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

Tue May 8 18:06:23 UTC 2012

Hmmm!
Reminds me of the girl, that they forced to use a CCTV, until she was
in high school.
Sad!
Blessings, Joshua

On 5/8/12, Heather Field <missheather at comcast.net> wrote:
> It wasn't about his age. The said he could see too much to need braille.
> They said he could use print and that they would not agree to teach him
> braille.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joshua Lester
> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 8:01 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds
> NewJersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child
>
> 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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