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DRM Celebrates the 31st Anniversary of the ADA

DRM Celebrates the 31st Anniversary of the ADA

Red and blue text on a white background that reads "ADA 31, Americans with Disabilities Act. Celebrate the ADA! July 26, 2021." The years 1990-2021 are in a circle of red stars.

On the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) salutes its community, partners, and friends who were instrumental in forging and implementing this landmark legislation for people with disabilities. DRM is singularly proud of its accomplishments over the past year to actualize the principles of the ADA in Maryland, which include:

  • Prevented proposed budget cuts that would have eliminated 25% of existing bus routes, jeopardizing paratransit services to critical destinations including dialysis centers, mental health programs, occupational and physical therapy providers for over 30,000 paratransit riders, in collaboration with Consumers for Accessible Ride Services (CARS) and other advocates.
  • Achieved changes in subsidized housing operations of a large public housing agency to fund the creation of accessible, affordable rental housing.
  • Brought legal action against a major municipal jurisdiction in Maryland to obtain compliance for substantial ADA violations in maintaining curb ramps and sidewalks, with co-counsel, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC), Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho (GBDH).
  • Filed complaint with the Maryland Department of Education (MSDE), which found the rights of students had been violated by a Maryland school district, and ordered individual, school-wide, and system-wide relief to remedy violations, in partnership with the Public Justice Center (PJC) and the Office of the Public Defender (OPD).
  • Hosted 23 Facebook Live events for parents of students with disabilities about their special education rights and protections during virtual learning due to the COVID pandemic.
  • Led a cross-disability network of advocates whose efforts resulted in the state of Maryland prioritizing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and direct support professionals in the first phases of COVID vaccination distribution.
  • Advocated successfully for the Maryland Departments of Health (MDH) and Department of Disabilities (MDOD) to issue new guidance stating patients with disabilities needing in-person support, including those being treated for COVID, have the right to access support persons, and that support persons “are permitted to access restrooms, food, and drink while in the health care facility,” as part of a coalition of disability organizations.
  • Compelled psychiatric hospitals to develop technology enabling DRM to provide “Know Your Rights” presentations remotely during the COVID pandemic.
  • Investigated a large county’s public housing policies that only permitted individuals needing overnight care to have live-in aides, finding this policy conflicted with federal fair housing laws and other civil rights statutes for people with disabilities. As result, the county agreed to eliminate this overly-restrictive requirement.

Together, in partnership with you, DRM is committed to creating a world in which people with disabilities are fully included in the workplace, neighborhoods and all aspects of community life.

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Ivis

When Ivis was discharged from a nursing home, she soon realized family members would not be able to provide support for her basic needs such as bathing and getting dressed. Ivis came to DRM seeking assistance in obtaining in-home services. Within three months of DRM’s intervention, she was able to receive services through Medicaid’s waiver program. Ivis says “If I wasn’t on waiver program, I’d probably still be in a nursing home.”

DRM’s advocacy inspired Ivis to join DRM’s group of self-advocates, the Sunshine Folk; individuals all with lived experience in a nursing home who now live in the community, and educate current nursing home residents on their Medicaid waiver options. The Sunshine Folk follow each individual through the entire discharge process into the community. Ivis expresses her deep fulfillment in this work stating “when you see someone walkthrough their process and they end up back in the community…hands down, there’s nothing like it. It’s awesome!”

Watch Ivis’ story on Youtube:

 

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Darius

Darius was facing expulsion from his high school for a minor behavioral incident and was transferred to eLearning, where he received all of his instruction at home, in isolation, through a computer. DRM requested and represented Darius in a meeting at his school where for the first time, he was recognized as having a disability. Because of DRM’s representation, Darius was re-admitted and qualified to receive an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which greatly improved his academic performance. Darius graduated last year and has applied to several colleges. Darius stated: “A lot of people don’t want to accept the fact that they have a disability or obstacle, but once you realize and accept that you do, you can get help and get over the obstacle.”

Watch Darius’ story on YouTube:

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MD General Assembly Passes Bill to Eliminate Suspension for MD’s Youngest Students

With the passage of HB425/SB651 suspensions and expulsions for Pre-K through second grade students will be limited except in extreme circumstances. Schools must strengthen and implement currently used student support strategies such as creating behavioral intervention plans which are designed to foster peer-to-peer, student-teacher, and teacher-parent relationships. In addition, the Maryland General Assembly passed HB1287 which creates a Commission on the School-to-Prison Pipeline to study the link between discipline and student arrests, and the use of restorative practices.

