Emily Keller-O'Donnell, Journalist

Student Battles Education Department Over Bullying

    A judge has ruled that a lawsuit by a New York City student seeking private school tuition funding after being bullied in public school for having a disability will go forward.

    The student, known as L.K., charged that repeated bullying at school affected her ability to earn an education and that her school was aware of the situation and did nothing about it. The plaintiff said the school showed “deliberate indifference” to the situation, which is prohibited by Title IX, according to a summary of the case.

Jerry Lewis Leaves Muscular Dystrophy Telethon

    Jerry Lewis, the comedian and longtime head of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) telethon, will no longer be the host or chairman of the event.

    The MDA announced Lewis’s retirement in an August 3 press release saying, “Jerry Lewis has completed his run as its national chairman.”

    R. Rodney Howell, chairman of the association’s board of directors said, “Jerry Lewis is a world-class humanitarian and we’re forever grateful to him for his more than half century of generous service to MDA. We will not be replacing him as MDA national chairman and he will not be appearing on the telethon.”

Law School Applicant Charges Testing Discrimination

    Angelo Binno, a law school applicant in Michigan, has charged the American Bar Association (ABA) with discriminating against people with visual impairments in its reliance on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

    Binno’s complaint concerns a section of the test that instructs applicants to draw diagrams to solve problems. The LSAT is a required component of the law school admissions process.

Parents Group Works to Improve Transportation

    A group of parents have joined forces to seek improvements to school bus transportation for students with disabilities.

    Parents to Improve School Transportation (PIST) is working for long-term improvements to special education school busing provided by the Department of Education's Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) and seeking to prevent potential budget cuts that could impact service.

State Budget Reduces Funds for Early Intervention Program

    The 2011-12 New York State budget will cut the Early Intervention Program for children with disabilities by $5.5 million, of five percent of its total budget. However, this cut has been reduced from the original proposal of an $11 million cut.

    Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget for fiscal year 2011-12, which aims to eliminate a $10 billion deficit, was passed on March 31.

Audit Finds School for the Disabled Overcharged State

    The New York State Comptroller’s office determined through an audit that the Henry Viscardi School (HVS) in Albertson has overcharged New York State for reimbursements.

    State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said managers at the Long Island school charged the state $835,074 for “unreasonable and unnecessary expenses,” including the cost of a leased car for Edmond Cortez, president of school’s parent company, Abilities! For the two years ending June 30, 2009, HVS claimed a total of $27.8 million in reimbursable expenses.

Education Department Celebrates Fifty Years of Travel Training

    Last month, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its travel training program, which teaches people with disabilities how to use the New York City transit system.

    The event took place at St. Francis College in Brooklyn and included presentations by program leaders, students, parents and advocates.

    Peggy Groce, director of travel training at the DOE, presented a Pioneer Award to Jack Gorelick for founding a program for siblings of people with disabilities that is still running at the AHRC, where he worked for forty years. It is the longest running program of its kind in the nation. Gorelick is also a founding member of the National Association for Travel Instruction.

Ed Roberts Campus Opens

    A new school has opened in California in honor of Edward V. Roberts, a leader in the independent living movement for people with disabilities.

    The Ed Roberts Campus opened in November 2010 and is expected to serve 30,000 people annually. A grand opening celebration took place April 16. Mayor Tom Bates of Berkeley and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) attended the event.

State Continues Funding to Schools for Disabled Children

    New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has cancelled plans to cut direct state funding to eleven schools for children who are deaf, blind and physically challenged.

    The state has committed $98 million to ensure that funding remains available to the schools, which serve 1,700 students.

Governor Proposes Changes to Schools for Children with Disabilities

    New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a funding change for schools that serve children with disabilities.

    The governor’s Executive Budget for fiscal year 2011-12, which begins April 1, calls for the elimination of direct state funding to schools for children who are deaf, blind and physically challenged. The proposal would shift the $100 million cost of 11 specialized schools from the state to local school districts, creating an unfunded mandate for the districts that refer children to those schools to come up with the funds themselves.