[humanser] Jury finds IA Dept. for Blind's guidedog policy does not discriminate

[Alicia Richards]

Oops, I sent my earlier email to the wrong list.  My apologies!  *Smile*  I 
had meant to respond to Shannon.

Yes, some of the things you say are true, Shannon.  A person who attends 
guide dog school is, technically, supposed to have good mobility already, 
and be signed off by an O&M instructor.  However, this is definitely not 
always the case by a longshot. Not all clients who go through guide dog 
programs do in fact have good mobility skills.  I used to have a guide dog 
myself, and I assure you that quite a few of the people in my class had 
terrible mobility skills, yet they, and their instructor, thought a dog 
would simply fix that problem.  My school actually had to send one student 
home, she was that poor of a traveler.

Also, when you go to a college to get a certain degree, rarely can you just 
skip classes because you feel like it.  If the college does give you that 
option, you most generally have to test out of that class, and if the school 
is not satisfied with your test results, you don't get to skip the class. 
So it seems to go with a Center.  If you go to a Center, in my opinion, part 
of what you must accept is their entire program, or don't go to that 
particular Center.  Or, if the Center is going to make adjustments, then 
they should test the person's skills in that particular area, but reserve 
the right not to allow them out of that course if they are not satisfied 
with the skills they see.

Alicia