Disability Discrimination

You are currently browsing the archive for the Disability Discrimination category.

Valentine’s Day is for Disabled People Too

February 14, 2010 in Disability Discrimination, Uncategorized | No comments

When a mother looks for a girlfriend on her son’s behalf, it may not sound so strange. But Lucy Baxter’s 21 year old son, Otto, has Down’s Syndrome. Lucy wants Otto to “live a fully rounded life” and to “enjoy the same experiences as other men his age.” Lucy has encouraged Otto to go to nightclubs to pick up women and, if Otto wants to, go to a brothel. Lucy hopes that Otto will have a healthy sex life, and even marry, and have children of his own.

The response to Lucy and Otto’s story was all over the map. Some readers thought Lucy was “sick,” “bizarre,” or “creepy.” Others wondered about the damage Lucy may be doing to Otto. Still others thought Lucy was doing the right thing in helping Otto find love and enjoy life. I leave it to the reader to form his or her own judgement about Lucy. But before you do, consider what Otto had to say: he said that he would like a girlfriend so that he can “have a shower together, wash her back and have a lazy day in bed. Also go to the cinema and things like that.”

This post is not about Lucy. Rather, this post aims to change public perception that it is abnormal for disabled people to want sex, companionship, and marriage. Disabled people who marry and have sex shouldn’t be a taboo topic. Sex and companionship are basic human needs. Individuals with different kinds of disabilities have such needs. Yet, the idea that someone with cerebral palsy or an intellectual disability cannot–or should not–date, marry, and/or have sex is very dated.

Click here to continue reading this article

Special Education Services in Charter Schools

February 1, 2010 in Disability Discrimination, Special Education | No comments

Education Week recently published a very interesting article titled Charters: Students With Disabilities Need Not Apply? Although charter schools have existed since the early 1990s, many people do not understand what it is and how it works. The almost always reliable Wikipedia provides a nice overview of charter schools; and in the very first sentence, we learn that:

Charter schools are elementary or secondary schools in the United States that receive public money but have been freed from some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results . . .

In Charters: Students With Disabilities Need Not Apply?, Thomas Hehir reminds us that charter schools are not exempt from special education law. Indeed charter schools must comply with the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, Section 504, Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as applicable state anti-discrimination laws. Randy Chapman, the Director of The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People in Colorado, provides a concise overview of the laws that charter schools must comply with in The IDEA and Charter Schools. For more specific examples in Question and Answer Format, see the Pennsylvania Education Law Center’s pamphlet, Students With Disabilities Attending Public Charter Schools.

Yet, according to studies and anecdotal evidence that Mr. Hehir cites, charter schools apparently serve few students with disabilities and may be discouraging students with disabilities from enrolling.

Click here to continue reading this article

Disability, Sports, and “Performance Enhancing Drugs”

January 25, 2010 in Disability Discrimination | No comments

I’ll admit it: I’m not a big sports fan. In fact, I rarely watch sports except for the occasional March Madness college basketball tournament on TV. But when a famous sports star hits the front pages of the newspaper, I take notice. Earlier this month, Mark McGuire admitted what most of us had suspected all along: he took steroids and Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Mark McGuire joins a long line of other baseball stars who have admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs: Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi, among others.

But I’m not interested in those guys.

I’m interested in Doug Barron and his case against PGA Tour.

Who’s Doug Barron?

Apparently, many people did not even know who Doug Barron was until November 2009 when PGA Tour alleged that Doug had failed a drug test.

When I heard of the possibility that golfers took steroids or performance enhancing substances to improve their golfing game, I was surprised. But apparently, Doug didn’t fail the drug test because he took steroids or Human Growth Hormone to gain an unfair advantage over other players. Doug failed because he took beta blockers to treat a heart condition and synthetic testosterone because he suffers from hypogonadism. Consequently, PGA Tour suspended Doug for a year.

Click here to continue reading this article

Parents with Disabilities?: Yes, they can!

January 11, 2010 in Disability Discrimination, Uncategorized | No comments

When Kaney O’Neill was 21 years old and working as a Navy airman apprentice, she fell off a balcony and broke her neck. Thereafter, she had minimal use of her arms and could no longer use her legs. Nearly ten years later, she gave birth to her son, Aidan. In August 2009, the Chicago Tribune published a beautiful story about Kaney’s pregnancy and the support system in place for her. It appeared as though Kaney would be spending the rest of her life with her son Aidan, along with her boyfriend, caretaker, and service dog by her side.

But in just a few short weeks after giving birth, Kaney broke up with her boyfriend, David Trais. David then demanded full custody of Aidan. David alleges that despite all the support systems in place, Kaney is unfit to be a mother. In December 2009, the Chicago Tribune published a follow-up article, Disabled Mom fighting to keep her son.

Now that the case has reached the courthouse where a judge is hearing arguments from both sides, bloggers have been discussing the custody dispute, and many blog readers have defended Kaney’s right to raise her son. See Lisa Belkin’s Should A Quadriplegic Mom Have Custody?; Jeanne Sager’s Quadriplegic Mom Fights Discrimination to Keep Son; and Sarah Caron’s Is She Fit To Parent? Over 100 comments have been submitted here: Can a quadriplegic be a good parent? Her ex-bf says “No.”

Kaney’s situation is unique, but not new. Doesn’t anyone remember the story of Robert Carney who was a quadripegic and fought for the custody of his two sons? Or the story of Tiffany Callo, a woman with cerebral palsy who fought to raise her two children? Or even Sean Penn’s role in I Am Sam?

