[blindlaw] response to Nicole

Kathryn Carroll via blindlaw blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Sat May 24 12:45:11 UTC 2014


What did the blind educators division have to say?
  Kathryn Carroll, J.D. 

Ph: (631) 521-3018/ Fax: (347) 630-0529  


  From: via blindlaw (blindlaw at nfbnet.org)
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2014 08:00 AM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: blindlaw Digest, Vol 120, Issue 16   Send blindlaw mailing list submissions to
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Today's Topics:

1. FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice
(Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw)
2. need advice (via blindlaw)
3. Re: need advice (Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 13:37:55 -0500
From: "Nightingale, Noel via blindlaw"
To: "blindlaw at nfbnet.org"
Subject: [blindlaw] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of
Justice
Message-ID:
<04F1893C93758F4AA7CB436BB26750660118C26F2130 at EDUPTCEXMB02.ed.gov>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"



From: Jobs [mailto:jobs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Maurer, Patricia via Jobs
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:01 AM
To: jobs at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Jobs] FW: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice



From: Hunter, Sue (JMD) [mailto:Sue.Hunter at usdoj.gov]
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 1:03 PM
To: Hunter, Sue (JMD)
Subject: Attorney Vacancies at the U.S. Department of Justice

Below is a list of current attorney vacancies at the United States Department of Justice. We encourage all interested applicants to apply;

To learn more about Justice and our legal careers, please visit our website: www.justice.gov/careers/legal/.
In addition, every year over 1,800 volunteer legal interns serve in DOJ components and U.S. Attorneys? Offices throughout the country. If you know any law students who may be interested in a DOJ volunteer internship, please encourage them to review the many opportunities featured at www.justice.gov/careers/legal/volunteer-intern.html.
Finally, please share this email with interested colleagues and peers. If you wish to update the contact information for you or the organization you represent, or no longer wish to receive these periodic email announcements, please respond to this email address and ask to be removed from our mailing list. Thank you.


Attorney Advisor GS-905-15: $124,995 - $157, 100 14-EOUSA-1120657 Applications must be received by May 28, 2014.
Date posted: 5-21-2014

U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Closing Date: 5/29/2014 or until filled Vacancy Announcement: 14-OR-03 Interested persons must mail or email no later than May 29, 2014.
Date posted: 5-21-2014

U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Iowa Location: Davenport, Iowa Salary: $45,027 to $132,849 Opening Date: 5/21/14 Closing Date: 6/6/14 14-SDIA-04 Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. CST on the closing date of June 6, 2014.
Date posted: 5-21-2014

United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of California Assistant United States Attorney Civil Division, Affirmative Unit Fresno, California May 20, 2014 14-EDCA-15A This position is open until filled but no later than Tuesday, May 19, 2015.
Date posted: 5-20-2014

U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Louisiana Vacancy Announcement NO: 14-MDLA-03 Applications must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, May 27th, 2014 to be considered.
Date posted: 5-20-2014

U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Wisconsin Opening and Closing date: Monday May 19, 2014 ??? Tuesday June 10, 2014 Vacancy Announcement Number: 14-EDWI-1123088-AUSA-01.
Date posted: 5-20-2014

U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Alabama Opening and Closing Date: May 20, 2014 - June 18, 2014 14-NDAL-04.
Date posted: 5-20-2014

Experienced Attorney / GS-905-15 U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Office of Enforcement Operations 14-CRM-OEO-054 Closing Date: June 2, 2014 The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement.
Date posted: 5-19-2014

Pardon Attorney, ES-905 Office of the Pardon Attorney U.S. Department of Justice Washington, D.C. Announcement #: 14-SES-ODAG-02 All applications (including mailed applications) MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM EST on Friday, May 30, 2014.
Date posted: 5-16-2014

U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Texas Plano, Texas Opening Date: May 16, 2014 Closing Date: May 30, 2014 Vacancy Announcement No.: 14-EDTX-1123279-AUSA-06 Applications must be received by Friday, May 30, 2014.
Date posted: 5-16-2014

United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-015 Applications are being accepted from Thursday, May 15, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Thursday, June 5, 2014.
Date posted: 5-16-2014

United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Educational Opportunities Section Trial Attorney, GS-905-13/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-014 Applications are being accepted from Wednesday, May 14, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Wednesday, June 4, 2014.
Date posted: 5-16-2014

United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section Trial Attorney, GS-0905-12/15 Announcement Number: 14-ATT-007 Applications are being accepted from Friday, May 09, 2014 to 11:59 PM (ETZ) on Friday, May 30, 2014.
Date posted: 5-16-2014

U.S. Department of Justice Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office Western District of Arkansas Vacancy Announcement: 14-WDAR-05t Interested applicants should send a cover letter, detailed resume, and writing sample, postmarked no later than June 7, 2014.
Date posted: 5-16-2014

