9th Circuit Rules Teacher Complaining to OCR of Student Rights Violations is Protected from Retaliation

     In Susan Barker v Riverside County Office of Education, (9th Cir., 10/23/09) the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a teacher, despite not having a disability herself, can sue under Section 504 and the ADA  for the retaliation she suffered after she filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights alleging her employer [...]

GAO Report: Education Needs Coordinated Approach in Supporting Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

     The Government Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report on October 28th of its examination of services for students with disabilities in postsecondary education. The GAO noted that more students with disabilities were pursuing higher education than in the past and that recent legislative changes had the potential to increase the number and diversity of students [...]

EEOC Seeking Public Comment on Rules Implementing the ADA Amendments Act of 2008

     Last September 25, 2008 President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilties Amendments Act of 2008. The ADA Amendments Act legislatively over turned decisions by the Supreme Court that narrowed the definition of disability under the ADA. Congress found that persons with many types of impairments including epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, intellectual disabilities, major depression, and [...]

The ADA/504 and Assistance in Toileting in Public Before School and After School Programs

     I received a great question and comment to my post from last May Toileting Assistance in Child Care and the ADA . That post discussed the requirements under Title III of the ADA to provide toileting assistance to children with disabilities in privately operated day care programs. Yesterday a reader asked whether similar rules apply to public preschool [...]

President Obama Issues Proclamation on the ADA’s 19th Birthday

     Sunday July 26, 2009 marked the 19th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. President Obama issued a proclamation last Friday July 24th celebrating the passage of this landmark legislation. The President noted that the ADA “established a clear mandate agianst discrimination on the basis of disability so that people with [...]

Justice Department Issues New Fact Sheet on the Rights of Persons with HIV or AIDS to Obtain Occupational Training and State Licensing

     Yesterday, July 16th, the US Justice Department released a technical assistance fact sheet clarifying the ADA’s requirements relating to admitting individuals with HIV or AIDS to occupational training schools and granting state licensure in occupations such as barbering, massage therapy, and home health care assistance. The fact sheet was necessary because overly broad state [...]

Supreme Court Nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Disability Law

 
           The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has provided a valuable service by producing a Preliminary Review of Disability Cases of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. That review provides a fairly in depth analysis of Judge Sotomayor’s decisions in disability cases. The review identifies twenty eight cases involving disability law and, if you’re just keeping score, [...]

Toileting Assistance in Child Care and the ADA

     After my  post yesterday on Child Care and the ADA I received a very good question regarding child care programs providing assistance with toileting for children with disabilities who use “pull ups”. The question also raised issues regarding serving older children with disabilities who needed toileting assistance or diapering with much younger children. I [...]

The ADA and Child Care

           In my last post I discussed Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the context of Justice Department Sues Private School Chain for Discriminating Against Children with Disabilities. This provides additional information regarding the ADA and child care.
          Title III of the ADA covers privately-run child care centers, just as it covers other [...]

Justice Department Sues Private School Chain for Discriminating Against Children with Disabilities

     Last Wednesday April 29th the U.S. Justice Department announced that it had filed suit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia against Noble Learning Communities Inc. (Nobel). The Justice Department alleges that Nobel violated title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by excluding children with autism spectrum disorder and other disabilities from its [...]