RespectAbility Newsletter with Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi for Thursday, 12 June 2014

RespectAbility Newsletter with Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi for Thursday, 12 June 2014
Friend, 
I've been getting a lot of feedback on my piece, " Why do President Obama's children go to a segregated school?". Sadly, however, not  one major media has yet taken a look at the systematic discrimination that keeps  highly talented children with disabilities from being in America's elite schools.  This harms the non-disabled students too as they are denied access to  understanding that talent comes in many packages! I hope that you will help spread  the word - the harsh bigotry of low expectations (which causes bad realities) must  end! 
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi 
President, RespectAbilityUSA 
P.S. Please take a look at all the latest below and don't forget about  our career opportunities!  
Tennessee could lead way on disability services
Anita Wadhwani
awadhwani@tennessean.com 3:51 A new plan to overhaul the way the state cares for people with intellectual disabilities could make Tennessee first in the nation to specifically gear services toward independent living and employment as the "first and preferred option."
The plan, released Friday afternoon, represents a sharp shift in state priorities for the expenditure of about $860 million each year — a mix of state and federal dollars that has largely gone toward paying for around-the-clock residential care for thousands of people.
Instead, the state would provide more limited and less costly services, such as personal assistance and transportation — largely minus the housing component — while offering vocational training, job coaching and job support to new enrollees. State officials say the plan would allow them to serve a greater number of people in a more cost-effective way.
Disability advocates praised the plan as a strong step toward promoting independence and autonomy for people with intellectual disabilities, defined as an IQ of 70 or less. But the fine print in the plan also raised red flags about who would qualify for the program in the future, and how.
"There are some positives, but it's left as many questions unanswered as it answered," said Donna DeStefano, associate director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition. For instance, DeStefano said, it appears the plan would limit enrollment to those who meet the criteria for, or who are "at risk" for, nursing home placement — continuing to exclude a large number of people who would not meet that stringent criteria, but still need some assistance.
State standards for nursing home placement already have drawn strong criticisms, after state officials in 2012 set new rules to create higher hurdles for families to qualify as a cost-cutting measure. Lawmakers and advocates have complained that those standards have excluded people who truly cannot care for themselves.
The 19-page "concept paper" released by the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on Friday has a long road to go before it becomes reality. State officials have promised to collect feedback from families, advocates and the public in coming weeks. Then they must submit a more detailed plan for approval from the federal Medicaid program, which provides most of the funding for such state programs.
The plan is designed to address what both state officials and advocates have acknowledged is an imbalance in the system, which has historically served people in institutions and residential facilities instead of promoting independence. Partly as a result of the higher costs of residential care and partly as a result of budget cuts, DIDD has not been able to admit new people to the program unless they were in crisis.
That has left elderly caregivers who have raised disabled children all their lives with no assistance, and young adults with disabilities who have had a guaranteed education in the school system with few options after they leave.
The plan also would open Tennessee's program to people with developmental disabilities such as spina bifida, who are currently excluded from most state services.
It would put new enrollees into a managed-care system administered by TennCare, but overseen day-to-day by companies who contract with the state, a shift toward managed care in disability programs that other states already have made.
Currently, most of the services provided through DIDD are through private agencies, some small, that provide housing, nursing care, day programs and personal attendants.
Don Redden, executive director of one such provider, Developmental Services of Dickson County, said he expects challenges ahead.
"There's a lot of changing of expectations," Redden said. "We'll survive and so will the people we serve, but it will be a bumpy ride."
Reach Anita Wadhwani at 615-259-8092.
About the new plan
» Provides more limited services aimed toward independent living while offering job training
» Leaves open concerns about who would qualify for the program in the future.
New Disability Employment Law Offers Path to Work by Dan Carpenter, Oil, Gas, Native Issues, Corporations and Subsistence Multimedia Reporter, dcarpenter@ktuu.com
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New Disability Employment Law Offers Path to Work
ANCHORAGE - Next to family, a job can be one of the most important things in a person's life, but finding  a job isn't always easy -- there can be additional challenges for those with disabilities.
A new law, signed into law Thursday by Gov. Sean Parnell, seeks to support competitive employment for all working-aged Alaskans. It makes Alaska an employment-first state, recognizing that those with disabilities deserve integrated and competitive jobs.