Assistant United States Attorney United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut Vacancy Announcement No. 14-CT-03 Applications must be received by May 23, 2014.
Date posted: 5-16-2014


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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 23 May 2014 23:10:54 -0400 (EDT)
From: via blindlaw
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blindlaw] need advice
Message-ID: <2cc43.610ac36a.40b167be at aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"


Hi,
I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for
some advice from others though?to get an idea of what others might do in my
situation. I apologize for the length.
Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am
finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system
as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district
for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and
might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the
district?s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any
reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn?t pushy and only
asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing
to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during
those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special
Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked under.
For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused
problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any requests I
made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at
the time quickly corrected the issue.
In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new
Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have
received from the current administration has been very different.
At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a
reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I again asked
a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time?
.while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored. Then at
the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to
resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues with
a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him
and never responded. After discussing it with our union?s attorney (who
also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file an
internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and
chose to have our union?s attorney act as my representation. The district
contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some
discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the district
having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was
angry because I felt that the district?s actions were totally out of line and
unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of ?I?m out to get
them?. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had
been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I
requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my attorney,
the district?s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and
signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable
accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I thought
with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we?d all
be able to move on and I?d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed
to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that
they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I
was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the agreement?.and
they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned
me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response.
So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said ?How can I
expect these people to follow an agreement that they don?t even seem to be
aware of? I mean, that doesn?t seem very fair to them.? She then contacted
the district?s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I
explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the
administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make contact again
with the Superintendent?s office and tell them that they needed to check
again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the agreement
and expectations. Again, I wasn?t out to ?get them??I was simply just
trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago.
So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development
meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would
allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the
professional development. Mind you, this professional development is information
and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system?.which in
turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So, yes,
it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided
today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two
administrators who ran the professional development were both people who were provided
the information?.one of which was ironically, the Special Education
director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation. I had to
go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and
frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I?ve tried very hard to
work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and
forgiving. I?ve given them chances to make things right and do the right
thing. They just don?t seem to care!!!
So, my question is??..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and
mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the
agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the
district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do you
have?
Any thoughts are appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Nicole

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Sat, 24 May 2014 05:43:52 -0400
From: "Rod Alcidonis, Esquire via blindlaw"
To: , "Blind Law Mailing List"
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] need advice
Message-ID: <8EBCA4407BFF45E08532048CBF56B490 at RodTHINK>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8";
reply-type=original

To Nicole and everybody else:

Folks, this is not legal but commonsense advice. Please remember that this
listserv is a public listserv. In other words, within a few weeks, the
content of your post can be found on the internet with a simple google
search. I always cringe when I see such detailed posts regarding a private
matter on a public forum.

My 2cents.

Rod

-----Original Message-----
From: via blindlaw
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:10 PM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blindlaw] need advice


Hi,
I am not one to put messages on the list very often but I am looking for
some advice from others though?to get an idea of what others might do in my
situation. I apologize for the length.
Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind. I am
finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school system
as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school district
for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind and
might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the
district?s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide any
reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn?t pushy and
only
asked for things that were essential. They were always more than willing
to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during
those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different Special
Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I worked
under.
For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused
problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any
requests I
made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the Superintendent at
the time quickly corrected the issue.
In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new
Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have
received from the current administration has been very different.
At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a
reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request. I
again asked
a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time?
.while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored.
Then at
the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt to
resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had issues
with
a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact him
and never responded. After discussing it with our union?s attorney (who
also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would file
an
internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and
chose to have our union?s attorney act as my representation. The district
contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some
discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without the
district
having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was
angry because I felt that the district?s actions were totally out of line
and
unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of ?I?m out to get
them?. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I had
been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I
requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself, my
attorney,
the district?s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and
signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable
accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide. I
thought
with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we?d all
be able to move on and I?d get what I needed. The agreement was supposed
to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so that
they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks later, I
was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the
agreement?.and
they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This concerned
me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same response.
So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said ?How can I
expect these people to follow an agreement that they don?t even seem to be
aware of? I mean, that doesn?t seem very fair to them.? She then
contacted
the district?s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call. I
explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the
administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make
contact again
with the Superintendent?s office and tell them that they needed to check
again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the
agreement
and expectations. Again, I wasn?t out to ?get them??I was simply just
trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago.
So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional development
meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that would
allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the
professional development. Mind you, this professional development is
information
and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system?.which in
turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job. So,
yes,
it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided
today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two
administrators who ran the professional development were both people who
were provided
the information?.one of which was ironically, the Special Education
director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the accommodation.
I had to
go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and
frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I?ve tried very hard
to
work with the current administration and have tried to understanding and
forgiving. I?ve given them chances to make things right and do the right
thing. They just don?t seem to care!!!
So, my question is??..what avenue would you do next? Would you try and
mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the
agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside the
district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions do
you
have?
Any thoughts are appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Nicole
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