As you read on, you will see that we remain involved in all these issues on the highest levels, writing Supreme Court briefs, filing litigation based on Olmstead, planning an international disability human rights symposium. At the same time, we remain grounded in the grassroots, delivering training, technical assistance, and individual advocacy.

DREDF has helped establish a strong civil rights legal foundation for people with disabilities. Now it is vitally important that the organization continue to provide leadership for the new challenges ahead. With your support we will direct our efforts during 2000 and beyond to initiatives described in this newsletter, including:

• Upholding the right of people with disabilities, regardless of age, to have the choice of remaining in or returning to their homes rather than being forced into institutions;
• Defending challenges to Title II of the ADA;
• Improving educational opportunities for children with disabilities by advancing systemic special education reform in California and elsewhere; and
• Collaborating with disability rights attorneys and advocates internationally who are using law reform to challenge discrimination and exclusion of people with disabilities.

For two decades your contributions have enabled our small organization to exert a mighty influence. DREDF's commitment, credibility and skill have truly helped spread the disability rights philosophy in the US and internationally. We hope you join us in celebrating these historic accomplishments, while recognizing that so much remains to be done.

Please help DREDF tackle the difficult challenges ahead by making a generous contribution today.

Regards,

Margaret Jakobson, Esq.

President and Chair

DREDF Board of Directors

P.S. You can now make a donation online at DREDF's web site: www.DREDF.org.

Margaret Jakobson, Esq.

President and Chair

Beverly Bertaina

Kim Connor

Patrisha A. Wright

Barbara Bode

Tom Boyer

Ed D. Cooke Jr., Esq.

Margaret Jakobson, Esq.

Linda D. Kilb, Esq.

Marianne McGettigan, Esq.

Ralph Neas, Esq.

Andrew E. Weis, Esq.

Jane West, Ph.D

Mo West

Patrisha A. Wright

Stanley Yarnell, M.D.

Lainey Feingold, Esq.

Patrisha A. Wright

Director, Government Affairs

Arlene B. Mayerson, Esq.

Directing Attorney

Diane Lipton, Esq.

Director, Children's Advocacy Program

Mary Lou Breslin

Senior Policy Advisor

Linda Kilb, Esq.

Director, Legal Serivces Trust Fund Program

Larisa Cummings, Esq.

Attorney

Susan Henderson

Director of Administration

Marilyn Golden

Policy Analyst

Kurt Baldwin

ADA Technical Assistance Specialist

Anna Bergman

Administrative Assistant

Mark Breimhorst

Paralegal

Wendy Byrnes

Parent Advocate

Deborah Doctor

Research Associate

Robyn Ganeles

Administrative Assistant

Rachel Krokus

Administrative Assistant

Cheri Lorenz

Administrative Assistant

Kelly Lueschow

Administrative Assistant

Laura Oftedahl

Development Director

Sherri Rita

Legal Assistant

Regina Sing

Accounting Manager

Kenneth Stein

Manager, ADA TA Unit

Mary Telquist

Parent Advocate

Julie Weissman

Coordinator, Transition Project

Patrisha A. Wright, DREDF's Director of Government Affairs, received the George Bush Medal in Houston on February 24. The award is presented annually to individuals who have "distinguished themselves in the movement for equal rights and opportunity for people with disabilities worldwide". Past recipients include President Bush (who presented the award to Pat), Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ed Roberts (founder of the first Center for Independent Living), and Bengt Lindquist (special envoy on disability to the United Nations.)

The award recognized Pat as the "General" of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for her strategic role in the campaign to enact that legislation, and lauded Pat for fighting to include disability as a civil rights issue in setting public policy for twenty years.

Other award recipients were Justin Dart, Jr., disability advocate, Joshua Malinga, President of Disabled Peoples International, and former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. Posthumous awards went to Elizabeth Boggs, founder of the Arc, and Evan J. Kemp, Jr., former chairman of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Houston ceremony honoring Pat also included official "torch lighting," marking the start of the nationwide relay to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the ADA.

Access Living, Chicago's first and only non-residential center for independent living, celebrated its 20^th anniversary on June 19^th, and honored twenty leaders at the forefront of the disability rights movement, including Pat Wright. Marca Bristo, executive director of Access Living, said "While it is true that the ADA, which celebrates its 10^th Anniversary next month, would not have happened without the hard work of many, Pat lead the charge…She forged the absolutely essential coalition with the traditional Civil Rights community through her involvement with the Leadership Council on Civil Rights. Her vision and tenacity are legendary…Pat understands that for each of us, our time is short and our task is great."

