Newsletter February 2008

NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2008

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PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES WEBLETTER

News and Information for Disability Professionals

Volume #12 – 46th Edition

February 5 , 2008

It’s all new! New Year! New Resources! New Producers! New Catalog! New Look! New Webletter!

Welcome to 2008 and the first issue of Program Development Associates Webletter of the year!

IN THIS ISSUE . . .

PDA Highlights

Quote of the Month

ADVOCACY- Advocates Reject Plan for Segregated on former Institution Grounds

TECHNOLOGY/ACCESSIBILITY- Closed Captioning for the Radio on the Horizon

EDUCATION/ADVOCACY – Former Special Education Director Says She Was Punished for Advising Parents

LEGAL ISSUES – Supreme court Drops Wal-Mart Discrimination Suit

PDA HIGHLIGHTS

Busy Bees: We’ve been busy bees since our last webletter and throughout the holidays! Our projects have taken us from gathering more resources than ever, putting together our 2008 catalog and mailing it and working on our website!

WWW has a new look and many more resources. We’re kicking off 2008 with a reformatted and upgraded website at http://www.DisabilityTraining.com making it easier to navigate and read. Along with the new look we’ve added many great disability titles, and now have a grand total of 632 individual and special packages for you to choose.

“It’s in the Mail”: Our 2008 Disability Resources Catalog is hot off the presses! We’ve mailed it to several thousand of our customers across the United States with more going out every week. If you just can’t wait and want yours now, you can download the complete catalog from our website at http://www.DisabilityTraining.com/catpdf.html. You can request one be mailed to you at http://www.DisabilityTraining.com/catmail.html or call us at 800-543-2119.

Media Search: PDA represents dozens of authors, producers and publishers some have been with us for over a decade. Over the past year we have partnered with several more and look forward to a successful 2008 with both our new and old friends. However the search is never ending and we continue to look for high quality resources for educators, service providers and business people on a variety of disability topics. If you have a media resource you would like us to consider for distribution please contact Hank Riner at hriner@DisabilityTraining.com

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:

"The concept is so bizarre."
- Syracuse, New York resident Karen Gillette, talking about plans to create a resort that would specifically serve people with disabilities on the grounds of the former Syracuse Developmental Center

ADVOCACY

Advocates Reject Plan For Segregated Resort On Former Institution Grounds
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
December 13, 2007

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK--Nine years after New York moved the last person out of Syracuse Developmental Center and into the community, the state has sold the 48-acre property to a developer that plans to turn it into a resort -- specifically for people with disabilities.

The owners of Syracuse Resort for the Disabled told the Syracuse Post-Standard that the facility would include a specially designed swimming pool, movie theater, bowling alley, restaurant, salon and boutiques -- all customized for people with disabilities.

"What we are trying to do is give handicapped people something they never have had," explained Jim Benjamin, one of the company's partners. "They can go to any hotel. But in most hotels, there's one handicapped bathroom. Here, the whole thing will be for them."

Disability rights and self-advocacy groups said the segregated resort would be a step backward in decades-long efforts to make the community more accessible and more welcoming.

Some said they plan to protest in order to keep the resort from being built.

"The concept is so bizarre," said Karen Gillette, of Syracuse. "When we go out on vacation, or to any recreational activity, I don't limit myself to a site that caters to my disability. I look for accessibility, but I look for a site that is inclusive for everyone."

Related:
"Big Bid: A Resort for Disabled" (Syracuse Post-Standard)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/07/red/1213b.htm
"Resort for those with disabilities criticized" (Post-Standard)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/07/red/1213c.htm

This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Disability Rights Email News Service. http://www.InclusionDaily.com ©Copyright 2007 Inclusion Daily Express. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed in any form or displayed on any web site without prior approval from Inclusion Daily Express. News@InclusionDaily.com

At www.DisabilityTraining.com, Program Development Associates has biographies, documentaries and historical programs relating to the problems segregation and institutions can cause. Here are just a few:

UNFORGOTTEN: 25 YEARS AFTER WILLOWBROOK
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/unfd.html

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE INSTITUTION - PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/roid.html

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE INSTITUTION - PARENTS' PERSPECTIVES
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/ropd.html

A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/altd.html

TECHNOLOGY/ACCESSIIBILITY

Closed Captioning for Radio on the Horizon
January 9, 2008

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA--The following four paragraphs are excerpts from a story in Tuesday's PC Magazine:

TV has long had closed captioning. Why not radio? What sounds like an odd joke – radio for the deaf and hard of hearing – is close to reality thanks to a public-private consortium that will provide closed captioning on car LCD displays.

