The U.S. Department of Labor’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be hard to understand, especially for caregivers of people with disabilities.
A new web page with a variety of resources launched by the department hopefully will help. The guide was produced as part of the 30th anniversary of the passage of the act. It includes:
FMLA provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave. It applies to all public agencies, all public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees.
Photo: U.S. Department of Labor/Wikimedia Commons
The Times Union continues its excellent coverage on the use of force on schoolchildren with its latest article, which reports that the New York State Education Department is considering new rules to help combat the use of restraint and seclusion.
Its reporting noted that children with disabilities “are frequently confined alone in closet-like ‘time out rooms,’ sometimes multiple times a day or for hours at a time.”
The use of restraint and seclusion as well as corporal punishment in New York schools have been in the news of late, in part thanks to several recent articles: A national Hearst Newspapers investigation on the use of restraint and seclusion; a Times Union investigation finding some 1,600 substantiated cases (and 18,000 complaints) of corporal punishment in New York public schools; and a New York Times article showing corporal punishment is used in some of the private Hasidic-run schools located throughout Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley.
Earlier this month, state lawmakers introduced a series of bills that aim to make it clear that corporal punishment is illegal in all schools in the state. Additionally, a new bill, “Keeping All New York Students Safe Act,” has been introduced by New York State Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages.
President Biden released his spending plan on March 9 for FY 2024 with $90 billion allocated for the U.S. Department of Education — a 13.6% or $10.8 billion increase over current budget allocations, reports K12dive.com.
In addition, the budget proposal apportions $150 billion over the next decade to Medicaid and community-based services.
“The plan’s two largest spending categories for education are for high-poverty schools, with $20.5 billion for Title I, and for pre-K-12 special education services, at $16.8 billion,” the website writes.
Below is the pertinent special ed excerpt:
“Increases Support for Children with Disabilities. Every child with a disability should have access to the high-quality early intervention, special education services, and personnel needed to thrive in school and graduate ready for college or a career. The Budget invests $16.8 billion in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants to support special education and related services for more than 7 million students with disabilities in grades Pre-K through 12, an increase of $2.1 billion above the 2023 enacted level.
The Budget also invests $932 million in IDEA Part C grants, an increase of $392 million above the 2023 enacted level, which support early intervention services for infants and families with disabilities that are critical to supporting children’s developmental and academic outcomes.
The increased funding would support States in implementing important reforms to expand enrollment of underserved children, including children of color, children from low-income families, and children living in rural areas. The increase includes $200 million to expand and streamline enrollment of children at risk of developing disabilities, such as children born with very low-birth weight or who have been exposed to environmental toxins, which would help mitigate the need for more extensive services later in childhood and further expand access to the program for underserved children.
To address persistent special educator shortages States are facing, the Budget also invests $304 million to train and retain special education teachers, related service providers, and early intervention personnel. In addition, the Budget invests $20 million to ensure military-connected children with disabilities and other highly mobile children with disabilities maintain services when they change school districts.”
If you’re in the Albany area on March 23, you might want to check out this free “first look” at a new documentary, The Path Forward: Remembering Willowbrook.
Produced by the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council in partnership with OGS Media Services, the film highlights lessons learned from the school and its closing, the resulting changes, and Willowbrook’s legacy. A panel discussion, moderated by NEWS10 ABC Anchor Christina Arangio, will follow.
Staten Island’s Willowbrook State School, the largest institution in the world for people with disabilities, was open from 1930 until 1983 — more than 10 years after Geraldo Rivera’s infamous expose in 1972 brought to light the school’s horrifying conditions.
A lawsuit was filed in February of 1972 in response to Rivera’s expose. In 1975, “the school committed to making the proper improvements to keep it open. The school failed to make those improvements,” and was finally closed in 1983.
Note: The program contains images that may be disturbing for some viewers, as well as archive material with outdated language referring to people with developmental disabilities; usage is solely for historical context.
Date: March 23, 2023
Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: The Egg South Mall Arterial Albany, N.Y. 12203
Register here for tickets.
Photo: New York Public Library/Picryl
Judith Heumann, the astoundingly inspiring, internationally recognized disability rights activist, died March 5 at the age of 75.
Heumann was instrumental in the passage of several major bills, including the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensures children with disabilities receive a free appropriate education.
“As Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services during the Clinton Administration, Judy helped ensure that students with disabilities not only had the right to physically attend public school but that such students had the right to learn the same curriculum as their non-disabled peers,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “Her leadership is realized in the nearly 20 percentage point jump from 2000 to 2023 in the number of students with disabilities who graduate with a standard high school diploma.”
Born in Brooklyn, Heumann contracted polio as a child in 1949, and used a wheelchair for her mobility, writes the ACLU. “She was denied the right to attend school because she was considered a ‘fire hazard’ at the age of five.”
The AP has a great rundown of some of her many accomplishments, including:
Below are tweets commemorating Heumann’s life and work, and which include links to illuminating videos and podcasts.
