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Mayor’s
Disability Council
|
|
Minutes
of the Mayor’s Disability Council Meeting
D
R A F T
Minutes
of
19
May 2000
|
Willie
L. Brown, Jr.
Mayor
Sergio Alunan
Frank Marone
Co-Chairs
Vincent
Behan
Claudia
Center
Ed
Evans
Viola
Jackson
Michael
Kwok
August
Longo
Damien
Pickering
Grayce
Regan
Walter
Park
Council Secretary
|
1 ROLL
CALL
Members Present:
Co-chairs Sergio Alunan and Frank Marone, Claudia Center, Michael Kwok, Damien
Pickering, Grayce Regan, Edward Evans.
Excused absence:
Vincent Behan, Viola Jackson.
Absent per By-Laws:
August Longo
Staff: Walter Park,
Council Secretary, Susan Mizner, Assistant Director of MOD, Carolyn Snipes,
Council Clerk, Jada Jackson, MOD Administrative Assistant
Frank Marone and Sergio
Alunan, Co-Chairs, called the meeting to order.
2 APPROVAL
OF THE AGENDA
August Longo questioned
item No. 8, Board of Education, inclusion on the agenda. Frank Marone stated
that since the Mayor and the city government have a relationship with the School
District, the Council is gathering information to relay to the Mayor to form
policy and develop liaison relationships with the District and with others.
Claudia Center request that
item 12, Announcements be moved up. The Council voted to approve the amendment.
The Agenda was approved
as amended.
3 APPROVAL
OF THE MINUTES
The Council moved to approve
April minutes at next month’s meeting.
4 REPORT
FROM THE CO-CHAIRS
· Co-Chair Frank Marone
Frank Marone stated that
the constitutionality of Title II of the ADA is under attack in cases at the
Supreme Court. One possible case, Dare vs. State of California, was submitted
from our own Governor’s office.
This Council meeting is
broadcast live on CityWatch Channel 26 and is available on the Internet at sfgov.org
Public Forums for the ADA
Self Evaluation are held the 4th Friday of the month at City Hall,
Room 400 at 1:00 p.m. The next date and topic is "Housing" on June
23rd.
5 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Claudia Center announced
that in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the ADA, the Bay Area
would have the "Spirit of the ADA National Torch Relay"
on Saturday, June 17th. In San Francisco, the celebration will be
in PacBell Park. Invited speakers include Mayor Brown and John Hockenberry.
In Oakland the celebration will be from Noon to 5:00 p.m. at Jack London Square.
Speakers include Mayor Jerry Brown, Shirley Dean, Congress Member George Miller,
Judy Human and Mary Lou Breslin. For More information call (510) 251-4370, TTY
(510) 208-9493.
6 REPORT
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Walter Park gave a summary
of activities for the Mayor’s office on Disability for May:
· An introduction to
the Americans with Disabilities Act was conducted for 125 contract recipients
at the Mayor’s Office on Community Development. More detailed training for architects
will also be provided.
· Later in May, training
on playground design and playground equipment will begin for department staff
or contractors who have City contracts.
· The office is working
with DPW on the City’s Curb Ramp Inventory project. A curb ramp report will
be complete this fall. DPW has additional funding for next year to build new
curb ramps.
· MOD is contracting
with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community Coalition to do needs assessment
due in the next nine months.
· A staff member is
meeting in Washington, DC at the ATBCB, Transportation Compliance Transportation
and Barriers Compliance Board. The Right-of-Way Committee will meet in San Francisco
in August. Mayor Brown, the Council, and members of the public will be invited.
· Mayor Brown attended
the Awards Breakfast of The Mayor’s Committee for the Employment of Persons
with Disabilities held May 18th. Walter Park ws the keynote speaker.
Also in attendance were persons from private business, state and local government
who were promoting access to employment and employment of people with disabilities.
The Mayor pointed out that only 22% of people in wheelchairs, 31% of
people who are blind and 35% of people who are mentally retarded in this
country are employed ten years after the passage of ADA and asked the Committee
to help improve those figures.
· Logan Hopper produced
a report on the Transition Plan that was distributed to the Council in advance.
The field work is nearly complete. The entire database will be available on
the Web.
· MOD has logged about
300 requests for assistance and complaints in eight months.
· Both the Employment
Committee and the Programmatic Access Committee of the MDC met in May, and Committee
reports should now become a part of the MDC agenda.
7 PUBLIC
COMMENT
Employment Committee Chair
Rich Rothman reported on AB155, a bill that allows people who receive Medi-Cal
to keep more of their medical health benefits if they return to work. The Employment
Subcommittee met with Sylvia Castellanos of Human Resources, who reported that
Rule 15 has not is not being implemented very much because there is no staff
person in that position. The Employment Subcommittee will meet on June 20th
and will invite someone from Vocational Rehabilitation.
Bob Planthold announced
a Pedestrian Safety Summit in the Civic Center area for Friday May 26 that is
open to the public.
Philip Rubin voiced his
concern about the Council not having a deaf representative. Mr. Park noted that
he has been attending the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Council meetings and they
have recommended a person, and that a new appointment is in progress.
