[nabs-l] Filing discrimination complaint re NIU TVI program with US Department of Education

[Zachary N. GriegoDreicer]

Hi all,
   Happy new year. I flew all day to Chicago's O'Hare airport the other day from home and was starting to question why I was even coming back to Illinois for another semester after the appaling grade I got in classes I mentioned as being challenging and unpassable due to facing discrimination against all blind students last semester (fall 2016) to you in an earlier email. I had a good long time to think about this as I got further and further away from home, having the question of my voc rehab counsellor and many others of why I didn't transfer to somewhere back home if I'm not going to graduate with what I want to think about, and thought that my best course of action was to just complete the major I switched to after my email to you all last year was sent, especially considering that I can graduate with vocational rehab services undergrad major at the end of the 2017 fall semester. I'm frankly not satisfied with this, because this was planned for down the road, I could accomplish this major at a school much nearer home in an undergraduate path, and I came thousands miles to do the TVI program and am now at this point not even going to graduate with an education credencial. One of my friends suggested the other day that I am within my right to file a complaint to the department of education because a programa for TVIS teachers of visually impaired should most definitelya be accessible. I did file a complaint locally with the school as you guys suggested, but I am highly unsatisfied with how slowly it's progressing and am also highly disappointed in my current situation of being steered off a path that I really wanted to pursue. Nobody else around here has complained or is doing anything about it so I am going to and nobody can now disuade me. I'm not in Illinois just for any program and this is really upsetting that I'm having to do this and that other blind students attending the same program in hopes of the same degree just ran off into the distance and said nothing of it. I'd much rather this not become a legal issue so my friend said the department of ed route will do it and would be much less likely to result in lawyers getting involved. I'm also doing this to try and help, NOT to do a lawsuit. Once the complaint has been received by the department of ed will someone (or a group of people) in NFB be able to please provide representation to guide the school and/or department of ed to make the program accessible? I have hope of returning to this program is something is done about it before December which is my currently scheduled graduation date. Thanks.

Sent from my BrailleNote Touch