Parnell’s signature means all state agencies and school districts are directed to make the hiring of people with disabilities their primary objective.   
“Every person has purpose and meaning, and a job is one of those paths to establishing that meaning and purpose in our lives,” Parnell said.
The employment-first law doesn't give preference to applicants with disabilities, but it provides opportunity.
“We hope to see a future where employers recognize the value of people with disabilities as workers,” said Jeff Jessee with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.
State agencies must consider not only competitive employment, but work that's integrated with the general workforce.
“It's acceptance, so if you treat people special you make them feel different and you make them feel like they're not normal,” said brain cancer survivor T. Frank Box.
Theresa Keiser took her first attempt at making a latte Thursday at the Arc of Anchorage, where she is receiving services. The group works to assist people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“She is learning work maturity, and she has some pretty definite ideas of what she wants for work,” said Danny Parish, the Arc’s director of supported employment.
“I want to work in a real job in the community making people happy and smiling and what they want,” Keiser said.
Like so many others with a disability, Keiser is motivated to find work, not just for a check but for all of the other benefits.
“I just feel comfortable being around people -- make them smile and make me smile and make me feel better,” Keiser said.
“We're making a statement saying, ‘We now have a law that says employment is first -- over any of the other services, we want employment to be first,’” Parish said.
Like anyone else, Keiser hopes to get a good job -- with a smile that can help sell any cup of coffee.
The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority says 47 percent of Alaskans with disabilities are employed, compared to 80 percent for the general population. Trust officials say that statistic is just one example of why Thursday’s law is needed.
Copyright © 2014, KTUU-TV
States as Model  Employers of People with Disabilities: A Comprehensive Review of Policies,  Practices, and Strategies by Kathy Krepcio and Savannah Barnett
http://askearn.org/docs/StateModel.pdf?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Updating+you+on+the+latest...&utm_content=Read+more
Advancing Economic  Opportunities for Business Owners and Jobseekers with Disabilities: A Review of  State and Municipal Government Contracting Procurement and Tax Incentive Programs  for Disability-Owned Businesses by Kathy Krepcio and Jui Agrawal 

http://askearn.org/docs/StateProcurement.pdf?utm_source=WhatCounts+Publicaster+Edition&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Updating+you+on+the+latest...&utm_content=Read+more

False Stereotypes of People With Disabilities Hold Employers Back by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
Almost twenty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), physical architecture and some educational opportunities thankfully have changed, but negative attitudes and stigmas about people with disabilities have not. Indeed, a major Princeton study shows that while people with disabilities are seen as warm, they are not seen as competent.
Meanwhile, a study published by Cornell Hospitality Quarterly analyzed results from a survey of employers at 320 hospitality companies in the United States. It found that all of the companies share a concern that those with disabilities could not do the work required of their employees. Another top concern was the potential cost of unspecified accommodations they might need to provide for a person with a disability under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is despite the fact that the record shows that most such accommodations are not exceptionally costly. Anecdotally, there is also evidence that employers fear legal action should they terminate an employee with a disability. It is far more difficult to prove discrimination for not being hired in the first place. So, given that that the perception is that people with disabilities aren't competent, and could potentially be costly, why would an employer take the risk of hiring them?
One of the employers who took the "risk" was Randy Lewis, former Vice President of Walgreens and Fortune 50 executive, who led Walgreens' logistics division for sixteen years, as the chain grew from 1,500 to 8,000 stores. Randy introduced an inclusive model of hiring people with disabilities in Walgreens distribution centers that resulted in ten percent of its workforce consisting of people with disabilities. All of whom are held to the same standards as their colleagues without disabilities. The outcome? Study after study turned out to be myth-busters. The employees with disabilities were MORE productive and loyal than their non-disabled peers! And most accommodations? Either free or cheap. But even when the relatively few more expensive accommodations were factored in, the overall costs of accommodations were far outweighed by the low turnover rates and better tenures of the employees with disabilities. Grateful for opportunities, and in many cases thriving on repetitive tasks, they are so loyal to Walgreens that important sums of recruitment costs were saved as the employees continued to stay in their jobs and deliver excellent results. You can learn more about this in Randy's new book or on the Walgreen's website.