DREDF, collaborating with the National Senior Citizens Law Center, Protection and Advocacy, and the Bazelon Center, is representing several individuals and the San Francisco Independent Living Resource Center, in a lawsuit challenging the rebuilding of the largest publicly operated nursing home in the country. San Francisco voters approved the bond issue to rebuild Laguna Honda after being flooded with well-financed publicity which equated rebuilding the institution with motherhood and apple pie. Plaintiffs allege that the City and County of San Francisco and the State of California are infringing on their right to receive long term care services in the least restrictive environment possible.

The City and County of San Francisco proposes to spend approximately 80% of its long term care dollars on the 1,200 institutional beds. Plaintiffs see this commitment to bricks and mortar as a giant step backwards in delivering long term care services, to the era when the only place to receive services, and have them reimbursed, was in an institution.

Over the last 20 years, every state in the country (including California) has reduced or closed huge institutions, because of popular and professional preference for care at home or in home-like settings. Over this time, 350,000 people with developmental disabilities have moved from big institutions. As the City's own White Paper said: 1) Community-based alternatives are overwhelmingly preferred by persons who can thrive in non-institutional settings; and 2) Community-based alternatives may be less expensive and thus a larger number of persons may be served for the same amount of money.

Since the 1970's, government and private funders have promoted research and model projects designed to deliver long term care in the setting most preferred by consumers — their homes or in homelike settings. The Bay Area, the birthplace of the independent living movement, was also the birthplace for some of those more innovative models, including the nationally famous On Lok program in San Francisco. Despite these advances, the city is going forward with replacing one huge institution with another, arguing that the old facility is seismically unsafe and threatened with closure by the federal government.

In 1998, after a lengthy investigation, the U.S.` Department of Justice found that some practices at Laguna Honda endangered residents and violated their civil rights. These dangers and violations are NOT related to the seismic problems. Other federal and state agencies have investigated and reached the same conclusions.

Plaintiffs, who are residents of Laguna Honda, and their attorneys, believe that present and future consumers in the Bay Area deserve choices in long term care, and that the City's devotion to the institutional model would restrict that choice for decades to come.

DREDF's Parent Project provides direct services and individual advocacy to parents, families, and other professionals to assist them in developing and implementing appropriate educational plans for children with disabilities. Funded in part by the United States Department of Education as mandated under IDEA, the Parent Project is one of the state's Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs). Serving residents of Alameda, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter and Yolo counties, the Parent Project offers intensive training, technical assistance, information and referral and facilitates mutual support networks among people who can help each other with similar problems. Each month DREDF responds to over 200 inquiries concerning laws and regulations, organizing coalitions and building effective networks, and developing strategies for working with schools and other community agencies. In addition, the Parent Project produces and distributes special education guides and training materials, and offers training and workshops annually for over 1,000 parents of children with disabilities to enable them to advocate effectively for their children. For more information contact Wendy Byrnes or Mary Telquist.

Under a three year grant from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, DREDF developed Real Futures: A Transition Training for Parents of Youth with Developmental Disabilities. This curriculum empowers families with students who have cognitive and physical disabilities to advocate more effectively for a full range of services that will enable their children to transition to a full and integrated community life. The four day training addresses such topics as laws and regulations concerning transition, an introduction to the adult service system, social and psychological change within the family, model living and employment programs, health care issues, and socialization. A key element of the curriculum is that it provides participants with opportunities to share their experiences with other families and to develop individualized work plans for the transition process. DREDF will be repeating this four part training in the fall beginning October 7, 2000. For more information or for registration information, contact Mary Telquist at DREDF .

[For an in-depth discussion about the importance of Transition in the lives of people with disabilities, please see the Real Futures article (written by Transition Project Coordinator Julie Weissman) on DREDF's website, or contact DREDF to obtain a copy.]

[Photo shows Pam Steneberg, parent advocate, accepting her award at the ADA Torch Relay in Oakland on June 17^th. Photo credit: Jennifer Steneberg.]

The National Parent Network on Disabilities (NPND) has presented its first annual Ilse Heumann Outstanding Parent Award to Pam Steneberg, longtime DREDF advocate. The award was named for and honors the mother of Judy Heumann, Assistant Secretary of Education, who was on hand when Pam received her award at the ADA Torch Relay in Oakland on June 17th.

The parent of a developmentally disabled child, Pam Steneberg was DREDF's parent advocate from 1979-1997. A pioneer parent leader in the state of California, she is recognized nationally as "tenacious and driving force" for the rights of children with disabilities. Through her advocacy efforts, Pam Steneberg has helped to shape the entire California system for individuals with disabilities.

President Bill Clinton and former President George Bush are the Honorary Co-Chairs of the ADA 10^th Anniversary Gala, July 26th at Union Station, Washington, DC. DREDF, the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) are co-hosts, marking a momentous collaboration of these three national disability organizations, as well as the history-making enactment of the ADA.