Judy Heumann dedicated her life to the fight for civil rights—starting as a young organizer at Camp Jened and later helping lead the disability rights movement. Michelle and I were fortunate to work with Judy over the years, and are thinking of her family and friends. pic.twitter.com/ODXtMMWfnV
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 5, 2023
Remembering Judith Heumann ❤️ https://t.co/cSJPPRXe4V
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 5, 2023
The NYU community mourns the death of Judith Heumann, human and disabled rights activist, recipient of an honorary doctorate from NYU in 2022, and admired commencement speaker for the classes of 2020 and 2021. She set an example for us all, and she will be missed. pic.twitter.com/dTdyxACGOt
— New York University (@nyuniversity) March 5, 2023
Judith Heumann is now a disabled ancestor ✨
Here’s an interview w/ Judy for my podcast on mentorship https://t.co/yBD8PQYuXn
And Judy interviewed me for her podcast The Heumann Perspective https://t.co/iomznFzVeN#DisabilityTwitter #CripTheVote #DisabilityRights https://t.co/14AggwZjd4
— Alice Wong 王美華 (@SFdirewolf) March 4, 2023
The disability rights activist Judith Heumann has died. https://t.co/IgRl0VCSRt
“One of the most profound outcomes of the passage of the A.D.A. has been the gain of dignity and self-worth for disabled persons,” she and @wodatch_john wrote in 2020. https://t.co/aQ3GBCGqYB
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) March 5, 2023
So sorry to the family, loved ones and Disability community now learning and experiencing the loss of @judithheumann.
To learn more about her legacy: https://t.co/4fBmSl4PBv pic.twitter.com/vAyFnowH5K
— Imani Barbarin, MAGC | Crutches&Spice ♿️ (@Imani_Barbarin) March 5, 2023
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
A seven-session virtual workshop, Positive Solutions for Families, will give parents and family caregivers positive and effective strategies to promote children’s social and emotional development and address the challenging behavior of children ages 2-5 years old.
When: Monthly sessions start March 17, 2023 (the third Friday of the month)
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Register here.
The workshop is presented by Mid-Hudson Early Childhood FACE Center, Mid-Hudson Regional Partnership Center (MHRPC), NYSED OSE Partnership. As seen on the Westchester Institute for Human Development calendar.
A collection of additional stories from around the web for the week ending Saturday, March 11, 2023.
Disabled students at higher risks for arrests, dropping out and being unready for adulthood (youthtoday.org)
More reporting on the lack of Early Intervention services: Black and Latino infants and toddlers often miss out on early therapies they need (hechingerreport.com)
The Federal Government Is Investigating an Illinois School Where Students With Disabilities Were Frequently Arrested (ProPublica.org)
University lecturer with learning disability offers new insight (BBC.com)
It will explore:
Details
Date: March 8, 2023
Time: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Register here
An old convent at Immaculate Conception Church in Eastchester, N.Y., is being turned into housing for people with autism by ArchCare, reports westchester.news12.com.
Champions is coming to a theater near you.
The movie, which hits screens March 10, is about a disgraced minor league basketball coach ordered by the court to manage a team of players, called The Friends, all of whom have developmental disabilities. Should you go? Here, everything you need to know about a film being described by many outlets as a “feel-good underdog comedy.” Rated PG-13 for strong language and crude/sexual references.
The man at the helm is Bobby Farrelly who, along with his brother, Peter, is better known as one-half of “The Farrelly brothers.” The duo is probably most famous for Dumb and Dumber, Shallow Hal and There’s Something About Mary. So, yeah, it’s a little worrisome that he directed a movie with actors who need to be treated with respect and dignity. Early indicators, however, suggest he pulls it off pretty well.
The biggest name is Woody Harrelson, who plays the disgraced minor league coach. But the real stars are the young actors who make up The Friends, found through an open casting call: Kevin Iannucci, Joshua Felder, Madison Tevlin, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe and Bradley Edens. It’s the first acting gig for many of them.
In a recent New York Times interview, Harrelson says that the young actors “are so cool, so funny, so honest. … Within a couple of hours I was hook, line and sinker a part of them. I haven’t had much experience with people with disabilities, so I didn’t know what to expect and I’ve got to say, it was probably the most enjoyable experience I ever had making a movie.”
The movie “shows you can do whatever you want to do,” says actor James Day Keith in this Variety article, which is packed with wonderful quotes from an excited cast and crew. “I’ve been proving people wrong basically my whole entire life, and this movie shows it.”
The movie is based on the 2018 Spanish hit film Campeones. Directed by Javier Fesser, who is one of the writers on the English-language version, it won Best Picture at the Spanish Film Academy’s Goya Awards.
A 2018 Hollywood Reporter review notes it’s “standard family-friendly fare, but carried off superbly. … It features more comic scenes than tender ones, but its best moments are both at the same time.”
Check out these great photos from Focus Features.
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