Other companies such as Ernst and Young (EY), have also found inclusive hiring to be a winning ticket. Starting with its founder, Arthur Young, EY has always embraced differing abilities. Trained as a lawyer, Arthur was deaf with low vision and he wasn't able to comfortably practice. He turned to finance and the new field of accounting to build his career. His "disability" drove him to innovation and entrepreneurship, which played a pivotal role in the development of EY. Finding and engaging diverse talents has been a key part of EY's ongoing success.
Malcolm Gladwell's new book, David and Goliath, extols the strength of people with disabilities. Because traditional ways of doing things don't always work for people with disabilities, Gladwell demonstrates that they compensate for that in ways that benefit the workforce by developing incredible ways to innovate and succeed.
AMC Theaters, Lowe's, many grocery stores and others are also getting outstanding results by hiring employees with disabilities. So what are other employers waiting for? They are still blinded by negative stereotypes. It's time for people with disabilities to be seen for what they CAN do, and not for what they cannot. What can people with disabilities do? Think about it.
Beautiful music from a deaf man? It happened. Ludwig von Beethoven.
World changing words from someone with dyslexia? It happened. Thomas Jefferson.
A Super bowl champion NFL player who is deaf? It happened. Derrick Coleman.
A Nobel Prize for a scientist who failed in school? It happened. Albert Einstein.
Secrets of the universe being revealed by a man who uses a wheelchair and who can no longer speak? It's happening. Stephen Hawking.
It's time to change the narrative of how we see people with disabilities so employers can see the ABILITIES they have and the positive impact that can have on their business's bottom line. It's amazing that such small change can have such a big impact. It can - if it is done in a focused and strategic way. Employing people with disabilities may take a little more forethought and planning. The U.S. government recently changed their expectations of federal contractors who now must become at least partially inclusive of hiring people with disabilities. There are many groups that can help in the process including www.USBLN.org, www.ProjectSearch.org, www.nod.org and others.
As the Baby Boomers continue to age, a powerful answer to labor and talent shortages already exists in our own back yards - our own family members and neighbors with disabilities who want to work.
Recognize the disability. Imagine the possibility. Respect the ability.
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Follow Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Respect_Ability
Comic Book Adds Character With Disability by Michelle Diament
In an effort to better reflect modern life, comic book mainstay Archie and his pals are set to get their first-ever friend with a disability, the series’ creators say.
The long-running 
The long-running “Archie” comic book series will introduce a new character named Harper, who has a disability, later this month. (Archie Comics)
Archie Comics said that a new character named Harper will join Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and Reggie in the fictional town of Riverdale beginning later this month.
A cousin to series regular and posh socialite Veronica Lodge, Harper is described as a “spunky fashionista” with a “dynamic personality.” Despite being depicted in a wheelchair, she does not let her disability define her, those behind the comic said in announcing the addition.
“Harper is the latest in a long line of characters we’ve introduced to make Riverdale feel like a city in today’s world,” said Jon Goldwater, co-CEO and publisher of Archie Comics. “Harper is, first and foremost, a funny, fashionable and witty teenager. The fact that she’s disabled is only one part of her story, and we’re excited to welcome her to Riverdale and Archie Comics.”
The idea to add a character with a disability to the venerable comic book series, which originated in the 1940s, was prompted by a conversation between writer and artist Dan Parent and Jewel Kats, an Archie fan who has a disability, officials said.
Harper’s first appearance will be in “Archie” No. 656, which will be available June 18.
"Three Mennonnite girls in an empty field, one bare-chested, one bewildered and one on the run"
Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things: Disability in Game of Thrones
DAN HARVEY AND DREW NELLES
Beyond the blood and dragons and boiled leather, Game of Thrones (and the novels on which it’s based) may just contain the most varied, often celebratory depictions of characters with disabilities in all of pop culture.
Spoilers below for season four of Game of Thrones.
In a recent episode of Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister, played by the actor Peter Dinklage, is put on trial for the murder of his nephew, King Joffrey. He didn’t do it, but that’s beside the point. Tyrion has dwarfism, and he has long been dismissed as the “imp” of the proud, ruthless, quasi-Aryan Lannister clan; his father, Tywin, has always hated him for the shame he brought the family. As the trial comes to a climax, and Tyrion’s patience grows thin, he yells that he wants to confess. He is guilty—but not of murder. “I’m guilty of being a dwarf,” he says, his mouth a grim frown, his faced deeply lined. “I’ve been on trial for that my entire life.”
