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Welcome to the TV Station…

It has been said that, “Life is what happens while you are making other plans.” There are things happening in society, in the disability community, and in the profession of disability services in higher education that are broad in scope and impact. This is the place to come and view information about some of those critical issues, both past and present.

February, 2001 — Access for the 21st Century
Is YOUR Website Accessible?

There has been a great deal of talk in recent months about the importance, necessity, and urgency of making institutional websites accessible to people with disabilities. This web page has been compiled to provide, in one location, a kind of “Beginners Guide to Website Access for Colleges and Universities” I am NOT the best person to tell you all about how to make your website accessible, although I can provide some excellent resources, to be passed along to your local “techies” that will provide that information. But I think NOW is the time to deal with this issue, for a number of reasons… (keep reading!)

Boston University Lawsuit

This webpage was first posted in October, 1997, regarding the lawsuit brought by several students with learning disabilities against Boston University. Visit the Boston University page.

Read the text of three articles written by Jane Jarrow for the DAIS newsletter regarding the Boston University lawsuit.

Draft Language for Inclusion in Interagency Agreements

In September, 1999, draft language was proposed to be included in Interagency Agreements being developed on a state-by-state basis between State agencies for Vocational Rehabilitation and the higher education community. This language was intended to protect the autonomy of both parties in the agreement, while at the same time allowing flexibility to develop the agreements as needed considering the varying circumstances and organization of state governments. The inclusion of this draft language was supported by the American Council of Education in a letter from President Stan Ikenberry to ACE constituents.

AHEAD LD Guidelines

This link will take you to an article published in the July, 1998, DAIS Newsletter regarding the importance of the AHEAD LD Guidelines that had just been released. Go read the DAIS Newsletter article.

This link will take you to the place at the AHEAD web site where the LD Guidelines are now available on-line. Visit AHEAD to see the LD Guidelines.

Recent Supreme Court Decisions

Casey Martin

<< “SO MANY SUPREME COURT DECISIONS… SO LITTLE TIME!!!” >>

During the week of June 21, the Supreme Court released their findings in a number of cases that dealt with the Americans with Disabilities Act. How will their decisions impact on our little corner of the world? That question seems to overshadow anything else that is happening just now, so addressing that question will be the focus of this newsletter. Everything else can wait for a few weeks more while we sort through the pieces of an arguably altered reality. REMEMBER… I am NOT an attorney. I usually say that with a certain amount of pride (she says with tongue in cheek), but this time I say it to remind you that what you are about to read is nothing more or less than MY interpretation of what happened and what it will mean for higher education. Since this newsletter is all about “The Supremes,” I have given each article a subtitle reminiscent of the 60’s singing group by that name. My thought was that a little levity might help to frame the very somber discussion about to follow! Now to the business at hand…

Click here to read more…

Vocational Rehabilitation/Higher Education
Relative Roles and Responsibilities
THEN and NOW!!!

There was language in the proposed Reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act that would have significantly altered the existing relationship between the higher education community and the Vocational Rehabilitation system. Congress responded to the concerns of higher education and found compromise language that spoke to those concerns. That compromise language provided direction in establishing new interagency agreements and partnerships, but we are finding the reality of implementation to be… ahem… less than we’d hoped for (May, 1999)!!! It may be time for the higher education community to revisit this issue — and actively renew our campaign — before it is too late!

MAY, 1999:
What is happening today? What is the issue on which the clock is ticking? Read an open letter on this subject from the May 10, 1999 DSSHE-L listserv.

JUNE, 1998:
Read the in depth analysis of the implications had the bill been implemented and the way the language now stands. Here is a quick review of the issue for general dissemination that includes “just the facts”.

View the text of a letter sent to Commissioner Fred Schroeder of the Rehabilitation Services Administration in March, 1998. The response was received June 11, 1998. Go to end of the response letter to see what action you might take to assist in furthering this effort.

View an excerpt from the DAIS publication Higher Education and the ADA: Issues and Perspectives that addresses this issue.