[NAGDU] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] Blind student Aleeha Dudley and US Department of Justice resolve Miami University of Ohio discrimination case

[Janice Toothman]

Aleeha,

Congratulations on the successful resolution of you law suit against the 
Miami University of Ohio.  I certainly hope and pray that you will 
succeed and become the first blind large animal veterinarian. This is 
exciting news.  So much more uplifting than what we currently see in the 
news this political season.

Janice


-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	[Nfbnet-members-list] Blind student Aleeha Dudley and US 
Department of Justice resolve Miami University of Ohio discrimination case
Date: 	Mon, 17 Oct 2016 15:57:57 -0500
From: 	Danielsen, Chris via NFBNet-Members-List 
<nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
Reply-To: 	Danielsen, Chris <CDanielsen at nfb.org>
To: 	nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

*Media Contacts:
*

*Stacy Brannan-Smith*/Communications Specialist/Disability Rights 
Ohio800-282-9181, ext. 101sbrannan-smith at disabilityrightsohio.org 
<mailto:sbrannan-smith at disabilityrightsohio.org> 	*Chris 
Danielsen*/Director of Public Relations/National Federation of the 
Blind410-659-9314, ext. 2330cdanielsen at nfb.org <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>


*
Blind student Aleeha Dudley and US Department of Justice resolve Miami 
University of Ohio discrimination case
*October 17, 2016
COLUMBUS, OH -- Attorneys for Aleeha Dudley have reached an agreement 
<http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/assets/documents/dudley_final_settlement_agreement.pdf> 
with Miami University after the school failed to provide Ms. Dudley with 
equal and meaningful access to her curriculum to help her attain 
educational success as a blind student studying zoology. As part of a 
separate consent decree 
<http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/assets/documents/dudley_consent_decree_10-17-16.pdf> 
reached with the United States Department of Justice, Miami University 
will change its practices for obtaining and utilizing technology, 
including requirements to make its website accessible, to ensure 
Learning Management Software is accessible, and to educate faculty and 
staff about the importance of accessibility and how to achieve this. It 
will also be easier for students to obtain accessible course materials 
in all formats, including ebooks and Braille.
The agreement for Ms. Dudley, negotiated by Disability Rights Ohio 
(DRO), the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the law firm of 
Brown, Goldstein & Levy, and Ohio State University Professor Ruth 
Colker, requires Miami University of Ohio to contribute $108,000 to help 
Dudley pay for her education at the university of her choosing. It will 
also repay $50,000 in student loans she and her parents took out for her 
education at Miami, in addition to paying $102,000 as compensation for 
the pain and suffering she experienced as a result of the discrimination.
With the support of the NFB, DRO and Brown, Goldstein & Levy filed the 
initial complaint on behalf of Dudley in January 2014 in the US District 
Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The US Department of Justice 
joined the case in June 2015.
Ms. Dudley said: "I am pleased that Miami University and I have reached 
an agreement that will allow me to continue to pursue my education so 
that I can achieve my goal of becoming a large-animal veterinarian. I 
also hope and believe that the consent decree into which the university 
has entered with the Department of justice will substantially improve 
the educational experience of current and future blind students at Miami 
University. No blind student, at any modern institution of higher 
education, should encounter the barriers that I experienced. My only 
intention throughout this process has been to further my own education 
and to make things better for other blind students. I hope my 
experience, trying as it was for me personally, now results in an equal 
education for Miami University students who are blind or who have other 
disabilities."
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, 
said: "Blind students cannot take advantage of educational opportunities 
and go on to live the lives they want unless course content and the 
technologies used in the modern classroom are accessible to them. Aleeha 
Dudley's experience shows that inaccessible content and technology 
create significant barriers to educational achievement, and that is why 
the National Federation of the Blind has advocated and will continue to 
advocate for accessibility in higher education institutions across the 
nation. We are pleased that this matter has come to a successful 
resolution and believe that the steps Miami University will take going 
forward, as laid out in the most comprehensive roadmap to accessibility 
that has yet been included in a consent decree, will create an inclusive 
learning environment on its campus and serve as a model for other 
colleges and universities."
Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt, Director of Advocacy for DRO said: “DRO has been 
so pleased to collaborate with the National Federation of the Blind and 
Ms. Dudley on our shared goal of ensuring equal access to students with 
disabilities. Our coalition is also grateful to the Department of 
Justice for its role in obtaining the comprehensive consent decree. We 
hope that every successful accessibility case will make it easier for 
students in the future to get the accommodations they need. Colleges and 
universities around the country should take note and work to make 
content and technology choices that will allow all potential students to 
tap into their educational resources. ”
###
*/About Disability Rights Ohio:/*/Disability Rights Ohio is the 
federally and state designated Protection and Advocacy System and Client 
Assistance Program for the state of Ohio. The mission of Disability 
Rights Ohio is to advocate for the human, civil and legal rights of 
people with disabilities in Ohio. Disability Rights Ohio provides legal 
advocacy and rights protection to a wide range of people with disabilities.
/
*/About the National Federation of the Blind:/*/The National Federation 
of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, 
because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our 
dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you 
back.
/

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