Its fourth season concluding this Sunday, HBO’s Game of Thrones—based on George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels—is both a ratings juggernaut and a pop-cultural touchstone. Most of the attention has focused on the show’s violence (important characters are brutally offed without warning), its ambivalent representation of women (there are plenty of strong female leads, but misogyny abounds, and a recent episode included a controversial rape scene), and its frequent forays into overt racism (people of colour are mostly depicted as noble savages in need of a white saviour).
One element of Game of Thrones that has mostly slipped under the radar, however, is its surprising inclusion of characters with disabilities. Dinklage, the show’s unofficial star, has received plenty of praise for his nuanced portrayal of Tyrion—a complex anti-hero, with a strong moral compass and a weakness for Bacchanalian pleasures, who happens to be disabled. But there are others. In the first season, Bran Stark injures his spinal cord after he is pushed from a tower, which results in permanent neurological damage and renders him unable to walk. In the third season, Jaime Lannister, a skilled swordsman and Tyrion’s brother, has his right hand amputated by enemy forces. Among the more minor characters, Aemon Targaryen, a maester of the Night’s Watch, is visually impaired, and Hodor, Bran’s aide, is intellectually disabled.
Prior to losing his hand, Jaime was cold, brutal, and in bed (literally) with his cruel twin sister Cersei. But his imprisonment and amputation tilted our sympathies in his favour; it’s no accident that the chilling moment in season three when his hand is chopped off—he falls briefly silent before screaming in pain—is immediately preceded by his successful attempt to save Brienne from a gang-rape.
Game of Thrones almost certainly has the most disabled characters of any television drama today—perhaps ever. Last year, George R.R. Martin even won accolades from a group called the Media Access Awards for his inclusion of characters with disabilities. “It is a fantastic credit to your work that Game of Thrones is not commonly thought of as a show that ‘deals with’ disability—it is something even better: a show that embraces the reality that no one is easily definable,” one screenwriter told Martin.
That lack of easy definition is the key to how the show works disability into its narrative arc. Game of Thrones is, fundamentally, a show about power: who has it, who doesn’t, the fickleness and impermanence of its favour. Although the machinations of enemy families—the Lannisters, the Starks, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens—make up the bulk of the narrative, the show’s oppressed underclass also plays the titular game. It’s within this class that the real heart of the show beats. With much of the Stark clan now dead, Game of Thrones has fewer unambiguous heroes; instead, it indicates whom we should be rooting for by turning its protagonists into underdogs and misfits. Jon Snow is a bastard exiled to the loneliness of the Wall; Brienne of Tarth is mocked for her size and androgynous appearance; even the Hound, formerly depicted as a brutal thug, has grown more complex, now that we know the abusive roots of his scarred face and fear of fire.
Nowhere is this device more obvious than in the cases of Tyrion and Jaime Lannister. In a show full of villains, the Lannisters are almost comically malevolent; among fans, Joffrey’s recent death brought about a collective sigh of relief not just because he was so loathsome, but because he felt like a caricature of unredeemable evil. As the show has developed, though, Tyrion and Jaime have evolved into more sympathetic characters—and their disabilities have been crucial indicators of their underdog status. Tyrion, always a fan favourite, has slowly become even more likable: his hatred of Joffrey, his love for Shae, his deference to Sansa Stark during their unwanted marriage, all culminating in that climactic trial scene, in which he lays bare the discrimination he has faced.
In Jaime’s case, the transition has been more recent. Prior to losing his hand, Jaime was cold, brutal, and in bed (literally) with his cruel twin sister Cersei. But his imprisonment and amputation tilted our sympathies in his favour; it’s no accident that the chilling moment in season three when his hand is chopped off—he falls briefly silent before screaming in pain—is immediately preceded by his successful attempt to save Brienne from a gang-rape. Jaime’s unexpected friendship with Brienne, his former captor and enemy, serves the same narrative function as his amputation: we are meant to understand that he is a changed man. (Jaime’s rape of Cersei is an inexplicable aberration—one that, notably, doesn’t appear in the books. It seems to have been added purely for shock value; or, according to the director’s confusing post-hoc explanation, it happened by accident, somehow.)
