Fact Sheet: Administration Releases Final Version of Financial Aid Shopping Sheet

Earlier this year, at the University of Michigan, President Obama outlined the steps that his Administration is taking to make college more affordable and to ensure that students “know before they owe.”
 
Today, as part of that ongoing effort, the Administration unveiled the final version of the model financial aid award letter, or “Shopping Sheet” — an individualized standard financial aid letter that will help students understand their costs before making the final decision on where to enroll.  The shopping sheet will allow students to easily compare aid packages offered by different institutions. To develop the Shopping Sheet, the U.S. Department of Education partnered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a new independent agency established in the wake of the financial crisis.
 
Too often, students and families face the daunting task of deciding where to enroll, whether to write a check, or whether to sign for a student loan, without a clear explanation of what the costs mean, or how these costs compare to other colleges they are considering.  As a result, too many students leave college with debt that they didn’t understand at the time that they entered school.  While many financial aid award letters provide this information, some can be confusing, lacking clear distinctions between grants and loans, as well information about post-graduate outcomes associated with the institution. These obscurities make the task of comparison-shopping for the most affordable and appropriate college even more difficult.
 
The Shopping Sheet makes clear the costs and responsibilities of student loans upfront – before students have enrolled – outlining their total estimated annual costs, institutional rates of completion and default, and information about a student’s potential monthly loan payments after graduation.  Ultimately, this tool provides students and their families with useful information that can help them make a more informed decision about where to attend college and to help them better understand the debt burdens that may be face after graduation.
 
Secretary Duncan today will publish an open letter to college and university presidents, asking them to adopt the Shopping Sheet as part of their financial aid awards starting in the 2013-14 school year. Additionally, colleges who agree to the Principles of Excellence for Serving Military and Veterans will begin using this form during the 2013-14 school year. Institutions of higher education interested in adopting the Shopping Sheet may contact the Department of Education at ShoppingSheet@ed.gov for additional information.
 
While states and colleges share responsibility to keep down the rising cost of college, improved consumer disclosures can ensure that students and families make wise decisions when investing in higher education.  To learn more about President Obama’s comprehensive proposal to make college more affordable, please visit:http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/27/fact-sheet-president-obama-s-blueprint-keeping-college-affordable-and-wi

 

Dr. Royal Walker, Jr says Farewell to Dr. Kamali

IDS was sad to see the retirement of Dr. Vafa Kamali.  We will miss him greatly.

US Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy, Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities join forces

ODEP News Release: [07/17/2012]

Partnership aims to increase employment of individuals with disabilities

WASHINGTON — Kathleen Martinez, assistant secretary of labor for disability employment policy, and Sharon Lewis, commissioner of the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, have signed a memorandum of agreement. Together, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy and AIDD, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Community Living, will work to expand and promote integrated employment as the first employment option for individuals with significant, including intellectual and other developmental, disabilities.

“This agreement is an opportunity for ODEP and AIDD to work together to further disability employment practices and support state efforts to transform public systems so that they reflect integrated employment as a priority outcome for citizens with significant disabilities,” said Martinez.

The partnership between the two federal agencies will further their coordination of resources and efforts so that the concept of “Employment First” – described at http://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/EmploymentFirst.htm – is more broadly embraced. Many states already have resolved to implement policies that promote integrated employment as the first option of service for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities through the establishment of Employment First initiatives. Both ODEP and AIDD support these initiatives and other efforts to change states’ employment systems by providing technical assistance, training and capacity building support.

“We are very excited about working together with the Office of Disability Employment Policy to improve employment outcomes. We believe that access to competitive integrated employment is integral to our efforts at the Administration for Community Living. Without a meaningful career path, people with disabilities cannot achieve the goals of independent living, full participation in community or economic self-sufficiency,” said Lewis.

AIDD ensures that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of and have access to culturally competent needed community services, individualized supports and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life.

ODEP’s mission is to provide national leadership by developing and influencing disability employment-related policies and practices to increase the employment of people with disabilities.

National Presidential Forum on Disability Issues

Your Help is Needed NOW!

The National Presidential Forum on Disability Issues, in Columbus, Ohio, is just two and a half months away, September 28, 2012.  Your help is needed to get the candidates there and to ensure its success.  Here’s how you can help:

Invite the Candidates: While each of the campaigns has acknowledged the importance of the event they have not committed to participate. We need your help making them aware of the significance and prominence of the disability community and disability policy issues. They must FEEL THE POWER OF THE DISABILITY VOTE!

Write a letter to the Campaign Offices of President Obama, Governor Romney and if you are in Ohio to Josh Mandel and Sherrod Brown. Tell them why the Forum is important to you and to the disability community; that the forum will be the only national event to focus specifically on disability issues. Questions are expected to focus on “big picture” issues facing the broad disability community, such as employment, health care, long-term services and supports, education, transportation, housing, and research.  You can contact the candidates through AUCD’s Presidential Forum page. 

