The Connecticut Board of Mediation and Arbitration reversed a six-month suspension of Carole LaCroix of East Haven, according to a story on Newsday.com. Ms. LaCroix, who is a firefighter, was orginally suspended after she used a racial slur when introducing the United Negro College Fund.
The AP story quotes her attorney as saying, “She has a learning disability and people in the fire department leapt to conclusions and crucified her,” [Norman] Pattis said. “This clears her name and we are very happy.” It also quotes Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Greater New Haven NAACP, as saying, “The NAACP has been fighting prejudice for years. The only way to eradicate it is to fight it thoroughly and decisively and have zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”
What do you think?
Link.
LDWorldWide.org is an organization that seeks to “enhance the lives of individuals with learning disabilities, with a special emphasis on the underserved. Our purpose is to identify and support the unrecognized strengths and capabilities of persons with learning disabilities.” The organization claims to advocate across the age span, provides multilingual resources, and seems to tilt toward the view of LD as a gift. I’m sorry that they omit TeachingLD.org for their list of resources.
Link for LD WorldWide”.
Here’s another example of someone using the term “Learning Disability” as a derogatory term. In this case, Bao Le-Huu writes for the Orlando (FL, US) CityBeat about musical acts in his area.
The next night I was back to the Booth for more local action, beginning with indie band Doris Delay. Besides being unfocused and featherweight, this is the type of music that’s made by virgins and it’s all just a little too cute for me. Smoking with all the finesse of one who picked up the habit that afternoon and bouncing around onstage with movements that suggest some profound learning disability, that bassist’s a sight that makes eyes sore. They really should do something about him.
Link for the column. If you’d like to write to the person responsible for the column, here’s the address: kfitzpatrick@orlandocitybeat.com.
Here’s a fun success story: A young woman who has LD won a substantial scholarship to study for a career as an automotive technician.
CALIFORNIA GIRL WINS CRAFTSMAN SCHOLARSHIP
Will Study Automotive Technology
CALISTOGA, Calif. — Desiree Hawks isn’t your stereotypical California girl. She drives a pickup truck, is interested in a career in automotive technology, and beat a field of 650 mostly male entrants to earn a $25,000 scholarship from Craftsman tools.
Link.
A U.S. District Count has ruled that parents of an Oregon boy with special education needs were not due a tuition reimbursement that they had won in a state circuit court. District Judge Michael Mosman ruled that the Forest Grove (Lake Oswego, OR, US) local education agency does not have to reimburse the fees that Stan and Barbara Ash incurred in educating their son. Originally, the Ash family was awarded $350,000 to repay the costs of their son’s education. The case will be appealed to the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals. The case is known as “Ash v. Lake Oswego School District” [No. 7J, 766 F.Supp. 852 (D.Or. 1991) and 980 F.2d 585, 589 (9th Cir. 1992)].
Links:
Another aspect of this report raises a recurring theme; the story describes the boy has having three different disabilities. Here are two quotes (my emphasis):
They were awarded $350,000 for reimbursement for their autistic son’s education.
Such was the case with the parents of a boy at the Forest Grove School District who in 2001, was evaluated by the district staff. They determined that he did not have a learning disability and so was not eligible for special education.
But the student - whose name has been withheld to protect his privacy - consistently had trouble paying attention and finishing school work, according to court records. His grades kept dropping and he was using marijuana.
The family contends that the district failed to diagnose him properly. A doctor hired by the family later diagnosed the boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
LD? Autism? ADHD? What’s the diff? Who cares, hunh?
The U.S. Department of Education released a draft version of new regulations for the implementation of IDEA. Because they include new language for the identification of students with Learning Disabilities, these regulations are particularly important for LD. The 2004 law included a clause that permits U.S. states to experiment with “response-to-intervention” or “response-to-treatment” models for determining whether students will be eligible for special education services as a child with Learning Disabilities. Here is the first paragraph of the the press release announcing the availability of the regs. (see links at end for obtaining a copy of the regs.).
The U.S. Department of Education today announced proposed regulations to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and invited public comment. Passed late last year by Congress, the act updates the statute that provides special education services for America’s 6.8 million children and youth with disabilities.
The Department will be holding seven meetings around the U.S. to obtain comments by members of the public about the rules. People concerned about LD should attend or, if they cannot attend and comment, send comments to the Department of Education.
Here are links to the press release, the unofficial copy of draft regulations, and the schedule of public meetings.
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