Disability leaders and activists from around the country will join members of the Administration and Congress, corporations, law firms, women's groups and labor unions to celebrate. Lead corporate sponsors of the Gala are Johnson & Johnson, General Motors, Microsoft, AOL, and Halftheplanet.com. Music, food of many countries, and dancing are on the program, which will also feature a silent and live auction. Former Congressman Tony Coelho, equally persuasive as an auctioneer and as a disability rights advocate, will cajole, shame and otherwise convince the attendees to bid — and bid high — for trips and tours, sports and celebrity memorabilia, and works of art. The event proceeds will support the work of the three sponsoring organizations.

[Photo shows Parent Advocates Wendy Byrnes and Mary Telquist looking over some books and papers at a table. Photo by Ken Stein.]

DREDF Parent Advocate Wendy Byrnes began working at DREDF in January. Her past experience includes providing training and technical assistance to Family Resource Centers and other non-profits statewide. She has been active in several family support committees including the Prevention Advisory Council and the Promising Practices Learning Circle. Wendy has extensive experience in grass roots organizing and became a mentor parent and community advocate following the birth of her son, who has developmental disabilities. She is also involved in the movement to push for sweeping reform to the compliance and monitoring processes for Special Education in the state of California.

Parent Advocate Mary Telquist began working as DREDF at the end of April. Mary comes to DREDF with 10 years of experience in the disability field. For six years she worked at United Cerebral Palsy of San Francisco providing direct support, directing, and starting up integrated work programs for adults with severe disabilities. In the past year she has worked with 14-22 year old students at San Francisco Unified School District as a Transition Specialist.

DREDF has completed three book-length research reports for the National Council on Disability (NCD) evaluating the effectiveness of federal implementation and enforcement of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA - Part B), the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), and a stakeholder report on the Fair Housing Act (FHA).

For the ADA, IDEA and ACAA reports, research staff reviewed the administrative structure and funding of principle enforcement agencies, analyzed available complaint and compliance data since the enactment of each law where appropriate, and conducted interviews with key federal agency personnel, technical assistance providers and community stakeholders. Those reports present a comprehensive analysis of findings with recommendations for improvements in overall federal enforcement including strategies for:

• strengthening agency coordination,
• fostering stronger policy directives, and
• improving dissemination of technical assistance and public information.

Kathleen Blank, attorney/program specialist at NCD, commented on DREDF's work, saying, "The quality of research was excellent. I have to give credit to DREDF for an enormous amount of courage and for fearlessly putting into writing the conclusions they had to draw. They gave us at NCD the material we needed to do our jobs, which is to advise the President and Congress on national disability policy. We have to be able to tell the real story, because despite substantial progress there are significant obstacles. We needed to have solid information about the enforcement problems that people with disabilities experience. DREDF gave credit where credit was due and made every effort to be balanced and yet unflinching in stating conclusions from data collected. DREDF brought a very high level of knowledge and expertise about the laws — and, because they knew what the disability community was experiencing, they could ask the right questions to get at the heart of the problems. It was a great job."

NCD released the IDEA, ADA and ACAA reports after incorporating agency feedback; the FHA report became the basis for NCD's next study of fair housing enforcement. Here are examples of findings and recommendations from the three published NCD reports:

IDEA

Findings:

• Every state was out of compliance with IDEA requirements to some degree; in the sampling of states studied, noncompliance persisted over many years.

• Enforcement of the law is the burden of parents who too often must invoke formal complaint procedures and due process hearings, including expensive and time-consuming litigation, to obtain the appropriate services and supports to which their children are entitled under the law.

• The Department of Education has made very limited use of its authority to impose enforcement sanctions such as withholding of funds or making referrals to the Department of Justice, despite persistent failures to ensure compliance in many states.

Recommendations

Congress should amend IDEA to provide the Department of Justice with independent authority to investigate and litigate cases brought under IDEA. The Department of Justice should be authorized to develop and disseminate explicit criteria for the types of alleged systemic violation complaints it will prioritize given its limited resources.

The Department of Education should consult with students with disabilities, their parents and other stakeholders in developing and implementing a range of enforcement sanctions that will be triggered by specific indicators and measures indicating a state's failure to ensure compliance with Part B

ADA:

Findings:

• While this administration has consistently asserted its strong support for the civil rights of people with disabilities, the federal agencies charged with enforcement and policy development under ADA, to varying degrees, have been overly cautious, reactive, and lacking any coherent and unifying national strategy.

• Many of the shortcomings of federal enforcement of ADA ?are inexorably tied to chronic underfunding and understaffing of the responsible agencies.

• The nature or extent of inaccurate and misleading negative media portrayals of ADA surfaced at several points in the law's first 10 years and continue to this day.

Recommendations:

The Department of Justice should provide robust and assertive leadership for ADA implementation and to develop a strategic vision and plan for ADA enforcement across the Federal Government.

The Departments of Justice and Transportation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Title II Referral agencies should strengthen methods for the timely and effective enforcement of ADA.

The Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the other federal agencies charged with ADA enforcement should promote proactive messages for media coverage of ADA.

ACAA:

Findings:

• DOT's budget and staff for ACAA enforcement are drastically inadequate.

• DOT enforcement of ACAA is not within the purview of a civil rights office.

• DOT's ACAA compliance monitoring is infrequent, inconsistent, and largely ineffective.

• DOT has taken little initiative to educate the public in general, and people with disabilities in particular, about their rights under the law.

DOT must make substantive organizational and process changes if ACAA enforcement is to become effective. It must

Establish a discrete unit for ACAA civil rights enforcement that is independent of the Consumer Protection Division, within either the Departmental Office on Civil Rights or the Office of General Counsel.

Expand compliance monitoring and enforcement activities and commit more resources (both staff and funds) to them. Regularly analyze the summaries prepared by air carriers of their Part 382 complaint data to identify noncompliance areas and to monitor potential "pattern and practice" trends.

To read the complete reports or request copies go to http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/publications.html

DREDF has recently settled a number of class-action cases involving a variety of accessibility issues brought on behalf of people with a range of different disabilities.

The settlement was hammered out over several years by DREDF, the law firm of Rosen, Bien and Asaro, and attorney Lainey Feingold. The settlement provides for extensive improvements at the giant indoor/outdoor entertainment complex, including installation of a new elevator in the older part of the stadium; elevated platform seating for persons with mobility impairments; audible fire alarms and assistive listening systems for persons with hearing impairments; and removal of protruding objects and availability of print materials in alternative formats for persons with vision impairments. Individual class members who experienced access problems also received compensation from a $425,000 settlement fund, and Bill Graham Presents will be providing class members with 800 free tickets to future events.

Recent judicial and legislative developments have turned a spotlight on the issue of who has a "disability" under both federal and California law.

In the spring of 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a trio of critical cases involving the federal law definition of disability, which ADA specifies is an "impairment" that "substantially limits" one or more "major life activities." DREDF participated in these cases by writing a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of Senators Harkin and Kennedy, former Senator Dole and Congressmen Hoyer and Owens, presenting arguments in favor of a broad interpretation of the ADA. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the disability community, the decisions issued by the high court in June 1999 in Sutton v. United Airlines, Murphy v. United Parcel Service, and Albertsons v. Kirkingburg resulted in a drastically limited interpretation of the federal definition of disability.

One key issue in these cases was whether measures the individual might use to "mitigate" the impact of impairment–such as mobility aids, prosthetic devices, hearing aids, drugs or behavior modifications–should be taken into account when determining whether the impairment caused a "substantial limitation." The Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the definition by ruling–despite EEOC regulations to the contrary–that "substantial limitation" must be assessed when a person is in his or her mitigated state.

While these cases do narrow the scope of the federal definition of disability, DREDF believes that when they are correctly analyzed a wide range of disabilities still remain protected by law. Since these decisions came down DREDF has been working in coalition with other disability rights advocates to develop effective "definition of disability" arguments that take these adverse rulings into account.

State law civil rights protections have moved to the forefront nationwide as disability advocates try to ensure peoples' rights are preserved in the face of a narrowed federal law. DREDF has been working to ensure a broad construction of state law in the key state of California.

One of California's most important civil rights laws is its Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which was passed before the ADA. FEHA protects from discrimination persons with mental disabilities that include "any mental or psychological disorder," without requiring any particular impact or limitation. FEHA also protects persons with physical disabilities as long as these "affect" body systems, and "limit" at least one major life activity. FEHA's language provides broader coverage than does the federal ADA.

DREDF and a coalition of state disability and civil rights groups have been working in support of California Assembly Bill 2222, which "reaffirms the distinct and greater protections offered by California law, while retaining the protections of the federal ADA as a minimum standard."

In January 2000 the California Supreme Court agreed to hear a state law definition of disability case. Swenson v. County of Los Angeles was filed by a physician with attention deficit disorder and other learning disabilities, who asserts that his employment with a county medical center was terminated due to his disability, in violation of California law. The key issue in Swenson is whether the state high court will interpret the state law definition of mental disability broadly or narrowly.

Swenson will be the California Supreme Court's first chance to react to the federal court decisions, and the case is expected to create legal precedent and set the tone for interpretations of state disability rights laws for years to come. DREDF, in coalition with a number of disability and civil rights groups, submitted a "friend of the court" brief to the California Supreme Court.

DREDF is representing plaintiff Matthew Christensen, who has worn a left leg prosthesis for over twenty years due to a congenital, below-the-knee amputation. In June 1997, Mr. Christensen applied to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to become a police officer. He passed the entrance requirements, including the Physical Abilities Test (PAT). Despite passing the PAT, Mr. Christensen was rejected for employment because he is an amputee. The case, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in April 1999, raises the question - not yet answered under California law - whether "mitigating measures" like prosthetics are to be taken into account when assessing the limiting effects of physical impairment.??