It will start with National Public Radio stations, one of the groups in the partnership, along with Harris Corp. and Towson University in Maryland, which will be headquarters to the new International Center for Accessible Radio Technology (ICART). Both home and car radios are planned.

What's in it for deaf people?

Cheryl Heppner, executive director of the North Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Person, who lost her hearing at 6, recalls driving with her husband, Fred, and wondering what made him laugh listening to the radio. With real time closed captions, she said, "I could know why … Fred is always laughing so uproariously when he listens to Car Talk while driving." Or, she says, "I could annoy him by singing along, badly, to the lyrics of his favorite songs. I can't wait!"

Entire article:
"Hands-On: Radio for the deaf" (PC Magazine)
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2247019,00.asp

Related:
"Harris technology to help hearing impaired 'see' radio" (Business Courier of Cincinnati)
http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/01/07/daily19.html

TECHNOLOGY DVDs AVAILABLE FROM PDA

FREEDOM MACHINES
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/fmad.html

SOCIAL NETWORKS
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/snd.html

EDUCATION / ADVOCACY

Former Special Education Director Says She Was Punished For Advising Parents
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 2, 2008

CUMMING, GEORGIA--The former director of special education for the Forsyth County school system has sued her employer, accusing it of retaliating against her for giving advice to parents.

According to the Forsythe County News, Sharon Purdie claims that this past September she was reassigned from director of special education, which meant a post in the superintendent's cabinet, to director of special projects. That position not only had never existed before, but it also had no job description or job duties, she says.

Purdie alleges that the district and then-superintendent Paula Gault decided to punish her for advising local parents of students in the special education program on how to get in touch with the state's Office of Civil Rights.

Two of those parents have sued or filed complaints against the district, claiming that staff abused or neglected their children. One of those cases is still in court. The other was settled for $100,000.

"Gault told Purdie that, because Purdie had informed the parents of these rights, Purdie would not be allowed to continue in her position," the News quoted court documents.

Purdie is seeking financial damages and to get her old job back.

Related:
"School system feud lands in court" (Forsythe County News)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/2008/red/0102d.htm

Resources from PDA designed for Educators!

COMPLYING WITH THE 2006 IDEA PART B REGULATIONS
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/cwtd.html

PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS: AN A-TO-Z GUIDE TO COMPLYING WITH THE LAW
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/psgd.html

SPECIAL EDUCATION POLICY AND PRACTICE
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/sepp.html

INCLUDING SAMUEL
http://disabilitytraining.com/isad.html

FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/fapd.html

HOW THE LAW TRANSFORMS THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING IEPS
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/ihld.html

EMPLOYMENT

Supreme Court Drops Wal-Mart Discrimination Suit
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 14, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC--The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed a case that could have clarified whether the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to give preferential treatment to workers that have been injured on the job.

The court cancelled its decision in Huber v. Wal-Mart Stores 07-480 on Monday, because both sides in the case agreed to settle out of court.

The case involved Pam Huber, who was earning $13 an hour as dry grocery order filler for a Wal-Mart distribution center in Clarksville, Arkansas, when she injured her right hand and arm in an on-the-job accident.

Huber then requested to be transferred to another position that was open. But Wal-Mart told her to apply for the job and compete like all other workers. The company then hired another worker that it decided was more qualified for the position.

Huber was then placed in a janitorial job, where she earned just $6.20 an hour to start.

Huber successfully sued in federal court, accusing Wal-Mart of violating the ADA and the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993.

Wal-Mart appealed that decision to the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which last May sided with Wal-Mart, writing that the ADA "is not an affirmative action statute" and that "Huber was treated exactly as all other candidates were treated for the Wal-Mart job opening, no worse and no better."

The Supreme Court had agreed last month to hear the case.

The details of the settlement between Huber and Wal-Mart are confidential.

Program Development Associates offers many resources employers can use to help include people with disabilities in the workforce.

DIVERSITY SERIES: AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY WORKPLACE ISSUES
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/divd.html

JOHNNY THE BAGGER
http://disabilitytraining.com/jtbk.html

ADA AND DISABILITY LAW
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/aald.html

ADA REVISITED
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/adrd.html

SUPERVISING AN EMPLOYEE WITH A DISABILITY
http://www.disabilitytraining.com/sewd.html

Share your thoughts, comments or questions with Program Development Associates. Recommend this webletter to a colleague, or change your own subscription by e-mailing info@disabilitytraining.com, calling 315-452-0643, or visit us on the web at http://www.disabilitytraining.com.

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