[blindlaw] Blind Attorneys Working On Special Education Cases

[Andrew Webb]

Tai,

Thanks for posting this.  I can definitely relate -- I formerly did special
ed cases for the P&A here in Illinois, and the formatting of the IEPs
especially drove me absolutely up a tree.  I didn't find any better solution
than getting ad hoc sighted assistance within the office, but I would be
very interested to know what feedback you get here.

What doubly frustrated me was to learn that apparently in some states (I was
told of Indiana, for example), IEP's are created electronically as a matter
of course -- never any handwriting or hand-made check marks to be found.
Would that this were so in IL and IA as well; sure would save us many
headaches.

Andrew


-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tai Tomasi
via BlindLaw
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2016 3:07 PM
To: Disability Rights Bar Association; Blind Law Mailing List
Cc: Tai Tomasi
Subject: [blindlaw] Blind Attorneys Working On Special Education Cases

Hello all. I am working on special education cases and having difficulty
accessing IEPs and all manner of other documents, some of which are provided
as electronic documents and others which have been scanned from hard copy. I
use both the OCR software bundled with our scanner as well as ABYY
FineReader, and neither is a completely viable option. For example, I am
dealing with a case involving a series of text messages which neither OCR
system adequately converts.

I am using a sighted reader whenever possible, but am wondering how others
gain access to IEPs and other forms  with checkboxes and handwritten
materials. In the case of strictly typed material with tables and checkboxes
that can make documents inaccessible, has anyone been successful at getting
documents in more accessible formats from schools?

I work for a nonprofit. Does anyone know of inexpensive ways that my
organization could obtain a paralegal or reader to assist me? Would
Americorps be a viable option for something like this? I would appreciate
any tips on this.

Tai Tomasi, J.D.
Staff Attorney

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