[nabs-l] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds NewJersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child

Tue May 8 01:01:49 UTC 2012

How old is the child?
I got Braille instruction, when I was just starting school!
Why is it, that they did this, with this child?
Any word on how old he is?
Thanks, Joshua

On 5/7/12, Ashley Bramlett <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
> I agree, how  sad.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Loren
> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 8:09 PM
> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list' ;
> blindtlk at nfbnet.org ; nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds
> NewJersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>
> It's extremely sad that this took 3 years to come to this decision.  Would
> anyone deny a sighted child print instruction for that long?  Congrats to
> the Millers for sticking with it.  You did a great thing for your child.
>
> Loren Wakefield
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf
> Of Chris Nusbaum
> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 5:54 PM
> To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org; 'National Association of Blind Students mailing
> list'; nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nabs-l] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds New Jersey
> Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>
>
>
>
>
> From: Freeh, Jessica [mailto:JFreeh at nfb.org]
> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 8:57 AM
> To: Undisclosed recipients:
> Subject: National Federation of the Blind Applauds New Jersey Ruling on
> Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>
>
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
>
> CONTACT:
>
> Chris Danielsen
>
> Director of Public Relations
>
> National Federation of the Blind
>
> (410) 659-9314, extension 2330
>
> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>
> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org> cdanielsen at nfb.org
>
>
>
>
> National Federation of the Blind Applauds New Jersey Ruling on Braille
> Instruction for Blind Child
>
>
> After Three-Year Battle, Hank Miller Will Receive Braille Instruction
>
>
>
>
> Oceanport, New Jersey (May 7, 2012): After a three-year administrative and
> legal battle against their local school board, the Oceanport Board of
> Education, Jeffrey and Holly Miller obtained a ruling (docket number: 2011
> 17218) from an administrative law judge that their eleven-year-old son
> Henry
> "Hank" Miller was improperly denied instruction in Braille, the reading and
> writing code for the blind.  The legal victory, obtained with the
> assistance
> of the National Federation of the Blind <http://www.nfb.org/>  (NFB), comes
> on the heels of
> <http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/Letter%20to%20Secretary%20Duncan%20re
> %20Braille%20Literacy.pdf> a letter from 26 U.S. Senators urging the
> Department of Education to take steps to ensure that blind children who
> need
> Braille instruction receive it.
>
>
>
> Holly and Jeffrey Miller brought the legal case on behalf of their son,
> Hank, whom they adopted from China and who is blind due to albinism and
> nystagmus.  Hank has limited vision that allows him to read enlarged print
> for short periods of time, but he is unable to read for sustained periods
> of
> time.  Although Hank's parents continued to tell school officials that
> their
> son was experiencing visual fatigue and was having difficulty reading, the
> school board and its consultant, the New Jersey Commission for the Blind
> and
> Visually Impaired (CBVI), insisted that Hank was a proficient print reader,
> notwithstanding his continued placement in a special resource room for
> language arts.  In a nearly ten-day hearing, held under the due process
> provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
> of
> 2004, Mrs. Miller testified that she watched Hank routinely struggle with
> his homework, suffering from eye strain and fatigue, but was unable to
> convince school officials or the CBVI that Hank needed Braille instruction.
> She also testified that Hank's schoolwork was not of the same quantity and
> quality as that of his classmates.  Although experts from the school and
> the
> commission claimed that Hank was a "visual learner" and should participate
> in the "sighted world," experts hired by the Millers and the NFB concluded
> after thorough assessment that Hank could not read print for extended
> periods of time without eye strain, neck and back pain, fatigue, and loss
> of
> reading speed and comprehension.
>
>
>
> In her order, Administrative Law Judge Lisa James-Beavers found that the
> school board and the commission displayed a clear "bias against Braille."
> She found that the school board and the commission had failed to assess
> Hank's "sustained reading ability" with print, relying instead on reading
> assessments involving only brief passages, and citing Hank's alleged
> failure
> to complain about struggling to read print.  The judge was unconvinced by
> the board and CBVI's contention that Hank could rely on audio technology as
> reading demands increased through his school years, noting that "as pointed
> out by all of petitioners' well-qualified experts, listening does not
> equate
> to reading.  One does not enhance the active skill of comprehending text by
> passively listening, even if one is following along with the reading."  The
> order noted that "the CBVI failed to do what Oceanport relied on them to
> do,
> which is to help construct a program that would give H.M. meaningful
> educational benefit considering H.M.'s future needs."  Judge James-Beavers
> ordered that Hank Miller be provided with Braille instruction for
> forty-five
> minutes, five days a week, and that the school board provide compensatory
> instruction because of the three years that Hank was not provided with
> Braille instruction, in the form of intensive Braille summer programs or
> tutoring.
>
>
>
> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
> "Based on the experience of countless parents of blind children and blind
> adults who had never learned Braille and have contacted us over the years,
> the National Federation of the Blind has consistently argued that blind
> children are being improperly assessed and denied Braille instruction when
> it is clearly appropriate.  Now after a thorough and comprehensive
> examination of the evidence in Hank Miller's case, an independent judge has
> confirmed what we always knew.  We hope that school and agency officials
> across the nation take note of this landmark ruling and commit to giving
> blind children access to Braille, the true key to literacy for the vast
> majority of children who are blind or losing vision.  The National
> Federation of the Blind will continue to stand with families like the
> Millers who find themselves pitted against the educational establishment in
> obtaining the equal education to which their children are entitled and
> which
> they deserve."
>
>
>
> Holly Miller, Hank's mother, said: "I am obviously thrilled with this
> ruling, although I am still saddened that it took such a prolonged battle
> to
> achieve it.  I am stepping forward to tell Hank's story in hopes that other
> parents of blind children will not have to struggle as we did.  I thank the
> National Federation of the Blind and all of the individuals and experts who
> came forward to assist in this case.  I plan to strongly and publicly
> advocate with the National Federation of the Blind for Braille instruction
> for blind children."
>
>
>
> The plaintiffs are represented in this matter by Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum of
> the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy, and Jayne M. Wesler of the
> Cranbury firm Sussan and Greenwald.
>
>
>
> For more information about the National Federation of the Blind, please
> visit www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org/> .  For more information about
> Braille, the reading and writing code for the blind, please visit
> www.braille.org <http://www.braille.org/> .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ###
>
>
>
>
>
> About the National Federation of the Blind
>
>
>
> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the
> largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the
> United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy,
> education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
> self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and
> the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the
> National
> Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training
> center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
>
>
>
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