[blindlaw] Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Wed Jan 28 19:54:32 UTC 2009

Thank you for your very thoughtful post. Your post touches off some "hot
buttons" with me. 

Speaking just for myself, I can't imagine practicing law without Braille. I
know it can be done, and I applaude those who do it successfully.
Nonetheless, I believe that Braille is a vitally important tool for blind
people.

The first problem is that during the 70's, many sighted liberals and social
experimenters, thinking they knew what was best for blind people, thought
that Braille was old-fashion and unnecessary.  This was coupled with the
idea of "mainstreaming"--get a blind child into public school whether he/she
was ready or not.  Both these notions wound up disadvantaging many blind
people. My own view--like it or not--any blind person born blind who does
not have some knowledge of Braille should consider himself/herself
functionally illiterate. This opinion is completely different for those who
lose their sight later in life; they have very high mountains to climb. For
myself, since I have never had sight, I don't miss it.

With respect to "mainstreaming" when a child is ready for public school they
should go, so long as the proper support system is in place.  Until a child
is ready, there is nothing wrong with preparing a child in a learning
environment established for the education of blind children.  

Your post raises some intriguing legal issues. I know that NFB has always
emphasized the importance of Braille literacy.  Some states, like
California, forbid the use in public universities of any book that can not
be made available in an accessible format. 

While some research needs to be done, I would have to believe that there is
room for an argument that for a state to eliminate Braille as a part of its
educational process might raise serious issues under section 504, to the
extent that the state accepts federal funds to support its educational
programs.

Keep up the fight!

Respectfully,

Russell J. Thomas, Jr.

THOMAS & ASSOCIATES

Orange County Office                      

4121 Westerly Place, Suite 101

Newport Beach, California 92660                             

T: (949) 752-0101                             

F: (949) 257-4756

M: (949) 466-7238

Beverly Hills Office

9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450

Beverly Hills, California 90210 

T: (310) 461-3561

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of randolphc at kbti.org Cabral
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 10:34 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: info at kbti.org
Subject: [blindlaw] Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Dear Members:

I have been a member of this mailing list for nearly a year now.  From the
many discussions I have read I have gained considerable insights and a
greater appreciation for the amount of thought and dedication that goes into
the practice of law.  I had entered college to become an attorney many years
ago, along with my older brother.  My brother began in his short-lived legal
career in civil rights law, but soon after entered tax law.  I was
contemplating criminal law.  He succeeded where I dropped out.  However,
though I dropped out, I wanted to be involved is something that would make a
difference in the lives of others.

When my dad became blind I gave up a career as a bridge and highway
engineer, and began learning Braille.  Following several years of volunteer
work as a Braille transcriber and proofreader I founded the Kansas Braille
Transcription Institute, KBTI.  Since 1998 I have been fighting tooth and
nail to get our communities to realize the importance of the instruction and
inclusion of Braille.

I greatly regret that I did not continue to pursue a law degree, as I have
lost every battle in which I have been engaged, to persuade the schools and
libraries to make Braille more accessible to our students who are blind, as
well as our adult population of Braille readers.  Their prevailing argument
over the past several years has been, "blind people do not use Braille
anymore".

In last week's news, our state's governor indicated plans to close or
greatly reduce state funding to the Kansas State School for the Blind.  In
the opinion of some of our state's law makers, if only one in ten of our
states' blind students are using Braille or are Braille literate, then
perhaps these students would fare better in public schools.

I am a firm believer that Braille is vital to the education of a person who
is blind or a Braille reader, as it allows for another means of access to
information.  In speaking with a neurologist some time ago, he informed me
that there are parts of a sighted child's brain that develops through
reading and writing, and he believed that this would be the same for a blind
child who is taught to read and write using Braille.

I am convinced there are legal avenues that could be pursued that might not
only serve to thwart any attempts to close the school, but, also to enforce
the rights of persons who are blind when it comes to equal access to
information in a Braille format, if that should be their desired preference.
One thing however that confuses me on this subject is that I was informed
that each state, city, and government agency, or public facility that relies
of some degree of federal money has to provide such equal access to
information.

However, if it is a matter of accommodations and Braille is one means of
providing that accommodation, would that not mean that even if a blind
person was satisfied with a public library for instance having a computer
set up with print to speech capability from which he could access
information that is normally handed out in print to sighted patrons, that a
certain number of copies should still be available in Braille for patrons
who are blind Braille uses, may prefer Braille, or may not know how to use
adaptive technologies?  If this is so, would this not also apply to city and
government agencies?  Our unemployment agencies, city and county ADA
Coordinators and several health facilities provide an array of their
literature in Spanish, Asian dialects, and even French, but, nothing in
Braille.  This is equally true of our many pharmacies, hospitals, and banks.
Each of which receives a certain amount of federal money.

I have a fair understanding of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
regarding access to information, but, I am not sure of the best way to
pursue getting these agencies to comply and provide Braille or even adaptive
technologies to our blind communities.  Our six libraries provide neither.
Our colleges do not typically provide Braille nor do they have trained
personnel to assist with Braille or adaptive technologies.  Our K-12 offers
very little Braille, and next to nothing in the way of assistance with
assistive technologies.  My repeated approaches, presentations, and citing
federal mandates have been wholly ineffective.

Perhaps if I had some federal case law or additional references or even
information on who I might contact, I could prove more effective the next
time I give these agencies a run. I was able to speak with an attorney who
suggested that he might consider bringing some kind of legal action, but, he
is not real savvy about ADA law or the rights of the blind, but, if I could
provide him with some information he would review it and make a
determination.

I suppose I have gone the long way around asking for any help anyone of you
may be able or prepared to provide to me.  It was due to a lack of resources
for my dad and our blind community that led me to found the Kansas Braille
Transcription Institute nearly 10 years ago.  It was about 4 years ago that
I created the American Braille Flag.  Though I believe our Institute
provides a meaningful service to many persons who are blind, the vast
majority of them reside outside of Kansas.  I am convinced there has to be a
way to get Kansas on board, even if it means through litigation, or the
threat of litigation.

To each of you who has read this in its entirety I sincerely thank you for
your patience and consideration in doing so, and even more for your helpful
suggestions, and information. 
Respectfully,

Randolph Cabral, President/Founder
Kansas Braille Transcription Institute
2903 East Central
Wichita, Kansas 67214
316-265-9692
www.kbti.org
randolphc at kbti.org

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