[nfb-talk] FW: National Federation of the Blind Applauds New Jersey Ruling on Braille Instruction for Blind Child

Mon May 7 22:53:36 UTC 2012

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.