The American Bar Association Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law has presented its second Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights to Mary Lou Breslin, DREDF co-founder and senior research associate. The award, part of a celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the ADA entitled "The Americans with Disabilities Act: Celebrating the Milestones and Meeting the Challenges", was presented at the annual ABA convention in New York on July 10^th. The Award honors "an individual who, or an organization that, has performed exemplary service in furthering the rights, dignity, and access to justice for people with disabilities."

1978 — 1979 YOU GAVE US YOUR DIMES,

NOW GIVE US OUR RIGHTS

DREDF's distinguished record on civil rights for ALL Americans will long be remembered and revered here and nationwide. DREDF's continued leadership will enable Congress to set enlightened disability policy into the next century."

Senator Robert J. Dole

1979 — 1980 ONWARD FROM BERKELEY:

DREDF STARTS UP & SHOUTS OUT

• DREDF founders convene meeting of national civil rights leaders, who identify need for national disability rights defense fund.
• DREDF established in Berkeley and Washington.
• DREDF organizes parents and for the first time in the country, successfully presses the U.S. Department of Education to hold up federal funds until California complies with federal special education laws.
• DREDF joins executive committee of Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).
• DREDF runs Womens Educational Equity Act (WEEA) project, produces landmark book "No More Stares," about the experience of girls and women with disabilities.

what really got all of us here." — Senator Tom Harkin, principal author of the ADA, on DREDF's role in the enactment of the ADA

__________________________________________________________

1981 — 1986 STANDING OUR GROUND:

FIGHTING BACK, HOLDING THE LINE

Justin Dart Jr., Justice for All (Past Chairman, President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities)

1987 — 1990 FORGING AHEAD–BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS

• DREDF establishes Disability Rights Clinic in conjunction with Bay Area law schools (Boalt Hall, UC Davis, Hastings, Golden Gate and Stanford) to train the next generation of disability rights lawyers.
• DREDF begins litigation strategy to establish the right of children with disabilities in school to attend regular education classes.
• DREDF represents members of Congress and coordinates a national amicus effort in a Supreme Court case (Arline) that establishes
• the right of individuals with HIV infection to be covered by disability civil rights laws.
• DREDF represents disability civil rights community in the negotiations to amend the Fair Housing Act to include people with disabilities. For the first time, this law gives disabled people the right to live in the community free from housing discrimination and establishes access standards for new housing construction.
• DREDF coordinates the coalition to re-write, negotiate and pass the first comprehensive national civil rights law for people with disabilities–the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

1991- 1998 NO RIGHT WITHOUT A REMEDY: IMPLEMENTATION

• DOJ and EEOC acknowledge DREDF's expertise by awarding ADA national training and technical assistance contracts to DREDF,
• funding the ADA Hotline and leadership training network
• DOJ and NEA contract with DREDF to produce the ADA training film "Open for Business."
• DREDF produces ADA Technical Assistance "Bluebook" which becomes the standard ADA training manual throughout the country.
• "Americans with Disabilities Act Annotated: Legislative History, Regulations & Commentary" by DREDF directing attorney Arlene Mayerson, the most comprehensive legislative history of the ADA, is published.
• DREDF prepares comments for over 500 disability rights organizations on ADA regulations proposed by federal agencies.
• DREDF brings in a series of litigation victories that establish the right of disabled children to be educated with non-disabled children and to be free of abusive treatment in schools. One case, Holland v. Sacramento City School District, establishes a national precedent for "full inclusion" of children with disabilities in regular classes.
• DREDF breaks ground by using ADA litigation to establish the right of children with disabilities requiring health care assistance (such as diabetes and asthma) to receive such assistance in pre-school and recreational settings.
• NCD calls upon DREDF's expertise to study federal enforcement of these disability civil rights laws: the ADA, IDEA, FHAA and Air Carrier Access Act.
• Expertise called upon worldwide by disability advocates–DREDF staff go to Germany; Austria; Switzerland; Tuzla and Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovina; Israel; South Africa; Vietnam; Saipan; Palau; Pompaie; Guam; Japan; Sochi, Russia; Australia; New Zealand; Hungary and Cuba.
• DREDF ADA litigation opens doors to stadiums, Amtrak, movie theaters, hotels, banking services and gas stations nationwide for people with disabilities.
• HUD contracts with DREDF to undertake fair housing testing project.

