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Disability Right Maryland’s Munib Lohrasbi Honored as a part of the 2019 Choice Advocate Team of the Year

Munib Lohrasbi, attorney for Disability Rights Maryland (DRM), is being honored by NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland as a part of their 2019 Choice Advocate Team of the Year. The prestigious recognition is given to advocates who have worked tirelessly for the passage of Maryland laws that prohibit forced solitary confinement of pregnant inmates (the first if its kind the U.S.) and juveniles.

Munib started as an OSI-Baltimore Community Fellow at DRM in November, 2017, and is currently an active attorney- campaigning for change on major community issues. “It is a privilege to work with a group of advocates who are so passionate about impacting change,” stated Munib, “and creating a more just society. I’m honored to be recognized as part of NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland’s 2019 Choice Advocate Team of the Year.”

In a recent project, Munib investigated conditions for incarcerated pregnant women at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women (MCIW), the only State correctional facility for women in Maryland. The review focused on the use of restrictive housing, or confinement in a cell for 22 hours or more per day. Munib and his professional colleagues were alarmed that women were jailed without adequate access to mental health programming or services. Going forward, the goal is to improve access to correctional mental health services and to reduce or eliminate the use of restrictive housing, particularly for individuals with serious mental illnesses who are at the greatest risk of harm.

To read the full report detailing Munib’s findings at MCIW and recommendations for reform visit https://disabilityrightsmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/MCIW_Report-Final.pdf

If you have questions, or if you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, you can contact Munib directly at MunibL@DisabilityRightsMD.org or 443-692-2491.

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Ethan Saylor Alliance Police Training and Appreciation Event

(From left ) Teri Sparks (Paralegal, Disability Rights Maryland), Erika Wheeler (Special Olympic Athlete and Self-Advocate), Carol Beatty (Secretary, Maryland Department of Disabilities), Jennifer Eastman (MBA Director of Community Living Policy, Maryland Department of Disabilities)

Disability Rights Maryland’s (DRM) Terri Sparks, and Erika Wheeler, Special Olympic Athlete and Self-Advocate, co-chairs of the Ethan Saylor Alliance Steering Committee, attended the Ethan Saylor Alliance Police Training and Appreciation Event on August 11, 2019, at the Public Safety and Education Training Center in Sykesville, Maryland.

The event was held to increase awareness of new policies instituted to better train and prepare Maryland’s law enforcement officers about their interactions with individuals who have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure safe, respectful and effective outcomes for all. The Alliance is focused on the development of programs that instruct and support people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities as educators and establish meaningful roles for self-advocates on police training teams. The Ethan Saylor Alliance Police Training and Appreciation Event acknowledged and thanked the officers who understand that training by self-advocates is important in meeting the needs of the people police serve.

Learn more about the Ethan Saylor Alliance: https://disabilityrightsmd.org/ethan-saylor-alliance/

 

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DRM’s Concerns Cited in Recent U.S. Commission On Civil Rights’ Report

 

The United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) recently released a report titled “Beyond Suspensions, Examining School Discipline Policies and Connections to the School-to Prison Pipeline for Students of Color with Disabilities.”  In this comprehensive report, the USCCR reviews  research detailing the harmful impacts of exclusionary discipline (suspensions and expulsions), states that data in the U.S. Department of Education reports show a consistent pattern of schools suspending or expelling African American students with disabilities at higher rates than their proportion of the population of students with disabilities,” and makes key findings and recommendations for reducing disparities and ensuring non-discriminatory discipline in schools. 

Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) has been actively working to address the impact of exclusionary discipline on students with disabilities, which is highlighted in the report. In a section that discusses federal investigations of discriminatory discipline practices in schools, the former Director of Legal Advocacy at DRM, Alyssa Fieo, is quoted on page 62 regarding DRM’s work in connection with the Department of Justice’s Settlement Agreement with Wicomico County Public Schools over its discriminatory discipline practices affecting students of color and students with disabilities.  Ms. Fieo states that DRM was concerned about the number of student arrests, specifically that the arrests were allegedly happening “due to behavior that was related to a disability.”  The report goes on to detail some of the steps Wicomico County Public Schools had to take to remedy discriminatory discipline practices pursuant to the Settlement Agreement.  Check out the report here: https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2019/07-23-Beyond-Suspensions.pdf

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DRM wants to hear from you!

 

DRM’s annual community survey is open.  Please tell us what legal issues you would like us to address next year by taking our survey online now.  Contact our office at 410-727-6352 ext. 0 if you need to access the survey in alternate formats, or to give your responses by phone.  You can also print the survey and mail it to our office by August 23, 2019.   Thank you for your feedback!

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National Disability Voter Registration Week

The REV UP Campaign coordinates National Disability Voter Registration Week (NDVRW) each year on the third week of July to increase the political power of people with disabilities while also engaging candidates and the media to recognize the disability community. REV UP stands for Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!

On Monday, July 15th DRM kicked off National Disability Voter Registration Week by providing a Voter Registration and Rights training and voter registration session for The League for People with Disabilities advocacy group. Many thanks to the staff from the Baltimore City Board of Elections who brought Maryland’s accessible voting technology, the Ballot Marking Devices, “BMDs.” They provided a demonstration on how to use the BMD, offered an opportunity for the advocates to practice using the devices themselves and answered questions. Staff from the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Civil Rights were also in attendance and shared information about upcoming events.

According to a study conducted by Rutgers University, voter turnout surged by 8.5 points in 2018 among citizens with disabilities relative to the 2014 midterm elections, and it is expected to increase during the 2020 elections.

It is important for people with disabilities to be registered voters so they can elect officials who have their best interest at heart, and vote for policies that will improve their quality of life.

“Everyone with disabilities in the United States benefits from the rights and protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)”, said Voting Advocate, Tracy Wright. “We all need to do our best to protect it.”

Visit our website for more resources https://disabilityrightsmd.org/voting/

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