[Ccb-alumni] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guidedog policydoes not discriminate
melissa Green
graduate56 at juno.com
Fri Feb 20 23:12:24 UTC 2009
Jim.
I was saying that the verdict was correct, in supporting the center's idea
of not having a dog user use his or her dog in certain classes. I also used
the example of the student that attended CcB, to show how this all worked in
the ind.
At that time CCB I believe was the first and only Nfb center to allow a
guide dog user in to the program.
Melissa R. Green
Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Barbour" <jbar at barcore.com>
To: "Colorado Center for the Blind mailing list" <ccb-alumni at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2009 10:03 AM
Subject: Re: [Ccb-alumni] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guidedog
policydoes not discriminate
> Hey Everyone,
>
> Melissa, I'm not sure I understand your email.
>
> The verdict seems to say that centers are not legally required to
> accept clients with dog guides.
>
> Your email seems to say that you think its a good idea having clients
> with dog guides at the center.
>
> So, what do you mean when you say that this is a "correct verdict?"
>
> Just curious,
>
> Jim
>
> On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 11:38:39PM -0700, melissa Green wrote:
>> This is a correct verdict. I know that CCb has had guide dog users go
>> through the center. I was a student there when the first person who was
>> a guide dog user came to the center. Once some of the kinks were ironed
>> out. It went well. The student didn't use her dog on travel. This
>> student and the staff worked to make her training a success.
>>
>> Melissa R. Green
>> Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "George McDermith"
>> <george.mcdermith at gmail.com>
>> To: "Colorado Center for the Blind mailing list" <ccb-alumni at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:41 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Ccb-alumni] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guide dog
>> policydoes not discriminate
>>
>>
>>> Great to see this being upheld. Thanks for sharing.
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wilson,Joanne (by way of David
>>> Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>)"
>>> <JWilson at nfb.org>
>>> To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 3:24 PM
>>> Subject: [Ccb-alumni] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guide dog policy
>>> does
>>> not discriminate
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----------
>>> From: Brammer, Robert [AG] [mailto:rbrammer at ag.state.ia.us]
>>> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 1:53 PM
>>> To: Brammer, Robert [AG]
>>> Subject: Atty. Gen. release: Jury finds IA Dept.
>>> for Blind's guide dog policy does not discriminate
>>>
>>> To News Editors. From Bob Brammer (Iowa
>>> Attorney General's Office - 515-281-6699.)
>>> Please find a release pasted below. This will be
>>> posted soon at
>>> <http://www.iowaattorneygeneral.org/>www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.org
>>> . A jury entered a verdict Wednesday in this
>>> case in Polk County District Court.
>>> Best regards, Bram
>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> For immediate release - Thursday, February 19, 2009.
>>> Contact Bob Brammer - 515-281-6699
>>>
>>> Jury finds Iowa Department for the Blind's
>>> Guide Dog Policy Does Not Discriminate
>>>
>>> Des Moines. A Polk County jury has
>>> rejected a Des Moines woman's claim that the
>>> State of Iowa Department for the Blind
>>> discriminated against her by refusing her request
>>> to use a guide dog while she attended the
>>> Department's orientation and adjustment training program.
>>>
>>> The Department for the Blind
>>> orientation and training program is a
>>> comprehensive program that utilizes a totally
>>> non-visual approach to teaching blindness
>>> skills. Students with partial vision are
>>> required to wear eyeshades to prevent reliance
>>> upon any visual cues during training. Department
>>> policies prohibit the use of any visual aids
>>> within the orientation and training program,
>>> including guide dogs. The Department has no
>>> objection to guide dogs in other situations.
>>>
>>> Stephanie Dohmen, who is legally
>>> blind, attended the program for several months
>>> beginning in September 2000 and sought to
>>> re-enter the program in June 2002 accompanied by her guide dog.
>>>
>>> Dohmen claimed in her lawsuit that
>>> the Department's policy violated her rights under
>>> the Iowa Civil Rights Act and under federal laws
>>> that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.
>>>
>>> After a six-day trial, the
>>> eight-person jury rejected Dohmen's claims in a verdict entered
>>> Wednesday.
>>>
>>>
>>> The Department for the Blind, which
>>> was represented in the trial by the Iowa Attorney
>>> General's Office, argued that a totally
>>> non-visual approach - and training without
>>> assistance of a guide-dog or other visual aids -
>>> is the most effective approach for
>>> visually-impaired persons who are learning skills
>>> and techniques for dealing with blindness.
>>>
>>> The Department places no limitations
>>> upon the use of guide dogs in other settings,
>>> including in the Department for the Blind
>>> building in downtown Des Moines. For example,
>>> Karen Keninger, the Director of the Department,
>>> uses a guide dog, and the dog accompanied
>>> Keninger during her testimony at the trial.
>>>
>>> The orientation program typically
>>> includes about six months of full-time training
>>> in various problem-solving skills, such as
>>> cane-travel on public streets, using Braille,
>>> using computers, and dealing with many other situations.
>>>
>>> The Department for the Blind's
>>> orientation and adjustment program was
>>> established in 1959 and is considered by many to
>>> be one of the most effective in the country.
>>>
>>> During the trial, the State
>>> Department for the Blind presented testimony from
>>> Joanne Wilson and Frederic K. Schroeder, each a
>>> former Commissioner of the U.S. Rehabilitation
>>> Services Administration, which oversees programs
>>> for the blind around the country.
>>>
>>> "Iowa's orientation program
>>> profoundly changes lives," said Wilson, who also
>>> is Executive Director of the National Federation
>>> of the Blind. "It works. It's a cutting-edge
>>> program and a model for other states." Wilson is
>>> a Webster City native and ISU graduate who went
>>> through the Iowa Department for the Blind's orientation program herself.
>>>
>>> Schroeder said: "To me the central
>>> point is that individuals have a choice in the
>>> type of training they take. While programs must
>>> and should make reasonable accommodations, they
>>> cannot be required to alter the fundamentals of the program."
>>>
>>> - 30 -
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Ccb-alumni at nfbnet.org
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>>
>>
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