[Ohio-talk] looking for advice
via Ohio-talk
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Wed May 28 03:37:52 UTC 2014
Colleen,
I think you are partially right. I think it's a combination of both. I
don't think they like my involvement in the union and my willingness to
advocate for my fellow colleagues...but they also lack respect for individuals
with disabilities. Some of the comments that have been made by
administrators and board members about students with disabilities would make you
cringe.
Nicole
In a message dated 5/27/2014 1:49:02 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org writes:
Hello Nicole,
Your involvement in the union may be the problem.
Your blindness and your request for accommodations may actually be a way
to make things difficult for you.
Maybe the District is unhappy with your abilities and willingness to help
your fellow teachers.
Colleen Roth
----- Original Message -----
From: via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Date: Sunday, May 25, 2014 9:39 pm
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] looking for advice
>
>
> Hi Colleen (and all),
> You are right that sometimes you do have to go to the next step. I do
> believe I am probably at that point.
> With that said, as you stated, sometimes there are risks involved. To
> further complicate my situation, there is something I didn't share in
my
> original message...ddbbc it really shouldn't matter...ddb it is what is
> making me hesitate on this.
> You see, I am also a union president. We are negotiating our contract
> this year and negotiations are slated to be done in June and July. My
concern
> is that if I do go outside the district and file a complaint, that they
> may take that and lash back by taking it out on the union during
> negotiations. Negotiations are already anticipated to be tough this
year and I am
> fearful they would retaliate...ddand I think it would be difficult to
prove that
> that is what they were actually doing. Does that make any sense?
> Like I sd...ddx shouldn't matter...b the reality is, the timing
> stinks. So that is what is making me hesitate. I meet with the
union's attorney
> this week about negotiations and am hoping to get her take on the
matter
> then.
> Thanks for your input!
> Nicole
>
>
> In a message dated 5/24/2014 3:13:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> ohio-talk at nfbnet.org writes:
>
> Hello Nicole,
> I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes it is necessary
to
> go to the next step when the powers that be are not willing to work
with
> you when you ask for reasonable accommodations.
> While there are some risks when you go from the Soft Approach and
Internal
> Mediation sometimes you have to decide that you need to go outside the
> agency you work for even if this is somewhat intimidating.
> Sometimes people want to make it difficult for someone in hopes that
they
> will give up and leave their position.
> As Marianne said a good paper trail is your best bet.
> Document, document, document.
> You are the only person who can decide what you want to do in this
> situation.
> I would like to encourage you to go to the next step sooner rather than
> later because the more you allow people to ignore their agreement and
> reasonable accommodation request the more they
> will do so.
> Colleen Roth
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> Date: Friday, May 23, 2014 11:09:15 PM
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] looking for advice
>
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi,
> > I am not one to put messages on the list very often and when I do,
it
> is
> > typically responding to someone else's message.
> > I am looking for some advice from others though...ffget an idea of
what
>
> > others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length.
> > Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind.
I
> am
> > finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school
> system
> > as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school
> district
> > for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally
blind
> and
> > might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so,
the
> > district's administration was very helpful and very willing to
provide
> any
> > reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn't
pushy
> and only
> > asked for things that were essential. They were always more than
> willing
> > to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even
during
> > those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different
Special
> > Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I
> worked under.
> > For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused
> > problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and
any
> requests I
> > made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the
Superintendent
> at
> > the time quickly corrected the issue.
> > In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a
new
> > Special Education director, and new principals. The response I
have
> > received from the current administration has been very different.
> > At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a
> > reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my
request.
> I again asked
> > a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each
time...
> > .while still being professional and respectful. I was still
ignored.
> Then at
> > the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an
attempt
> to
> > resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had
issues
> with
> > a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact
> him
> > and never responded. After discussing it with our union's attorney
> (who
> > also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I
would
> file an
> > internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint
and
> > chose to have our union's attorney act as my representation. The
> district
> > contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After
some
> > discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue
without
> the district
> > having to go through the investigation process first. Although I
was
> > angry because I felt that the district's actions were totally out of
> line and
> > unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of "I'm out
to
> get
> > them". I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner
I
> had
> > been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I
> > requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was
myself,
> my attorney,
> > the district's attorney, and administration. We came to a written
and
> > signed agreement between the district and myself as to the
reasonable
> > accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to
provide.
> I thought
> > with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that
we'd
> all
> > be able to move on and I'd get what I needed. The agreement was
> supposed
> > to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under
so
> that
> > they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks
> later, I
> > was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the
> agreement...ddand
> > they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This
> concerned
> > me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same
> response.
> > So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said "How can
I
> > expect these people to follow an agreement that they don't even
seem to
> be
> > aware of? I mean, that doesn't seem very fair to them." She then
> contacted
> > the district's attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference
> call. I
> > explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the
> > administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make
> contact again
> > with the Superintendent's office and tell them that they needed to
check
>
> > again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the
> agreement
> > and expectations. Again, I wasn't out to "get them"...I was
simply
> just
> > trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago.
> > So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional
> development
> > meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation
that
> would
> > allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the
> > professional development. Mind you, this professional development
is
> information
> > and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system...ddwh
> in
> > turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job.
> So, yes,
> > it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be
provided
> > today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two
> > administrators who ran the professional development were both people
who
> were provided
> > the information...ddone of which was ironically, the Special
Education
> > director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the
> accommodation. I had to
> > go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry
and
> > frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I've tried very
> hard to
> > work with the current administration and have tried to understanding
> and
> > forgiving. I've given them chances to make things right and do
the
> right
> > thing. They just don't seem to care!!!
> > So, my question is......dd_what avenue would you do next? Would you
try
> and
> > mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow
the
>
> > agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside
the
> > district? What direction would you take from here? What
> suggestions do you
> > have?
> > Any thoughts are appreciated!
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Nicole
> > _______________________________________________
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>
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