Keeping Students with Disabilities Safe from Bullying

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Michael Yudin

As Secretary Duncan has noted, the Department of Education is committed to making sure that all of our young people grow up free of fear, violence, and bullying. Bullying not only threatens a student’s physical and emotional safety at school, but fosters a climate of fear and disrespect, creating conditions that negatively impact learning—undermining students’ ability to achieve to their full potential. Unfortunately, we know that children with disabilities are disproportionately affected by bullying.

Factors such as physical vulnerability, social skills challenges, or intolerant environments may increase the risk of bullying. Students who are targets of bullying are more likely to experience lower academic achievement, higher truancy rates, feelings of alienation, poor peer relationships, loneliness, and depression. We must do everything we can to ensure that our schools are safe and positive learning  environments—where all students can learn.

Source:  http://www.ed.gov/blog/

TN education chief sharpens focus on special ed

As beleaguered Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman deflects public outcry over changes to teacher policies, he is already eyeing his next reform target: special education.

Huffman, who recently faced calls for his firing after changes to the state’s decades-old teacher pay plan, probably will face outrage again next week when revisions to the teacher licensing process are expected to be approved.

Even so, he is moving ahead with plans he hopes will make Tennessee the state with the fastest-improving schools by 2015, and special education is next on his list.

“Special education is a huge focus in Tennessee,” Huffman told The Tennessean editorial board and reporters Wednesday.

Read more at: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130718/NEWS04/307180039/TN-education-chief-Kevin-Huffman-sharpens-focus-special-ed

Ticket to Work: Advancing Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

Ticket to Work: Advancing Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities By Guest Blogger Bob Williams, Associate Commissioner, Social Security’s Office of Employment Support Programs July 26th marks the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This landmark civil rights legislation guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications. With respect to employment, the ADA assures that people with disabilities have an equal chance to become and stay employed in two key ways: It prohibits employers from discriminating against anyone on the basis of disability in their hiring or employment practices, and It holds employers responsible for providing workers with disabilities reasonable accommodations in the workplace. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities continues to decrease, and government programs, like Ticket to Work, may be the answer for those individuals who receive Social Security disability benefits, but want to make more money through work. In 1999, the Ticket to Work program was established to advance employment opportunities for Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities. Read More about the Ticket to Work Program

With Fewer Kids Learning Braille, Schools Told To Step Up

Amid concerns that many with visual impairments are not learning to read Braille, federal officials are reminding schools that they have a legal obligation to teach the tactile writing system.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter this week, the U.S. Department of Education said that under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act schools must provide Braille instruction to students who are blind or visually impaired unless a thorough evaluation finds that teaching Braille would not be appropriate for the child.

Read more at:  http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/06/21/with-braille-schools/18205/

Disabled workers paid just pennies an hour – and it's legal

Disabled workers paid just pennies an hour – and it's legal

By Anna Schecter, Producer, NBC News

One of the nation's best-known charities is paying disabled workers as little as 22 cents an hour, thanks to a 75-year-old legal loophole that critics say needs to be closed.

Goodwill Industries, a multibillion-dollar company whose executives make six-figure salaries, is among the nonprofit groups permitted to pay thousands of disabled workers far less than minimum wage because of a federal law known as Section 14 (c). Labor Department records show that some Goodwill workers in Pennsylvania earned wages as low as 22, 38 and 41 cents per hour in 2011.

"If they really do pay the CEO of Goodwill three-quarters of a million dollars, they certainly can pay me more than they're paying," said Harold Leigland, who is legally blind and hangs clothes at a Goodwill in Great Falls, Montana for less than minimum wage.

"It's a question of civil rights," added his wife, Sheila, blind from birth, who quit her job at the same Goodwill store when her already low wage was cut further. "I feel like a second-class citizen. And I hate it."

Read the full story at:  http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/21/19062348-disabled-workers-paid-just-pennies-an-hour-and-its-legal?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1

Join The Arc Mid-South May 9th for our Summer Camp Information Session!

Family Sues Over Altered Photo Of Son With Down Syndrome

In what’s believed to be a first-of-its-kind case, a family is bringing a federal lawsuit after a photo of their son with Down syndrome was doctored and spread across the Internet.

Adam Holland was 17 in 2004 when he was photographed taking part in an art class at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, which serves people with developmental disabilities. In the image, Holland is seen smiling, holding up a piece of paper with a picture that he drew.

To read more, please visit: 
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/04/29/family-sues-altered-photo/17831/