traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and an experimental PTSD clinic. While the clinic is running with long-term in-patient programs, another building missed its opening date by one month and has yet to offer the general TBI screening service it promised.
A partnership of Virginia groups, including Henrico County Public Schools, Virginia Departments of Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), created a job-training program for those with Autism. The program came from a VCU research project on job training models for students with Autism. High school students from that project were assigned to either a job internship at St. Mary's Hospital, or educational skills training in the classroom. Students placed in an internship were given hands-on experience in several hospital departments, and the program was very successful in training those with Autism for a career in healthcare administration. At a ceremony in June, recognizing 100 students for completing the internships, it was announced that dozens of the students received job offers to continue in permanent positions at St. Mary's.
Haven Manor, an assisted living facility in Lincoln, NE, was sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for violating the ADA. EEOC alleges Haven Manor violated federal law when it didn’t accept Amanda Huff as an employee. The lawsuit was filed after the Nebraska EEOC and U.S. EEOC tried to reach a voluntary pact with Haven Manor. Huff was a certified nursing assistant with impaired hearing who was sent to Haven Manor by a temporary staffing agency. The suit states Ms. Huff was in an orientation meeting with Haven Manor when she asked her supervisor if she could have her pager alert set to vibrate instead of producing an audible noise. After discovering from this meeting that Huff had a hearing impairment, a Haven Manor supervisor told Huff her temporary employment would no longer be required. Huff sought legal help from the state and federal EEOC, which began an employment claim under the ADA.
Three blind law school students, with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), are suing four California law schools and the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) over its inaccessible application process. The lawsuit was filed initially against LSAC, but was amended to cover: University of California Hastings School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Whittier Law School, and Chapman University School of Law. The suit alleges the process required by the schools, specifically LSAC's centralized online application, isn’t accessible for blind students. The suit states blind persons are unable to use the online process without resorting to sighted aid because LSAC's site, used only by the four law schools, doesn’t allow screen access software. Law School Admissions Test preparatory study materials, available at the LSAC site, are similarly not accessible, alleges the complaint.
Iowa, Kansas, and North Carolina want to cut funds they use for special ed under an escape clause in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) aimed at financially-struggling states. Under IDEA, waivers can be given out in exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances (i.e., natural disaster or unforeseen decline in state financial resources). Iowa and Kansas have been guaranteed the waiver; however, the federal government has asked for more data from North Carolina. There’s speculation more states may request waivers to cut special ed funding, especially when many states have grim financial outlooks. Despite the budget problems in 2009, federal stimulus dollars helped to support state budgets. Budget crises in 2010 are far worse than 2009, and it’s believed they’ll be even worse in 2011. Under IDEA, when a waiver is granted it’s only for one fiscal year. On expiration of the waiver, the state must return to the same level of funding for special ed they provided before the waiver was granted.
At Fort Bliss in Texas, one of the three largest the U.S. military bases, some vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010 have trouble getting treatment for mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs). They report waiting weeks, sometimes months, for appointments with neurologists, and physical, speech, and occupational therapists. When treatment is received, it’s often for less time than in civilian life, and some medical officers suggest the soldiers are malingerers, or suffer from psychological trauma instead. The lack of focus on MTBIs may be due to an overall military focus of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At Fort Bliss, two new medical buildings were constructed, which handle traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and an experimental PTSD clinic. While the clinic is running with long-term in-patient programs, another building missed its opening date by one month and has yet to offer the general TBI screening service it promised.
A partnership of Virginia groups, including Henrico County Public Schools, Virginia Departments of Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), created a job-training program for those with Autism. The program came from a VCU research project on job training models for students with Autism. High school students from that project were assigned to either a job internship at St. Mary's Hospital, or educational skills training in the classroom. Students placed in an internship were given hands-on experience in several hospital departments, and the program was very successful in training those with Autism for a career in healthcare administration. At a ceremony in June, recognizing 100 students for completing the internships, it was announced that dozens of the students received job offers to continue in permanent positions at St. Mary's.