Click here to continue reading this article

Accommodating Service Animals

January 4, 2010 in Disability Discrimination, Service Animals | No comments

Now that 2009 has come and gone, I look through my files of cases and try to determine the most interesting service animal case I’ve come across this year. Cases involving service animals in the schools or various exotic creatures as service animals such as monkeys are certainly interesting; but, in my view, nothing comes close to McDonald v. Department of Environmental Quality, which, in my opinion, may very well be the most significant service animal case of 2009.

This Montana case is about whether an employer is legally obligated to “accommodate service animals.”

This unique case resulted in a surprising outcome, perhaps in a way that no disability rights attorney or advocate could have predicted. Equally surprising is the fact that this case has gotten scant discussion in the blogosphere. (The only two I found were this one and that one.) I hope my readers will agree that this case merits discussion.

Let’s look at what happened in this case.

Click here to continue reading this article

The Year of the (Service) Dog

December 28, 2009 in Disability Discrimination, Service Animals | 1 comment

Most of us who have paid attention to the placemats on the table in a Chinese restaurant will recall that the Chinese calendar is linked to certain zodiac signs which are represented by animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The year 2009 is the year of the Ox, and the year 2010 is the year of the Tiger. The year of the Dog will not come until 2018.

But all of that is based on Chinese astrology, which has a long and rich history.

I started this blog post with a brief description of the Chinese zodiac signs because I feel it is a good segue to my topic: the year 2009 was the Year of the (Service) Dog.

I suspect that there was probably more discussion, more debate, and more litigation about service dogs and service animals in 2009 than in past years. There are several reasons for this.

Click here to continue reading this article

Students with Disabilities and Extracurricular Activities

November 16, 2009 in Disability Discrimination, Special Education, Student Rights | 4 comments

One of the most important aspects of school is non-academic extracurricular activities. Students who participate in extracurricular activities, such as sports, chess, music, student government, yearbook clubs, and other special interest clubs, develop talent, skill, and teamwork. By participating in extracurricular activities, students have an opportunity to make friends they would not otherwise have made during the regular school day.

The importance of extracurricular activities cannot be overemphasized, particularly for students with disabilities who are mainstreamed because it provides an opportunity for them to learn new skills, improve their talents and self-esteem, and develop relationships with their peers. In addition, when students with disabilities participate in extracurricular activities, other “nondisabled” students will look past one’s “disability” and focus more on one’s talents and skills.

Therefore, it is important that parents understand that students with disabilities have the right to participate in extracurricular activities at school.

Click here to continue reading this article

Are IEPs Necessary for Service Animals?

November 9, 2009 in Disability Discrimination, Service Animals, Special Education, Student Rights | No comments

In a very controversial and widely publicized case in Illinois that involves a child with autism who wants to bring his service dog to school, the school district is arguing (among other things) that the child cannot bring his service dog to school because it is not in the child’s IEP. It will be interesting to see how a judge responds to that argument.

In a previous blog post, I discussed the law and issues relating to service animals who accompany children with disabilities to school. Thus far, I have not discussed whether it is necessary to have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in order to bring a service animal to school. Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time probably know the answer to this question.

Caption: A boxer dog lies down with her head on a laptop.

Caption: A boxer dog lies down with her head on a laptop.

Briefly, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is a written document that consist of goals and objectives agreed to by the parents and school district on behalf of an eligible child with a disability. The IEP will also contain the necessary accommodations, modifications, and services that the school must provide in order for the eligible child to gain a meaningful and beneficial education.

The IEP is governed by a federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA [but commonly referred to as IDEA]), which guarantees eligible children a free and appropriate education.

Click here to continue reading this article

When Companion Pets Become Service Animals

November 1, 2009 in Disability Discrimination, Service Animals | No comments

Three weeks ago, I posted an article titled Badly Behaved ‘Service Animals’, which focuses on a growing social problem involving people who claim that their pets are “service animals.” A big issue involving “fake service animals” is their poor manners. But not all alleged service animals behave badly.

The federal courts recently issued opinions on two service animal cases. One of these cases involves an alleged service monkey. The other case involves an alleged service dog. What is particularly interesting about these two cases is that each of the handlers were not medically diagnosed with a “disability” until some time after acquiring the “service animals.” The other interesting thing about these two cases is that there is no indication that either service animal behaves badly (at least not in the courts’ opinions).

A brief overview of the facts and the court’s analyses follow. At the end of this long post, I offer six important lessons to learn from these two cases. (If you want to skip the case discussion, you can just jump down to the six “take-home” lessons.)

Click here to continue reading this article

Is Driving a Major Life Activity under the ADA?

October 5, 2009 in Disability Discrimination | 2 comments

Law can be confusing because there are many different definitions of “disability” depending on which statute you are studying. The Americans with Disabilities Act may define disability differently from the Social Security Act and The Rehabilitation Act. In fact, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provide three different definitions of disability. It is important to understand all three definitions.

According to the ADA (which was recently amended in Jan 1, 2009 and should technically be referred to as the ADAAA), an individual with a disability is a person who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) has a record of such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment.

In this post, I want to talk about only the first definition. Let’s break it down in smaller components: An individual has a disability if he or she:
Click here to continue reading this article

« Older entries

Copyright © 2009 Matthew Stoloff All Rights Reserved