{"id":33790,"date":"2016-07-01T11:21:03","date_gmt":"2016-07-01T16:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=33790"},"modified":"2016-07-01T11:21:03","modified_gmt":"2016-07-01T16:21:03","slug":"u-s-supreme-court-will-hear-appeal-for-equal-access-for-texans-who-are-dhh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2016\/07\/01\/u-s-supreme-court-will-hear-appeal-for-equal-access-for-texans-who-are-dhh\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal for Equal Access for Texans Who Are D\/HH"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"dac<\/a><\/p>\n

PRESS RELEASE: Deaf Action Center Texas official statement on Ivy v. Morath.<\/p>\n

ASL Translation to follow. #IvyVMorath #AccessibleDriversEducation<\/p>\n

PRESS RELEASE: June 30, 2016<\/p>\n

U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal for Equal Access for Texans Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dallas, TX \u2013 In a recent order, the United States Supreme Court agreed to review an important case concerning the rights of those with hearing disabilities. The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), with pro bono attorneys Olga Kobzar of Scott, Douglass & McConnico and Joe Sanders of Sanders Bajwa LLP, supported Deaf Action Center (DAC) consumers and community members in filing a suit against the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for failure to provide interpreters and other accommodations in state-mandated driver education classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful that this case is being heard by the U.S. Supreme court to help us determine the course of action that is needed to ensure that publicly funded programs are accessible to deaf and hard of hearing individuals. My initial goal was to sit down with the TEA and work out a viable solution to make drivers education accessible to deaf drivers. Instead, the agency forced my consumers to pursue legal action.\u201d said Heather Bise-Hughes, now Executive Director of Deaf Action Center. TEA already regulates the curriculum and other aspects of private driving schools, yet historically they have not ensured that those schools provided effective communication for deaf drivers.<\/p>\n

DAC immediately recognized when SB 1317 passed in 2010 that deaf and hard of hearing individuals would encounter more difficulties in obtaining driver’s licenses. In the past, these individuals, whose first language is American Sign Language or sign language, had to wait until they were 18 before they could take a driving test to obtain a license because driver education is not accessible in the DFW area. After the bill\u2019s passage, they needed to wait until age 25.<\/p>\n

DAC initially reached out to TEA for open dialogue about proactively remedying this issue. Instead of working toward a solution with DAC, TEA simply encouraged DAC to file a complaint with the Department of Justice. Since TEA refused to budge on its position, in May of 2011 Ms. Heather Bise-Hughes of DAC reached out to TCRP on behalf of the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur agency has always been committed to proactively finding solutions to ensure that discrimination, systematic oppression, and barriers are remedied through education and open dialogue. We are thankful that the plaintiffs and all parties involved were able to seek a remedy in the judicial system because this is truly a pervasive issue for so many people who are deaf and hard of hearing,\u201d Ms. Bise-Hughes said.<\/p>\n

The case, Ivy v. Morath, has far-reaching implications for people with disabilities, as the Supreme Court decision will clarify when states may be held responsible for discrimination against the disabled when public programs are contracted out to private companies.<\/p>\n

DAC is an organization that strongly believes its mission so to ensure advancement through education, economic security and good health. For 37 years, DAC has empowered their community members to become agents of change for themselves and their peers.<\/p>\n

Press inquiries should be directed to media@dactexas.org<\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DACTX\/photos\/a.305062739574554.69926.273728682707960\/1035825846498236\/?type=3<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRESS RELEASE: Deaf Action Center Texas official statement on Ivy v. Morath. ASL Translation to follow. #IvyVMorath #AccessibleDriversEducation PRESS RELEASE: June 30, 2016 U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal for Equal Access for Texans Who Are Deaf and Hard of…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"#USSupremeCourt Will Hear Appeal for Equal Access for #Texans Who Are D\/HH #IvyVMorath #AccessibleDriversEducation #deaf #hardofhearing","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[25034,1629,23,19,24,451,511,1205,510,1412,25036,25035,25037,10833,3694,7500,3698,19200],"class_list":["post-33790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-ivyvmorath-accessibledriverseducation","tag-american-sign-language","tag-asl","tag-dallas-dfw","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-action-center","tag-disabilities","tag-discrimination","tag-drivers-education","tag-hard-of-hearing","tag-heather-bise-hughes","tag-ivy-v-morath","tag-sb-1317","tag-tcrp","tag-tea","tag-texas-civil-rights-project","tag-texas-education-agency","tag-u-s-supreme-court"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-8N0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36021,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2017\/07\/27\/tcrp-celebrates-the-27th-anniversary-of-the-americans-with-disabilities-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":33790,"position":0},"title":"TCRP celebrates the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"For Immediate Release Wednesday, July 26, 2017 Contact: Melissa Martinez Phone: 210.867.3506 Email: melissa@texascivilrightsproject.org STATEMENT: TCRP celebrates the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act Austin, TX \u2014 On this day in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/TCRP_Logo.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15828,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/09\/15\/tcrp-files-legal-action-to-expand-access-to-drivers-education-for-people-with-hearing-disabilities\/","url_meta":{"origin":33790,"position":1},"title":"TCRP Files Legal Action to Expand Access to Driver’s Education for People with Hearing Disabilities","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"TEXAS CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT Michael Tigar Human Rights Center 1405 Montopolis Drive Austin, Texas 78741 (512) 474-5073 (phone) (512) 474-0726 (fax) Contact: Joseph Berra 512-474-5073 Press Release August 2, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TCRP FILES LEGAL ACTION TO EXPAND ACCESS TO DRIVER\u2019S EDUCATION FOR PEOPLE WITH HEARING DISABILITIES The Texas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33796,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2016\/07\/02\/deaf-texans-say-theyre-being-denied-drivers-ed-courses-by-tea\/","url_meta":{"origin":33790,"position":2},"title":"Deaf Texans Say They’re Being Denied Driver’s Ed Courses by TEA","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf Texans Say They're Being Denied Driver's Ed Courses by TEA By Stef Manisero June 29, 2016 AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving Texans who are deaf. The plaintiff claims driving instruction schools won't allow people who are deaf to take\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19475,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/08\/02\/city-settles-suit-brought-by-deaf-resident\/","url_meta":{"origin":33790,"position":3},"title":"City settles suit brought by deaf resident","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Not So Tone Deaf? City settles suit brought by deaf resident BY JORDAN SMITH JULY 31, 2012 For the second time in a decade the city of Austin has settled a federal civil rights suit, reaffirming its agreement to provide training for Austin Police officers on how to effectively communicate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3770,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/07\/30\/austin-lawsuits-cite-inaccessibility\/","url_meta":{"origin":33790,"position":4},"title":"Austin lawsuits cite inaccessibility","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Austin lawsuits cite inaccessibility Posted: July 29, 2008 AUSTIN, TEXAS (KXAN) -- The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) filed a series of federal court lawsuits across the state to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The lawsuits, which are part of a campaign called \"A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20294,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/10\/10\/dallas-area-deaf-advocate-fights-for-communication-services\/","url_meta":{"origin":33790,"position":5},"title":"Dallas-area deaf advocate fights for communication services","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Dallas-area deaf advocate fights for communication services Levi Coplen and Heather Bise work with Deaf Action Center colleague Eric Patterson on a video phone in Bise's Dallas office. 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