Kim Connor and Robbie Holland

1997 — 1999 IMPLEMENTATION FIRSTS &

CHALLENGING REVERSALS

• DREDF plays leadership role in fighting back weakening amendments and securing positive advances in IDEA Amendments Act of 1997.
• Litigation results in comprehensive settlement securing basic educational rights for special education students in East Palo Alto and other communities, and greater accountability of the California Department of Education in ensuring those rights.
• DREDF begins planning an international legal conference to spread the word about disability rights legislation to countries around the world.
• DREDF represents members of Congress in a trilogy of Supreme Court cases involving the definition of disability under the ADA. DREDF is working with other disability rights groups to respond to the Court's decisions narrowing the applicability of the ADA.
• DREDF joins effort to ensure civil rights protections in legislative proposals to eliminate the work disincentives in current disability benefit programs and to establish the right of people with disabilities to income support services.
• DREDF works with community and legal groups to challenge the continued institutionalization of disabled residents in San Francisco, and to create community-based alternatives.

2000 — RECOMMITTING TO MEET THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

• As a strong and consistent voice for disability rights in courts of law and in the court of public opinion, in seats of government and in grassroots community, DREDF will continue to shape the legal and policy strategies that will be needed to defend the ADA and promote its vision in the United States and worldwide.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) -- Training and Technical Assistance: 1979-1999

Technical Assistance

• 100,000 individual contacts on civil rights laws
• 50,000 individual contact about special education

Training

• 11,000 parents trained in special education, transition and all civil rights laws, advocacy and empowerment

Total: 386,750 units of training and technical assistance

[Photo shows a group of 14 Vietnamese persons, along with Pat Wright and Susan Sygall. Pat and Susan are holding up wood-carved gifts presented to them during their visit to Viet Nam. Photo Caption: DREDF's Pat Wright (standing left) and Susan Sygall, of Mobility International (MIUSA) (Seated center front), recently spent three weeks in Vietnam, and visited this school for students who are blind. They interviewed people with disabilities and those who work with them to discuss possibilities for exchange programs. The research resulted in a recommendation that representatives of the Vietnamese business, disability and medical communities come to the United States in an international visitors program to learn about independent living. The visit reflects DREDF's ongoing commitment to assisting disabled communities to learn about community organizing and their ability to change public policy through law. DREDF enthusiastically congratulates Susan for receiving a MacArthur "Genius"award. Susan is perhaps the first woman with a disability to receive this recognition. Photo credit: DREDF]

After a three-year legal battle on behalf of hundreds of children with disabilities in the Ravenswood Elementary School District in East Palo Alto, California, Federal Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson gave final approval to an unprecedented settlement agreement in Emma C. v. Delaine Eastin, et al., and commented that the agreement is "very well done".

In a first of its kind case in California, led by attorneys Diane Lipton of DREDF, Bill Koski of the East Palo Alto Community Law Project, and Rony Sagy of Sagy Law Associates, plaintiffs demanded that the Ravenswood School District and the California Department of Education (CDE) comply with federal laws ensuring a "free appropriate public education" to all children with disabilities in the Ravenswood District. Ravenswood, with an almost entirely minority population, is recognized as one of the state's poorest districts.

The unprecedented settlement should result in a complete revamping of the District's special education system. According to Diane Lipton, "This settlement offers the District an unequalled opportunity to create a state of the art service delivery system that can be a model for other districts and state departments throughout California and the country. There are hundreds, if not thousands of East Palo Altos around the country. Hopefully, they are taking notice of this case. Monitoring compliance is extremely lax throughout this state and elsewhere."

The terms of the settlement include a corrective action plan; appropriate compensatory education for the named plaintiffs; creation of a fund that will support educational and vocational services and equipment for Ravenswood graduates; and a court-appointed monitor to oversee settlement implementation. In response to this case and pressure from the U.S. Department of Education, the CDE is revamping its monitoring and enforcement system, signifying that the effect of this case will reach far beyond the boundaries of the East Palo Alto District.

[Photo shows Laura Oftedahl, accompanied by her guide dog Victory. Laura is shown using a Wells Fargo ATM machine. Caption: DREDF's new development director, using a Talking ATM installed as a result of DREDF's advocacy. See more about these ATMs in Cases in Brief. Photo by Ken Stein.]

Laura Oftedahl is DREDF's new Development Director. Prior to coming to DREDF, Laura was Development Manager for the WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston. Laura joined WGBH in 1989 (the first visually impaired employee) for WGBH's media access initiatives, including Descriptive Video Service and the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media. Laura has two decades of experience in publicity and fundraising, having worked for the American Council of the Blind, Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind. Laura also has consulted with arts, cultural and recreational organizations to enhance access for disabled consumers, and produced a monthly radio program on blindness issues.

