Florida School For The Deaf & The Blind Seeks $10 Million For Upgrades

Jacksonville.com: School for Deaf and Blind seeks about $10 million for upgrades.



TALLAHASSEE - Repairing buildings and making construction upgrades makes up the meat of a funding request being pitched by the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine.



The school is asking for $9.7 million in construction money, a steep increase over the $1.4 million in Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed budget and the $1.6 million it got last year. The $1.4 million is the same amount requested by the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the school’s budget.



“With that amount we would barley be able to touch projects needed to ensure safety-related repairs,” said Jeanne Prickett, the school’s president.



With the money, the school wants to fund preventive maintenance, repair projects and remain compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.



“That means we would be able to continue to keep up-to-date buildings and renovate obsolete areas,” Prickett told the House Appropriations Subcommittee during a Tuesday hearing.



Since 2008, the school’s construction funding has dropped by $11.8 million. The funding comes from the same shrinking pot of money used for higher education and k-12 projects. Lawmakers are working to overhaul the system, which is funded by taxes on certain communications and telecommunications.



Students on the School for the Deaf and the Blind’s 80-acre campus have increased from 585 to 610 over the past five years, officials said. Overall enrollment, which includes off-campus students, has increased from 904 to 989 over that time. ... Read more: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2013-02-12/story/school-deaf-and-blind-seeks-about-10-million-upgrades

Gay Deaf Man Sues D.C. Jail For Mistreatment

VIDEO: FOX 5 - Deaf man alleges mistreatment at D.C. jail.



WASHINGTON, DC - A former inmate in the District of Columbia correctional system is suing the city for alleged mistreatment. The D.C. man is Deaf, and the lawsuit claims he was unable to effectively communicate during his period of confinement. It also alleges his treatment got worse when he complained.



44-year-old William Pierce is profoundly Deaf. He wound up with a 60-day sentence in the city's correction system after an altercation with his partner resulted in a conviction for simple assault.



At the order of the judge, Pierce actually wound up in the Correctional Treatment Facility to get help. The CTF adjoins the city jail.



Arthur Spitzer, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital, said in an interview: "There was no interpreter there for [Pierce] at intake, or at any of his medical appointments, he had some medical problems or at any of his classes. He was taking an anger management class, and he didn't know what was going on. He didn't know what people were saying. He couldn't participate in the group discussion(s)."

The lawsuit says, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations for the Deaf must be made so inmates can communicate. Things got worse for William Pierce when he complained, according to his attorney. ... Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/20943928/deaf-man-alleges-mistreatment-at-dc-jail#axzz2KD4UbjPN

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Washington Blade - Gay Deaf man sues city for mistreatment.



WASHINGTON, DC - In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Feb. 1, a former D.C. jail inmate who’s Deaf and gay, accuses the city’s Department of Corrections of engaging in disability-related discrimination by refusing to provide him basic services required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.



William Pierce, 44, who was sentenced to two months in a city jail for an assault conviction, charges in the lawsuit that jail officials repeatedly refused to provide a sign language interpreters as required by law and retaliated against him for complaining about his conditions by placing him in solitary confinement.



Pierce, who has HIV, was given only three of the four HIV medications he had been taking at home and was unable to understand why prison doctors changed his medication regimen because of the lack of a sign language interpreter, the lawsuit says.



It says the emotional distress Pierce suffered due to the alleged discriminatory treatment was heightened when jail guards handcuffed him shortly before his mother arrived for a visit, preventing him from communicating with her in sign language.



“The District of Columbia needs to be held accountable for its outright discrimination and reminded that people with disabilities cannot just be locked away and ignored,” said Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the ACLU of the Nation’s Capital, which filed the lawsuit on Pierce’s behalf in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.



Spitzer said most of the alleged discriminatory actions against Pierce took place at the D.C. Jail’s Correctional Treatment Facility. The CTF is operated by the Corrections Corporation of America, a private company under contract with the city.



“D.C., in turn, needs to hold the Corrections Corporation of America accountable for its continued disregard for the wellbeing of the individuals the city has placed in its care,” Spitzer said in a statement. ... Read more: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/02/06/gay-deaf-man-sues-city-for-mistreatment/

Deaf Students Lack Interpretors

The Montana Kaimin - Deaf students outnumber interpreters 2-1; school struggles to meet demand.



MISSOULA - A shortage of sign language interpreters in Missoula has left the University of Montana stretching resources thin for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students.



Denise May, the lead interpreter at UM, said Missoula County Public Schools and the University already employ every certified interpreter who wants to work in the region.



"Interpreters are scarce and we could use more," May said. "For example, tomorrow, besides covering all the classes, there's a rodeo club meeting, a mid-year report, a Montana Council for Exceptional Children conference, and others have called asking for interpreters that can work in the community."



There are eight full-time Deaf students attending the University this semester double the number of available full-time sign-language interpreters at UM.



The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses and universities to provide equal access to persons with disabilities including effective communication services. ... Read more: http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/article_ed86fc92-70e8-11e2-b6fb-001a4bcf6878.html

Would A Deaf Lifeguard Be ‘Qualified’ Under The ADA ?

Would a Deaf Lifeguard be ‘Qualified’ Under the ADA ?



Oakland County - What would you do if you were hiring a lifeguard for a community wave pool and the applicant was Deaf, but he was also certified as a lifeguard? A new court ruling this month shows how mistakes made in assessing the applicant's medical condition can leave an employer drowning in litigation ...



Case in Point: Nicholas Keith, 22, was born Deaf and communicates using sign language. He also uses a cochlear implant that helps him detect noises, such as whistles and people calling for help. Keith received his junior lifeguard certification and then successfully completed lifeguard training. (A Michigan county provided a sign-language interpreter to relay verbal instructions to Keith during both training programs.)



Keith then applied for a lifeguard position at the county's wave pool, requesting that a sign-language interpreter be present to relay verbal directions during staff meetings. The county offered Keith the job, conditioned on his passing a pre-employment physical. The doctor failed him, citing his inability to hear. Plus, the county’s safety and risk management consultants expressed concerns over Keith being unable to do the job, despite numerous accommodations the county was offering. So the county rescinded the job offer. ... Read more: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/34432/would-a-deaf-lifeguard-be-qualified-under-the-ada

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Deaf Lifeguard's Disability Claims Against Oakland County Go To Jury.



The Sixth Circuit has reversed the decision of a lower court and held that a Deaf individual should be permitted to proceed to trial on his claim that a prospective employer discriminated against him on the basis of disability by failing to hire him as a lifeguard. Keith v. County of Oakland, (6th Cir. Jan. 10, 2013).



In reviving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim, the Court found that a jury should be permitted to determine whether the individual was otherwise qualified to be a lifeguard, with or without accommodation, that is, whether hearing is an essential function of the job and, if so, whether reasonable accommodations could have been made... Read more: http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/217724/employment+litigation+tribunals/Deaf+Lifeguards+Disability+Claims+Against+Oakland+County+Go+To+Jury