Despite the show’s apparent sensitivity to people with disabilities, their depiction is far from perfect. For one, Peter Dinklage and Peter Vaughan are the only actors who actually have disabilities. This isn’t surprising—non-disabled actors have long portrayed disabled characters—but that’s no excuse. There are plenty of worthy, talented actors with disabilities, but they’re still marginalized in favour of their non-disabled counterparts.
There is one scene that, early in the first season, makes explicit Game of Thrones’ affection for the underdog. In the fourth episode, Tyrion travels to Winterfell—Bran Stark’s home—on his way back from the Wall. Hodor retrieves Bran from his bedroom and carries him to meet Tyrion, who, in a gesture loaded with meaning, asks the massive Hodor to kneel so that he can address the boy. Tyrion then presents Bran with a gift: an accessible horse-riding saddle. When another character reminds Tyrion that Bran has “lost the use of his legs,” Tyrion immediately replies, “What of it? With the right horse and saddle, even a cripple can ride.” Later, Bran’s brother asks Tyrion why he wants to help the child, since the Starks and the Lannisters are rivals. “I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards, and broken things,” Tyrion says. It’s a touching moment of cross-ability solidarity—and it could be the show’s motto.
Still, despite the show’s apparent sensitivity to people with disabilities, their depiction is far from perfect. For one, Peter Dinklage and Peter Vaughan, who plays Aemon Targaryen, are the only actors who actually have disabilities. This isn’t surprising—non-disabled actors have long portrayed disabled characters—but that’s no excuse. There are plenty of worthy, talented actors with disabilities, but they’re still marginalized in favour of their non-disabled counterparts. Films such as Dallas Buyers Club and music videos such as Arcade Fire’s “We Exist” have triggered recent controversies over the use of cisgender actors to play transgender characters; we should be asking similar questions about the use of non-disabled actors to play disabled characters.
Game of Thrones is also not immune to reductive, stereotypical portrayals of disability. Hodor’s intellectual disability is played for laughs; most often, he serves as comic relief, and his habit of uttering his own name has even spawned a rather mean-spirited meme. As for Bran, after his spinal-cord injury he begins to have prophetic dreams and develops the ability to enter the minds of animals. This is known as the “disability superpower” trope—that is, a character having some compensatory, mystical superpower as a result of his disability, not unlike the “magical negro” trope of films like The Green Mile. All too often, in comic books, science fiction, and fantasy, characters with disabilities only appear if they fulfill this expectation: Professor Xavier of X-Men, who uses a wheelchair, and Daredevil, who is blind, are two of the best-known examples. Being disabled isn’t enough, apparently; the character needs to be somehow otherworldly to be interesting.
This brings us to a larger problem. It’s possible that there are so many characters with disabilities in Game of Thrones because it’s a way for the show, and the books before it, to walk a fine line between fantasy and reality. Although Game of Thrones is obviously a fantasy show, its magical elements are relatively subtle by the standards of the form—The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and so on. As is often noted, Game of Thrones is essentially a big-budget soap opera; it’s mostly humans killing and fucking and backstabbing each other, with only the occasional intrusion of a dragon or a White Walker. Featuring characters like Tyrion—a real person with dwarfism, but not a Lord of the Rings-style “dwarf”—adds a surreal element to the show without pushing it into full-blown Tolkien territory. By that light, the inclusion of characters with disabilities in Game of Thrones is indeed exploitative. They’re there as magical Others, not unlike the little people who periodically show up in music videos and Twin Peaks dream sequences.
Does this mean that we should stop watching Game of Thrones? Not at all. One of the most irritating aspects of this so-called Golden Age of television is the extremity of the reactions it provokes: Mad Men is either sexist tripe or the purest expression of narrative television; Girls is either the voice of a generation or a stand-in for everything that’s wrong with millennials. Rarely is the possibility acknowledged that these shows are many things at once. Game of Thrones’ depiction of people with disabilities is imperfect, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. If nothing else, the fact that we have an actor like Peter Dinklage playing a character like Tyrion Lannister—a complicated, witty, flawed, highly sexual person, disabled but not defined by it—is cause for celebration. Elsewhere in the show, there is much room for improvement, but that’s fine. There’s still time. Winter is still coming.