Every month, approximately 800 people call DREDF's ADA Technical Assistance Hotline, 1 (800) 466-4232 (voice/TTY). This Department of Justice funded information line, free to callers, provides technical assistance and materials to persons with disabilities, businesses, state and local governmental agencies, and the general public, to help them better understand their rights and responsibilities under Titles II (state and local government activities) and III (public accommodations) of the ADA. The hotline operates from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Kurt Baldwin is DREDF's new Department of Justice ADA Hotline Technical Assistance Specialist. Prior to coming to DREDF, Kurt worked at the Pacific Disability and Business ADA Technical Assistance Center (PDBTAC), where he served as the Technical Assistance Specialist and Training Coordinator. Prior to his work at the DBTAC, Kurt was the Supervisor of Services, and Systems Advocacy Coordinator, at the Independent Living Center of Southern California.

American Association of People with Disabilities will award $10,000 to up to twelve people with disabilities who are emerging as leaders in their respective fields, to help them continue their progress as leaders. The Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award winners will also be matched with national disability leaders who will serve as mentors. U.S. residents with any type of disability are eligible to apply. Applications must be postmarked by September 1, 2000. For criteria and application information, contact: Jessa Steinbeck, AAPD, 1-800-840-8844 (voice/TTY), E-mail: AAPD@aol.com or Tracey Murray, Leadership Awards Coordinator, 770-232-9001 (voice only), E-mail: pghawards@mindspring.com. AAPD website is www.aapd-dc.org.

DREDF is Founding Co-Sponsor

We're Voting for our Lives

Monday October 1, 2000 — 12:00 noon

Upper Senate Park — Washington, DC

Come to Washington and join thousands of civil rights advocates to support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the civil rights of all Americans. This fall, the United States Supreme Court will be hearing arguments in the case of Garrett v. University of Alabama, which calls into

Questions the constitutionality of the ADA. This is not just a case about disability rights — it is about the civil rights of all Americans.

The next President is expected to appoint several new Supreme Court Justices during his term. The decisions that the next group of Supreme Court Justices will hand down will have an effect on the civil rights of all Americans for generations to come. We need to make sure that the Presidential candidates are aware that we will be voting with our hearts and minds in favor of justice for all!

With our combined voices, we will send a loud and clear message to our elected officials and candidates that we are "Voting for our lives" in this election. If you are unable to attend the event in Washington DC, you can still participate. Just go to the AAPD web site www.aapd-dc.org to learn how you can organize an event in your hometown. Click on March for Justice, under NEWS.

Calling the Work Incentives Improvements Act "the most significant advancement for people with disabilities since the American with Disabilities Act," President Clinton signed WIIA on December 17th. With a goal of increased employment for people with disabilities, WIIA:

·?Establishes the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program. People receiving SSDI and SSI will get a ticket for vocational rehabilitation, employment, and other support services from providers of their choice.

·?Eliminates some work disincentives.

·?Expands availability of health care services.

·?Provides continuation of Medicare coverage.

·?Calls for demonstration projects relating to sliding scale benefits.

WIIA passed Congress almost unanimously, but on the way to victory, it was threatened with weakening changes. As with the ADA, DREDF fought hard in coalition with other disability groups to retain the most crucial provisions.

If you are a Bay Area federal employee, look for DREDF (#2269) under the Human and Civil Rights Organizations of America Federation.

United Way

In the United Way Workplace Campaign of the Bay Area, you will find DREDF in the alphabetical list of charities.

Does your employer has a matching gift program?

If so, your donation to DREDF can be doubled.

Larisa M. Cummings returns to a staff attorney position at DREDF after serving for ten years as the Clients' Rights Advocate for persons with developmental disabilities at the Regional Center of the East Bay. Larisa has extensive experience representing individuals with disabilities and their families in special education and public benefits administrative appeals, as well as helping to secure privacy rights of individuals with disabilities in social service systems and community based service settings.

DREDF has completed a report for the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities that identifies the methods used to measure hiring discrimination for women, minorities and other protected groups, and considers how those methods can be applied to measure hiring discrimination on the basis of disability. The report also includes findings from a sample of job descriptions that were reviewed for discriminatory content, and interviews with job placement professionals. It considers the significance of job descriptions as possible vehicles for discrimination and makes recommendations for further activities. The Task Force expects to release the report and its recommendations this summer.

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Under contract from the Social Security Administration, DREDF conducted a feasibility study and undertook pre-planning for an international disability law and policy symposium. Pre-planning activities included commissioning papers by scholars around the world on topics including a comparative analysis of the definitions of disability, and conflicts between the social welfare disability policy model and the rights-based model. Also underway is the first known effort to develop a comprehensive collection with analysis of disability anti discrimination laws from around the world.

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DREDF is developing a disability rights curriculum for the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Profession at Western University of Health Sciences, as a tool to introduce a non-medical disability paradigm to medical practitioners. The overarching goal of the module is to equip health professionals with the information, tools, insight and resources they need to provide exemplary customer service and care to individuals with disabilities that is accessible, supportive, appropriate and non-discriminatory.