Make a video of your invitation to the Candidates. Keep it short and to the point. Be sure to include your home state. Send videos to shetrick@abilitycenter.org. These videos will be posted on YouTube, Facebook, and on the Registration website.

Invite Co-Sponsors: Co-sponsors are still needed for the event! Call or send a letter to interested disability-related organizations inviting their participation. Sponsorships are available in the amount of $100 to $10,000. Corporate sponsorships are also available. Contact Kate Josephson at kjosephson@ucp.org for more information.

AUCD and over 40 state and national organizations have already pledged their support as co-sponsors!

National

• American Association for People with Disabilities
• American Association on Health and Disability
• Amputee Coalition
• Association of University Centers on Disabilities
• Caring Across Generations
• CSAVR
• Easter Seals
• Epilepsy Foundation
• Hemophilia Federation of America
• Jewish Federations of North America
• Jewish Funds for Justice
• Lutheran Services in America
• Mosaic
• National Association for Homecare and Hospice
• National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA)
• National Association of States United for Aging and Disability
• National Council on Aging
• National Council on Independent Living
• National Down Syndrome Society
• National Center for Learning Disabilities
• National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society
• National Organization on Disability
• National Youth Leadership Network
• Paralyzed Veterans of American
• PHI National
• Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
• Sibling Leadership Network
• The Access Center for Independent Living
• The Arc of the United States
• The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation
• United Cerebral Palsy
• United Spinal Association
• Yoshiko Dart

State/Local

• Ohio Abilities Network
• Ohio APSE
• Ohio Association of Goodwill Industries (OAGI)
• Ohio Disability Vote Coalition
• The Arc of Ohio
• The Ohio State University Nisonger Center (UCEDD)
• University of Cincinnati University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

Note: The National Forum on Disability Website will be ready soon. Stay tuned for an announcement and information on the site. On this site you may register to attend the event, to watch the event live via webcast, view video invitations and press releases about the event.

Forum Planning Committee:  American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), The Arc, Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), National Center for Learning Disabilities, National Council on Aging (NCOA), National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), and Ohio Disability Vote Coalition (ODVC)

General Information Contact: Sue Hetrick / 866-575-8055 / shetrick@abilitycenter.org

Sponsorship Information Contact: Kate Josephson / 202-776-0406 / kjosephson@ucp.org

Media Contact:

Paul Carringer / 614-599-0416 / paul@caringmarketing.com

Kate McAndrews / 614-560-5028 / kathleenmcandrews@sbcglobal.net

Law reflects advocate's efforts Kids now assured access to Braille, certified teachers

Located on Clarion Ledger http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20120708/NEWS/207080368/Law-reflect

Casey Robertson's desire to help children led her to teach. But it was her fight to get an equitable education for her blind niece and visually impaired nephew that cemented her mission.

This spring, she helped successfully lobby the state Legislature to pass House Bill 960, which revises the Blind Person's Literacy Rights and Education Act. The resulting law, which went into effect July 1, ensures access to teachers certified to teach blind and visually impaired students and prohibits denying a student Braille instruction if needed.

For that effort, Robertson, of Richland, was named the National Federation of the Blind's 2012 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children.

"It humbled me to know that people of the blind community are thankful for what I do and they would want to recognize me when the only thing I'm doing is I do what I love," said Robertson.

Robertson's twin niece and nephew, Imilie and Jackson West, were 3 months old when they were diagnosed in 2000 with retinopathy of prematurity, a condition that contributes to blindness in the girl and low vision for the boy.

"I knew the local school district had to provide for them," Robertson said. From ages 1 to 5, the twins attended Mississippi State University's T.K. Martin Center. Then they went into the public classroom in the Monroe County School District.

"The school district was accommodating, the teacher was accommodating," Robertson said. But a consultant who was charged with informing school officials of the students' needs didn't do so.

A teacher since 2000, Robertson, 35, and her sister, Rachel Whitmire, began educating the twins' teachers and administrators about their disability. After earning a master's degree in blind education from Louisiana Tech University, the school consultant also began fighting for all blind children across the state.

Visually impaired students would have had to wait until November or later before they would get textbooks in Braille or large print, said Rep. Tom Miles, D-Forest, who sponsored HB 960. That changes with the new law, he said.

The law also requires children to be tested to determine if they need Braille. If they do, then they would get a certified teacher to teach it. The students also have to access to textbooks and curricula at the same time as other students. 

"It's just another common sense measure you think that would be there, but it wasn't there," Miles said.  Robertson told him about children who are blind or have low vision who would have to lean down so much when they worked that their nose would touch the paper and they'd get marker all over their faces.

The stories were heart-wrenching, Miles said.  "To me, in this day and time, you would think stuff like that wouldn't be going on in (public schools)," he said.

Robertson and another parent laid the groundwork for the bill by comparing Mississippi's blind education law to those in other states. They found it to be the weakest in the nation.

