[Nfbnet-members-list] Blind student Aleeha Dudley and US Department of Justice resolve Miami University of Ohio discrimination case
Danielsen, Chris
CDanielsen at nfb.org
Mon Oct 17 20:57:57 UTC 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Stacy Brannan-SmithCommunications SpecialistDisability Rights
Ohio800-282-9181, ext.
101<mailto:sbrannan-smith at disabilityrightsohio.org>sbrannan-smith at disabilityrightsohio.orgChris
DanielsenDirector of Public RelationsNational Federation of the
Blind410-659-9314, ext. 2330<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
Blind student Aleeha Dudley and US Department of Justice resolve
Miami University of Ohio discrimination case
October 17, 2016
COLUMBUS, OH -- Attorneys for Aleeha Dudley have
<http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/assets/documents/dudley_final_settlement_agreement.pdf>reached
an agreement with Miami University after the school failed to provide
Ms. Dudley with equal and meaningful access to her curriculum to help
her attain educational success as a blind student studying zoology.
As part of a
<http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/assets/documents/dudley_consent_decree_10-17-16.pdf>separate
consent decree reached with the United States Department of Justice,
Miami University will change its practices for obtaining and
utilizing technology, including requirements to make its website
accessible, to ensure Learning Management Software is accessible, and
to educate faculty and staff about the importance of accessibility
and how to achieve this. It will also be easier for students to
obtain accessible course materials in all formats, including ebooks
and Braille.
The agreement for Ms. Dudley, negotiated by Disability Rights Ohio
(DRO), the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the law firm of
Brown, Goldstein & Levy, and Ohio State University Professor Ruth
Colker, requires Miami University of Ohio to contribute $108,000 to
help Dudley pay for her education at the university of her choosing.
It will also repay $50,000 in student loans she and her parents took
out for her education at Miami, in addition to paying $102,000 as
compensation for the pain and suffering she experienced as a result
of the discrimination.
With the support of the NFB, DRO and Brown, Goldstein & Levy filed
the initial complaint on behalf of Dudley in January 2014 in the US
District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The US Department
of Justice joined the case in June 2015.
Ms. Dudley said: "I am pleased that Miami University and I have
reached an agreement that will allow me to continue to pursue my
education so that I can achieve my goal of becoming a large-animal
veterinarian. I also hope and believe that the consent decree into
which the university has entered with the Department of justice will
substantially improve the educational experience of current and
future blind students at Miami University. No blind student, at any
modern institution of higher education, should encounter the barriers
that I experienced. My only intention throughout this process has
been to further my own education and to make things better for other
blind students. I hope my experience, trying as it was for me
personally, now results in an equal education for Miami University
students who are blind or who have other disabilities."
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "Blind students cannot take advantage of educational
opportunities and go on to live the lives they want unless course
content and the technologies used in the modern classroom are
accessible to them. Aleeha Dudley's experience shows that
inaccessible content and technology create significant barriers to
educational achievement, and that is why the National Federation of
the Blind has advocated and will continue to advocate for
accessibility in higher education institutions across the nation. We
are pleased that this matter has come to a successful resolution and
believe that the steps Miami University will take going forward, as
laid out in the most comprehensive roadmap to accessibility that has
yet been included in a consent decree, will create an inclusive
learning environment on its campus and serve as a model for other
colleges and universities."
Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt, Director of Advocacy for DRO said: "DRO has
been so pleased to collaborate with the National Federation of the
Blind and Ms. Dudley on our shared goal of ensuring equal access to
students with disabilities. Our coalition is also grateful to the
Department of Justice for its role in obtaining the comprehensive
consent decree. We hope that every successful accessibility case will
make it easier for students in the future to get the accommodations
they need. Colleges and universities around the country should take
note and work to make content and technology choices that will allow
all potential students to tap into their educational resources. "
###
About Disability Rights Ohio: Disability Rights Ohio is the federally
and state designated Protection and Advocacy System and Client
Assistance Program for the state of Ohio. The mission of Disability
Rights Ohio is to advocate for the human, civil and legal rights of
people with disabilities in Ohio. Disability Rights Ohio provides
legal advocacy and rights protection to a wide range of people with
disabilities.
About the National Federation of the Blind: The National Federation
of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that
defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of
blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind
people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is
not what holds you back.
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