Dan Harvey will start a PhD on the depiction of disability in Game of Thrones next year. Drew Nelles is a senior editor at The Walrus Magazine in Toronto.
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Delaware's Gov. Markell urges 'focus on the ability rather than on the disability' in hiring by Jennifer Lynn
Next month will mark two years since Delaware Governor Jack Markell introduced his landmark initiative, "A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabilities," as chairman of the National Governors Association.
The report found 20 percent of Americans have a disability, but just 20 percent of them were employed or looking for work.
"We have so many people in Delaware and across the country who may have some kind of disability and, as a result, are not given a shot at employment," Markell said. "But we know that when we focus on the ability rather than on the disability, they can make a big contribution to their employer."
Some business owners, however, are skeptical of the idea that hiring people with disabilities will improve rather than damage their bottom line.
Not so, says Markell. He recently sat in on an event where Walgreen Co. president and CEO Gregory Wasson told a group of business leaders that hiring people with disabilities helped his company make money.
"The people that [Wasson] has employed show up, they're grateful to have the job, there's less absenteeism, less turnover," said Markell.
In response to Markell's efforts, programs to encourage the hiring of those with disabilities are ongoing in states including Wisconsin, Florida, California and, of course, Delaware.
So what is a success story to Gov. Markell?

"[People with disabilities] being given the shot to improve themselves and, as a result, when they wake up in the morning they have a purpose, they have a place to go, they're making a contribution where otherwise they would not have that opportunity," he said.
Why do President Obama’s children go to a segregated school? by Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
Recently, marking the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, President Obama called the Supreme Court ruling the “first major step in dismantling the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine that justified Jim Crow.”
“We recommit ourselves to the long struggle to stamp out bigotry and racism in all their forms,” he said in a statement. “We reaffirm our belief that all children deserve an education worthy of their promise.”
In Topeka, Kan., to commemorate the landmark decision, first lady Michelle Obama said, “Every day, you have the power to choose our better history — by opening your hearts and minds, by speaking up for what you know is right, by sharing the lessons of Brown versus Board of Education.”
Yet President and Mrs. Obama (like the Clintons before them) send their own children to Sidwell Friends School, a school that while not segregated by race is nonetheless segregated. 
According to Sidwell’s head of school, Tom Farquhar, not one of that school’s more than 1,100 students has a physical disability. They also have not done any recruitment of qualified students with disabilities to remedy that injustice. 
“It’s an environment that is rather unforgiving around issues of performance,” he explained, “and we have to think about that when we are enrolling students...Does this child have the robustness and resilience to be in this environment, and not that they are unable to fully participate or hold their head high?”
Ah, the pure bigotry of low expectations. Almost 25 years after the bipartisan passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), architecture has changed, but attitudes have not. Doesn’t Farquhar know that Ludwig von Beethoven made beautiful music while deaf? Or that Thomas Jefferson was dyslexic? Or that Albert Einstein had disabilities? Is he aware that Stephen Hawking is still unlocking secrets of the universe while using mobility and communications devices? Or that Ernst & Young, SAC, numerous Internet companies and Walgreens actively hire people with disabilities because doing so is a great business practice that yields excellent results? Do members of Congress and the Senate know that many of their own children also still go to segregated schools?
Sidwell is one of the nation’s best schools, and many of its graduates will become top policymakers, CEOs and leaders in other fields. The richer and more diverse their school experiences are, the deeper the background they will draw on as leaders. And numerous scientific studies show that inclusion of children with disabilities can be of great benefit to both those students and the general population. Yet, without a single school peer with a disability, how will Sasha and Malia Obama and their classmates learn about people with disabilities? Only as pity and charity cases?
Farquhar is leaving Sidwell and will soon open a private school in Dubai. He doubts that his replacement will even look at changes in his first year. Sidwell’s director of admissions, Josh Wolman, who is leaving to head a school in Aspen, Colo., openly discouraged parents of bright kids with disabilities from applying to Sidwell, asking if they thought of applying instead to the Washington area’s segregated schools for “kids with differences.”
