[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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