{"id":36021,"date":"2017-07-27T15:37:24","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T20:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=36021"},"modified":"2017-07-27T15:37:24","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T20:37:24","slug":"tcrp-celebrates-the-27th-anniversary-of-the-americans-with-disabilities-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2017\/07\/27\/tcrp-celebrates-the-27th-anniversary-of-the-americans-with-disabilities-act\/","title":{"rendered":"TCRP celebrates the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For Immediate Release
\nWednesday, July 26, 2017<\/p>\n

Contact: Melissa Martinez
\nPhone: 210.867.3506
\nEmail: melissa@texascivilrightsproject.org<\/p>\n

STATEMENT: TCRP celebrates the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act<\/strong><\/p>\n

Austin, TX \u2014 On this day in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The Texas Civil Rights Project has a long history of successful ADA litigation, improving economic opportunities and fighting inequalities that exist for Texans with disabilities.<\/p>\n

This year, on the 27th anniversary of the ADA, TCRP celebrates several recent victories for individuals with disabilities:<\/p>\n

Heiwa Salovitz and Sarah Watkins v. Uber Technologies, Inc.:<\/strong> In 2014, our clients sued Uber for inaccessibility to wheelchair-bound individuals. After Uber left Austin, a settlement agreement was reached stating that if Uber returned, it would, within two years, provide equivalent service through a wheelchair accessibility product. Uber will also meet and confer with disability rights group ADAPT on a quarterly basis.\u00b9<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 1051:<\/strong> This law provides accommodations to deaf and hard of hearing students in required driver education courses, and will go into effect on Sept. 1. In 2011, TCRP sued on behalf of driver\u2019s ed students with hearing disabilities when their requests for sign-language interpreters were denied. Pro bono counsel Joe Sanders of Sanders Bajwa LLP and Olga Kobzar of Scott Douglas McConnico in Austin took the case through appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it was ultimately not heard because the Plaintiffs aged out of the relevant age group. Sanders and Kobzar worked with legislators to craft a bill with a solution. \u201cI\u2019m so happy to have gotten this across the finish line. We have succeeded \u2013 after almost 6 years \u2013 in our quest to change the law and to change hundreds of lives in Texas,\u201d Sanders explained after the bill was enrolled.<\/p>\n

Willie Nelson and Yvonne Dials v. Nancy A. Berryhill in her official capacity as the Acting Director of the Social Security Administration (SSA):<\/strong> In 2014, our clients, who are from North Texas and had difficulty accessing SSA services, sued the SSA for violating the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a disability rights law similar to the ADA. The SSA refused their requests for a qualified sign-language interpreter and failed to accommodate their hearing disability to ensure effective communication when they tried to make appointments. This year, the parties reached a settlement requiring the SSA to provide training to all current and newly-hired field employees nationwide on accommodating deaf and hard of hearing applicants and, in consultation with the Deaf Action Center, deaf sensitivity and awareness. The settlement also requires the SSA to provide Video Remote Interpreting services at the offices at issue in the case. TCRP is not aware of any SSA offices in North Texas that provided Video Remote Interpreting services at the time of the settlement.<\/p>\n

JoElla\u00a0Verlee Coffey and Terry May v. Ochiltree County:<\/strong> In April, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas approved a settlement of over $600,000 for the family of Amber May, a woman who killed herself while in custody at the Ochiltree County Jail due to poor training, screening, monitoring, and oversight. The settlement, secured by TCRP and the University of Texas Civil Rights Clinic, also requires heightened mental health screening at booking, improved monitoring of inmates showing suicide risk, and the modification of cell conditions to prevent suicides.<\/p>\n

National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW):<\/strong> During the week of July 17-21, TCRP joined disability advocates from around the state to promote voter registration and participation in the political process among the disability community. At least nine events were coordinated to register voters and raise awareness. The week kicked off with a press conference and Volunteer Deputy Registrar Training at the Disability Rights Texas Office, where 25 people were trained to register voters in Travis County.<\/p>\n

Efr\u00e9n C. Olivares, the Racial & Economic Justice Director with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n