The module briefly introduces the historic roots of basic beliefs and assumptions present in the disability policy models operating in the U.S. today. Patients' civil rights are explained, and health professionals' legal duties, responsibilities and obligations to patients, clients and employees with disabilities are introduced and discussed. The module incorporates relevant court decisions, federal policy interpretations and trends that demonstrate examples of enforcement. Cutting edge policy issues are introduced that clinicians and practitioners could face in their practices and informational resources are provided.

TransLink, still in the early stages of development, will be a state-of-the-art public transportation fare "smart card" for all the bus and rail transit systems in the San Francisco Bay Area. DREDF Policy Analyst Marilyn Golden is participating on a team working to ensure that TransLink is accessible to people with disabilities. Visually impaired people in particular are often at a disadvantage when trying to use fare vending machines which, like ATMs at banks, have provided poor or no access to them. DREDF's recent class action settlement with Wells Fargo Bank provides the model for talking ATMs and fare vending machines.

An attempt to legalize physician-assisted suicide in California ended when Assembly Bill 1592 failed to meet the state Legislature's January 31, 2000 deadline for approval by the full California Assembly. DREDF participated in a broad coalition of disability rights advocates, medical organizations, hospice groups, Catholic organizations, consumer advocates, advocates for the poor, and others opposed to the bill. The coalition's effective opposition to the bill, combined with election year politics, accounts for its demise. However, the issue of physician-assisted suicide probably won't go away. There continues to be considerable activity on the issue nationally, and Californians may again face it at some point in the future, perhaps as early as next year. The coalition opposes any legalization of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, including laws that would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of medication or to take more active measures such as the administration of lethal drugs.

Many prominent state and national disability organizations have taken similar positions against physician-assisted suicide. For more information, go to the website of the California Disability Alliance: http://www.dredf.org/cda/cdahome.html.

In accordance with the provisions of the National Voter Registration Act, DREDF has been designated as a Voter Registration Agency. For more information, contact DREDF at 510 644-2555.

The State of California Department of Rehabilitation has awarded DREDF a grant to develop and deliver a short model curriculum on the history of the disability rights movement for two fifth grade and two middle school classes within the Berkeley Unified School District. DREDF will also develop a plan for dissemination, encouraging implementation of similar curriculums to selected disability organizations statewide and nationwide, and will encourage selected organizations to promote use of the curriculum by their local school districts. The project will incorporate presentations by persons with significant disabilities who have participated in the independent living / disability rights movement; and will include written and audio-visual materials, including a video about the historic 1977 504 Sit-In. For more information, contact Ken Stein: kstein@dredf.org.

DREDF and eight other Bay Area disability organizations are planning The Ed Roberts Campus (ERC), a universally designed, transit-oriented center to be located at the Ashby BART Station in Berkeley. The ERC will house the nine collaborating organizations and will offer an impressive array of disability-related services and programs in one totally accessible location. The campus will a national resource for research, advocacy, legal analysis, education, training, and model program development. The partners are Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program; Center for Accessible Technology; Center for Independent Living; Computer Technologies Program; Disability Rights Advocates; Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Through the Looking Glass; Whirlwind Wheelchair International; and World Institute on Disability. Construction is expected to begin in late 2002 or early 2003 with occupancy approximately one year later. For more information contact the ERC 9-5 Pacific time at 510 698-2039, Ext. 14521 (Voice) or 510 644-2555 (TTY).

On June 20, 2000, the Senate voted 57-42 to expand the current Federal hate crimes statute. The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2000 extends the coverage of bias-motivated crimes to individuals with disabilities, women, and gays and lesbians. This vote marked a historic success for the hundreds of organizations who worked together, coordinated by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, to advance this bill further than it had moved in the previous Congress. Incorporated into the Senate version of the Department of Defense Authorization bill, the legislation had bipartisan support; the original Senate sponsors were Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR). Vice President Al Gore, the Senate's presiding officer, spoke at a press conference, stating, "I think it's entirely possible the House will pass this legislation. The right wing is just wrong on this issue."

ADA Title III Compliance Package: Open for Business

Price: $179.00

Price for Disability Organizations: $129.00

An award winning film that depicts the disability and business communities working together in one small town to remove architectural barriers, when readily achievable, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Package includes: 15 and 30 minute closed-captioned versions and 15 and 30 minute versions with audio descriptions.

ADA: An Implementation Guide

Price: $100.00

Price for Disability Organizations: $75.00

Written in the narrative form for both professionals and lay people, DREDF's Implementation Guide offers a detailed, thorough analysis of all the law's provisions, encompassing ADA legislative history, the statute and regulations.

To order or receive additional information about these or other DREDF publications, please contact DREDF at:

DREDF

2212 6th St.

Berkeley, CA 94710

Website: www.dredf.org

EMAIL: dredf@dredf.org

Phone: 510 644-2555 (V / TTY)

FAX: 510 841-8645