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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
<br>
<b>Media Contacts:<br>
</b> <br><br>
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<tr><th width=275><b>Stacy Brannan-Smith</b><i>Communications
Specialist</i>Disability Rights Ohio800-282-9181, ext.
101<a href="mailto:sbrannan-smith@disabilityrightsohio.org">
sbrannan-smith@disabilityrightsohio.org</a><td width=242><b>Chris
Danielsen</b><i>Director of Public Relations</i>National Federation of
the Blind410-659-9314, ext.
2330<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a></td></tr>
</table>
<br>
<b> <br>
Blind student Aleeha Dudley and US Department of Justice resolve Miami
University of Ohio discrimination case<br>
</b>October 17, 2016<br>
COLUMBUS, OH -- Attorneys for Aleeha Dudley have
<a href="http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/assets/documents/dudley_final_settlement_agreement.pdf">
reached an agreement</a> 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
<a href="http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/assets/documents/dudley_consent_decree_10-17-16.pdf">
separate consent decree</a> 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.<br>
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.
<br>
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. <br>
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."<br>
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."<br>
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. ”<br>
###<br>
<b><i>About Disability Rights Ohio:</b> 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.<br>
</i> <br>
<b><i>About the National Federation of the Blind:</b> 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.<br>
</i> <br>
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