With Miles on board as a sponsor, the bill also received bipartisan support from more than 30 co-sponsors.

The effort ignited a campaign involving parents and students.

Robertson said one particularly poignant letter sent to legislators was from a student: "When everybody else has their textbook and I don't have one, I feel like I'm not important. I feel like nobody thought about me before school started."

The bill received unanimous support in the House and in the Senate.

Robertson described that success as "surreal."

This past week, she spoke before more than 2,500 people at the National Federation of the Blind's convention. Her speech will be published in the group's magazine, Future Reflections.

While Robertson is pleased with progress to date, she isn't done. And neither is Miles. The two are now working to increase the number of certified blind education teachers in Mississippi.

This fall, they may pre-file a bill to get funding for a Mississippi college or university willing to train those teachers. For now, Miles said, teachers have to go to Louisiana for training.

To comment on this story, call Marquita Brown at (601) 961-7059. Follow her on Twitter, @mbrownk12.

ADA Applies to Website Businesses: NAD Scores Big For the Disability Community in Netflix Ruling

Courtesy of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology

June 19, 2012. COAT founding organization the National Organization for the Deaf (NAD) scored a giant leap forward in Internet accessibility via a recent ruling in Massaschusetts regarding captioning of Netflix.  Here below is NAD's Press Release:

Federal District Court in Massachusetts First in Country to Hold that the Americans with Disabilities Act Applies to Website-Only Businesses   

Judge Denies Netflix’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and Allows Disability Civil Rights Case, National Association of the Deaf, et al. v. Netflix, Case No. 3:11-cv-30168, to Move Forward

The National Association of the Deaf (“NAD”), the nation’s premier civil rights organization of deaf and hard of hearing individuals, won a major victory today when Judge Ponsor denied defendant Netflix’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings seeking dismissal of the case.  The District Court of Massachusetts is the first court in the country to hold that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) applies to website-only businesses. The underlying lawsuit alleges that Netflix violates the ADA by failing to provide closed captioning on most of its “Watch Instantly” programming streamed on the Internet, thereby denying equal access to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Netflix argued that the ADA applies only to physical places and therefore could not apply to website-only businesses like Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” streaming service. Judge Ponsor denied the motion, stating that it would be “irrational to conclude” that: “places of public accommodation are limited to actual physical structures…In a society in which business is increasingly conducted online, excluding businesses that sell services through the Internet from the ADA would run afoul of the purposes of the ADA and would severely frustrate Congress’s intent that individuals with disabilities fully enjoy the goods, services, privileges and advantages, available indiscriminately to other members of the general public.” Moreover, Judge Ponsor stated that the fact that the ADA “does not include web-based services as a specific example of a public accommodation is irrelevant” since such web-based services did not exist when the ADA was passed in 1990 and because “the legislative history of the ADA makes clear that Congress intended the ADA to adapt to changes in technology.”

The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund’s Directing Attorney, Arlene Mayerson, stated: “By recognizing that web-sites are covered by the ADA, the court has ensured that the ADA stays relevant as much of our society moves from Main Street to the Internet.  Netflix's argument that the neighborhood video store is covered by the ADA, but it, with its over 20 million subscribers, is not, was soundly rejected by the Court.”

“This victory ensures that the ADA will continue to be a powerful force in our rapidly changing lives, protecting our right to equal access on the Internet,” said NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins. “Netflix’s flat-out refusal to fully serve our community simply because it is an Internet-based business is unacceptable. Leaving millions of deaf and hard of hearing consumers without equal access is not an option.”

"This legal ruling is a major decision that ensures the ADA remains current with this technological age and makes it possible for deaf and hard of hearing people and people with disabilities to have full access to the same programs and services available to everyone else," said NAD CEO Howard Rosenblum.

In addition, Netflix argued that the case should be dismissed because it does not own copyrights to its programming and therefore cannot be forced to provide closed captions and that the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (“CVAA”) “carves out” all video programming streamed on the Internet as separate from the ADA. Judge Ponsor found that at this stage, the Plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged that Netflix “owns, leases..., or operates” a place of public accommodation for purposes of the ADA and that the CVAA does not “carve out” streaming programming from the ADA because there is “no conflict between the statutes” and there is no indication from Congress to the contrary.

In addition to the NAD, other Plaintiffs include the Western Massachusetts Association of the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired (WMAD/HI) and a deaf Massachusetts resident.  The plaintiffs are represented by the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund in Berkeley, CA, the Oakland, CA law firm Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson P.C., and the Boston, MA law firmSugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C.

The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund and the NAD ask deaf and hard of hearing individuals who want to learn more about the lawsuit to visit:http://www.dredf.org/captioning, call the toll-free number 1-800-348-4232 (V), or email Shane Feldman at netflixlawsuit@nad.org or Charlotte Lanvers at clanvers@dredf.org.