But this is hardly just about Sidwell.  It’s a dirty secret that more than 80 Washington area private schools do not actively welcome or serve children who have anything but the most minor disabilities. While the schools’ websites generally tout robust diversity policies that include children of different races, religions and national origins, they skip the word disability and the population that now comprises 18.6 percent of America. While not every child (with or without a disability) can handle the rigors of Sidwell Friends School, there are plenty of children with physical differences who are fully capable to be in Sidwell’s community of 1,100 talented children.
On the flip side, more than 30 local private schools exclusively serve children with disabilities — its own form of segregation.
Negative attitudes toward people with disabilities are major barriers to competitive and integrated employment; 70 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities are not in the workforce (compared with 28 percent of those without disabilities). Poverty affects a disproportionate number of people with disabilities — approximately 28.6 percent — and reduced access to adequate health care and integration expands the risk of acquiring another disability, and even fewer employment prospects.
Trapped by good intentions and low expectations, people with disabilities often have the most need but the least access.
Too many Americans, like Sidwell’s head of school and others, believe that people with disabilities are not competent, having never heard the expression “twice exceptional” — a term used for people who are both highly gifted and also have a disability. If schools like Sidwell would actively welcome highly qualified students and faculty members with disabilities into their community, we would take a big step toward addressing this injustice. The time for real equal rights and inclusion is now.
Mizrahi is president of RespectAbilityUSA, a nonprofit organization working to empower people with disabilities to achieve the American dream. She is an alumnus of Carolina Friends School.
Elite Private Schools and Discrimination Against Children with Disabilities
As you know, RespectAbility works to empower people with disabilities to achieve the American dream. We have learned that a barrier to civil rights is that elite private schools – places where children of current leaders and influential people go to train to be leaders themselves – do not frequently welcome children with disabilities. We took at look at more than 90 elite schools that are considered “Ivy League Feeder Schools.” We know that their graduates go on to Harvard, Yale and other top schools – and then to policy and corporate leadership positions. 
In our study we looked at each of the elite school’s websites and found that most of them had diversity policies that were big on race, religion, national origin and in many cases sexual orientation. What was missing? Qualified applicants with disabilities – who in most cases were left off the list. It’s as if we don’t exist or are sub-human. 
Mind you, we know that reading a website is never enough to get to know a school. Thus, we sent a certified letter to the heads of each of these schools to introduce these issues and ask them to be open to inclusion and equality. Then we followed that up with another letter and as many as three calls each. Many of the schools are still ducking us. However, to their credit, some schools have been amazing. Thus, I’d like to congratulate the following schools for either already serving children with disabilities or committing to do more to welcome, serve, employ and respect qualified people with disabilities.  Thanks to: 
www.Branson.org
www.Pilgry.org
www.Bullis.org
www.Horacemann.org
www.CESJDS.org
www.Collegiateschool.org
Sadly, those were the only schools out of more than 90 who reached back or put inclusion front and center in their materials. In our letters to the schools we explained that many of their graduates will become top policymakers, CEOs, and leaders in other fields.  The thinking of these future leaders will be framed in part by the education they receive and the relationships they form at their school.  The richer and more diverse these experiences are, the deeper background they will draw on as leaders. Thus, we want to be sure that their students learn about people with disabilities and that they have peer-to-peer relationships with people with disabilities.
We also explained to the schools that in 2015 we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The ADA is the bedrock civil rights law for people with disabilities.  We told them that we hope that their school will join in some of the celebrations that will be taking place during the year and that they will include disability studies in their educational program during this anniversary year and in the years that follow. To give them a sense of what is possible, we prepared a set of resources, which are available on our website at http://respectabilityusa.org/for-educators.
We expanded to point out that a quarter of a century after the passage of the ADA, we know that the student body and faculty at many top schools include few, if any, people with disabilities. We appreciate that NAIS has some resources and recommend they be in touch with them. We also encouraged them to immediately create a strategic plan for inclusion of students and staff with disabilities and act on it so that their future classes will have several highly qualified applicants with disabilities and that they will be prepared to welcome them fully. 
OUR ASK TO ELITE PRIVATE SCHOOLS: RECRUIT THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST CHILDREN AND FACULTY WITH DISABILITIES.  
