[Nfbnet-members-list] Fwd: National Federation of the Blind and Two Blind Students File Suit against Los Angeles Community College District

[David Andrews]

>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>CONTACT:
>
>Chris Danielsen
>
>Director of Public Relations
>
>National Federation of the Blind
>
>(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>
>(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>
><mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>
>
>National Federation of the Blind and Two Blind Students File Suit 
>Against Los Angeles Community College District
>
>
>
>Los Angeles, California (March 3, 2017): The National Federation of 
>the Blind, the nation's leading advocate for equal access to higher 
>education for the blind; its California affiliate, the National 
>Federation of the Blind of California; and two blind students, Roy 
>Payan and Portia Mason, have filed suit in the United States 
>District Court for the Central District of California, Western 
>Division, against the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) 
>(Case 2:17-cv-01697). The lawsuit alleges that the LACCD has 
>violated the Americans with Disabilities act and Section 504 of the 
>Rehabilitation act of 1973 by failing to provide accessible 
>instructional materials and other accommodations required by these 
>statutes and needed by these students. As a result, Mr. Payan and 
>Ms. Mason have been unable to complete required coursework or have 
>received grades that do not reflect their true aptitude, 
>intelligence, and industry, but rather the artificial educational 
>barriers that have been erected by LACCD.
>
>Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the 
>Blind, said: "The National Federation of the Blind continues to 
>expect that our nation's institutions of higher education meet their 
>legal obligations to make their educational programs accessible to 
>the blind. Many colleges and universities fail to meet accessibility 
>requirements because of a lack of knowledge about accessible 
>technology and best practices for creating accessible content, and 
>the National Federation of the Blind is actively engaged in efforts 
>to give educational institutions the information and resources they 
>need in order to provide equal educational opportunities to their 
>blind students. But the experiences of Mr. Payan and Ms. Mason also 
>demonstrate that there are low expectations of blind students and 
>other attitudinal barriers as well. Faculty and staff in the Los 
>Angeles Community College system have demonstrated a deliberate lack 
>of regard for the rights of Mr. Payan, Ms. Mason, and other blind 
>students. The National Federation of the Blind will not tolerate 
>this discriminatory behavior."
>
>The plaintiffs are represented by Patricia Barbosa and Ayman Mourad 
>of the Huntington Beach, CA firm The Barbosa Group, and by Daniel F. 
>Goldstein, Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum, Joseph B. Espo and Jean M. 
>Zachariasiewicz of the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP.
>
>###
>
>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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