View the Press Release

According to the Maryland State Department of Education, 2,363 students in Pre-K through second grade were suspended during the 2015-16 school year. Of those, 82 were in Pre-K. DRM has been working on legislation to eliminate the practice of suspension for young students. HB425/SB 651 would require schools to utilize positive interventions and supports and authorizes restorative practices. Advocates hope that this will motivate educators to deal with the reasons children act out, instead of simply removing students from school. DRM has been featured in media reports regarding this bill:

“Maryland bill limits school suspensions for its youngest students” – WUSA 9

“Bill curbing suspensions, expulsions of youngest Maryland students nears final approval” – The Baltimore Sun

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Settlement Reached on MTA Mobility Paratransit System

After two years of data collection, litigation, and negotiation, Disability Rights Maryland (DRM), AARP Foundation Litigation (AFL) and the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) have signed a settlement agreement to address issues with the MTA Mobility paratransit system. The Agreement was submitted to federal court for approval on January 23, 2017. MTA Mobility is a public transit service for persons with disabilities who cannot use the ‘fixed-route’ system, which includes busses, trains, and other forms of public transit.
DRM attorney Katheryn Anderson stated, “This Agreement resolves numerous issues that limit access to MTA’s Mobility service, builds in a system for on-going communications between riders and MTA officials, and provides for a continued improvement process over the next three years.”

Key components of the Settlement Agreement include:

  • Expert consultants on telephone and eligibility issues will have access to MTA mobility’s program and data and will issue recommendations for improvement. Plaintiffs can negotiate implementation of recommendations and involve mediation or the court if Plaintiffs allege that failure to implement a recommendation means the system violates their federal rights;
  • MTA Mobility will implement a “Quality Assurance Process” for eligibility decisions and review all denials and temporary eligibility decisions;
  • Applications will include information on presumptive eligibility, which requires that new applicants who do not receive an eligibility decision within 21 days of their eligibility appointment be given access to the service until a final decision is made;
  • Applicants denied eligibility may submit additional information for a re-determination if done in a timely manner’
  • MTA will process applications within ten days of request from applicants, with limited exceptions;
  • MTA will provide assessments on the same day that applicants are called to MTA offices for an eligibility interview;
  • Appeal forms and notices were altered to conform to due process protections;
  • Mobility applicants may use non-lawyer advocates for assistance during appeals.

MTA’s new administration was interested in fixing problems, began working with Plaintiffs immediately, and agreed to implement changes prior to the Agreement being submitted to the Court. During settlement negotiations, MTA initiated staff changes and developed new training and job performance expectations.

DRM and the grassroots rider organization Consumers for Accessible Ride Services (CARS) began receiving an influx of complaints around 2013 regarding the MTA Mobility’s egregiously long telephone hold times and an eligibility process resulting in denials of service to individuals requiring transit service to travel to doctor appointments, school, work, pharmacies, grocery stores, and religious or social functions. DRM and AFL attorneys worked with CARS to gather more information on the experiences of riders, and filed a class action suit against MTA in 2015.

“This Settlement will open doors to people with disabilities to help ensure their transportation needs are met. This will help us get better access to jobs, education and doctors and improve quality of life in the community,” said Plaintiff Floyd Hartley, a Mobility rider of 17 years who joined the lawsuit after logging 11 hours of hold time during 32 calls made to Mobility’s reservation and late lines in 2014.

“We are grateful for the commitment of the Plaintiffs, CARS members and other riders who continue to inform us and advocate for improvements to Mobility. These individuals work tirelessly, at no gain to themselves, to ensure equality for others. The Plaintiffs spent countless hours, traveled in all kinds of weather, sometimes coming directly from treatments, to engage in long case negotiations. We are incredibly proud to represent these remarkable individuals.” said DRM’s Director of Litigation, Lauren Young.

MTA Settlement Press Release

Complaint

MTA Settlement Agreement

Phillip’s Story – YouTube

Media Coverage

The Daily Record

The Baltimore Sun

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