Let us be clear, we are not suggesting that schools change their high academic standards.  Rather, we are encouraging them to affirmatively recruit, admit, and welcome students with disabilities who meet those standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, as well as qualified faculty and other staff.  To help them develop this plan, we included a list of questions their school community can ask to measure their level of access and inclusion. Please see that list below.
We explained something that I think you know — despite the ADA, fully 70% of working age Americans with disabilities are not in the workforce (compared to 28% of those without disabilities). One of the reasons for that fact is that so many Americans believe that people with disabilities are not competent. Frankly, we could take a big step in addressing this injustice if outstanding schools like these elite schools affirmatively welcome people with disabilities into their communities. We believe that the time for inclusion is now.
This past year there was rightfully a lot of attention on race relations because of the 50th MLK anniversary. Next year, there will be attention on disability issues because of the 25th anniversary of the ADA.  We hope that all of us will take advantage of this important milestone to begin to celebrate inclusion and to establish ongoing positive practices that will foster inclusion of people with disabilities for years to come. 
We look forward to celebrating and working with all who want to make positive change. 
Sincerely,
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
President, RespectAbilityUSA
Disability Access and Inclusion Questions to Ask About Your Own School
Inclusion Policies
Has your school published a policy that includes a commitment not to discriminate on the basis of disability? 
Does your school have policies that support meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities at all levels, including on your board of directors?
Does your school have a disability advisory committee/inclusion committee?
Admissions Process
Do you encourage students with disabilities to apply to your school?
In your written application process, do you ask whether applicants are disabled?
(the answer to this question should be ‘no’)
In your application process, do you evaluate students with disabilities based on their individual qualifications without making assumptions related to their disabilities?
Current Students
Do you have at least one student who identifies as having a disability?
Reasonable Accommodations
Do you have a process through which students can request and receive reasonable accommodations for, e.g., 
• Admissions Process
• Class Work
• Testing
• Physical access
• Technology access
• Medical needs
• Discipline
• Changing clothes for physical education
• Graduation Requirements
Do you allow students/faculty to be accompanied by personal care attendants?
Do you have a nurse or medication technician on staff?
Do you have a psychologist or social work on staff?
Physical Access
Can someone using a wheelchair or other mobility device navigate through all of your facilities, e.g.,
• Doorways
• Hallways
• Bathrooms
• All floors of building(s)
• Cafeteria
• Gymnasium
• Other sports and cultural facilities
Technology Access
Have you taken steps to ensure that your website is accessible to people with disabilities?
Diversity Programs
Do you include disability as an aspect of diversity in your programming aimed at creating an inclusive educational environment?
Curriculum
Is the disability rights movement studied as part of your social studies curriculum?
Are books by and/or about people with disabilities included in your English curriculum?
Bullying
Do you have programs to prevent bullying of all students?
Do your anti-bullying programs include one or more elements designed to prevent bullying of students with disabilities?
Faculty and Staff
Does you EEO policy include a commitment not to discriminate on the basis of disability?
Does your school employ and/or offer internships to individuals who have disabilities?  Do they receive the same compensation and benefits as all other employees in like positions?
Faculty Training
Has everyone on your faculty and staff received training on disability etiquette/acceptance?
"Jerusalem festival for disabled artists begins" by DANIEL K. EISENBUD
For the eight year, the Jerusalem Municipality will hold an annual arts festival featuring works and performances by disabled artists from across the country.
From Thursday through June 20, the festival will display the creations of over 350 artists and showcase 60 dance, musical, and acting performances throughout the capital. 
According to the municipality, the event was initiated to recognize, empower and include artists with special needs. The events will take place at the Jerusalem Theater, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem Cinematheque, and various other locales. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat praised the festival as an expression of shared values and commitment to mutual respect.
“We will continue to encourage cooperation and to find additional ways to promote the special needs population,” said Barkat. “It is our duty and our responsibility as citizens – and as the festival proves, ‘the sky is indeed the limit.’” 
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Contact Us
RespectAbilityUSA
4340 East West Highway, Suite 350
Bethesda,MD 20814
240.744.0546 office
202.365.0787 Direct to CEO

Jenniferm@RespectAbilityUSA.org
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