Karen Greener, Vice Chair
of the San Francisco Mayor’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities
invited interested people with disabilities to joint the executive board meetings
held the 2nd Friday of each month at the Department of Rehabilitation.
The next meeting is June 9th at 1:00 p.m. Interested people should
call (415) 242-2580, Ext. 3112. The Committee sponsors yearly awards for employers,
a Job Fair, and seminars to discuss the ADA and Employment issues regarding
people with disabilities.
Wayne Sherman thanked MOD
for its help in getting a sidewalk obstruction removed quickly. He said Governor
Gray Davis is supporting a lawsuit that is going to be heard by the U.S. Supreme
Court declaring Title II of the ADA to be unconstitutional. He urged the Council
to contact the ILRC to get a sample letter to send to Governor Gray Davis asking
his to reverse his stand.
Mr. Sherman attended a Board
of Supervisors meeting and found it to continue to be inaccessible for people
in wheelchairs. Mr. Park stated that the Board of Supervisors Chamber had been
discussed with the City Architect who then discussed this with the Supervisors.
It was decided that a person could request a reasonable accommodation 72 hours
before a Board meeting and a bench or two would be removed at meetings where
a number of people with disabilities are expected.
8 SAN
FRANCISCO ACCESS 2000 GUIDE
Bonnie Lewkowitz, Director
of Access Northern California represents a tourism organization for people with
disabilities. They have created a tourist guide, Access 2000, which is now available
at Visitors’ and Convention Bureau free of charge, and on the web. Place orders
through www.sfvisitor.org.
Damien Pickering inquired about the website’s accessibility for blind people.
The website is accessible. The Website will also be updated on a regular basis.
9 EDUCATIONAL
ACCESS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Frank Marone introduced
this topic by stating that he has worked with children with disabilities and
their parents for many years. In inviting groups to speak about educational
accessibility today, he has each of them to address four questions:
1) Who the presenter is
and what service they provide,
2) The presenter’s perspective
on the particular issue,
3) The presenter’s ideas
as to the main obstacles currently being faced to accomplish the realization
of full access,
4) The presenter’s suggestions
for solutions to the obstacles and problems that might be discussed.
The School District will
not be present at this Council meeting due to pending litigation.
The legal basis for public
education for children with disabilities is called IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act. The concept of IDEA is that all children regardless of disability
status, are entitled to a free and appropriate public education.
Teresa Gallegos spoke for
both Coleman Advocates and the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education.
Coleman advocates is working to make sure that the School District’s budget
provides for special education services.
Ms. Gallegos stated that
Coleman Advocates has created a forum titled Coalition for a Responsible School
Board which brought together bilingual education, special education and the
district liaison councils to discuss education. Ms. Gallegos added that the
School budget process should include the community. The re-authorization of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act states that parents who have
children in special education should be included in the budget process in determining
priorities.
The Community Advisory Committee,
a State mandated advisory committee to the Board of Education, consists of parents
and community members that are interested in the educational needs of children
with disabilities. The committee meets monthly on the fourth Thursday at 300
Seneca with the director of the Special Education Local Plan Area known as SOPA.
The telephone number is 469-4518.
The basis for change in
educational opportunities for children with special needs is that all children
be served in the least restrictive environment possible. A training session
titled "Your Role as a Paraprofessional" was given for the paraprofessionals
staff and parents. Some of the challenges in access for children with disabilities
are delivery of service, large caseloads, and insufficient numbers of qualified
staff and teachers.
Joseph Feldman of Community
Alliance for Special EducationJoe Feldman gave a description of services for
the Community Alliance for Special Education (CASE) which provides advocacy
for children with disabilities in public schools.: 1) CASE provides free technical
assistance to parents who have questions about special education, or have concerns
about their own children and their children’s access to services. 2) CASE represent
parents at IEP Individual Education Program meetings, mediations and fair hearings.
Though CASE is not a public interest law firm, it provides attorneys and non-attorney
advocates to go to meetings to help parents achieve appropriate services for
children. 3) CASE provides service and training and presentations to the community
on special education rights and responsibilities.
CASE’s philosophy and perspective
is to work collaboratively and prospectively with school districts. Case works
to prevent disagreements between parents and students with the school districts
from going to court.
Mr. Feldman added that the
Federal Government, the Office of Special Education Programs in Washington identified
San Francisco Unified School District as a district that has serious systemic
issues. In 1996 the Federal Government found that the State of California has
an inadequate process for monitoring and enforcing Special Education laws. The
State’s compliance report states that the District was found out of compliance
in the following areas: 1) District failed to provide qualified staff to instruct
children with disabilities, 2) Failed to follow assessment procedures. Fifteen
years ago 800 children were put in Special Education without the appropriate
assessments. In December of 1999, a Voluntary Compliance Corrective Action Plan
was signed by the District and the State of California. San Francisco has been
very pro active when it comes to the least restrictive environment and inclusive
programs. A draft for inclusive programming has been in progress for three years.
10 Arts
Commission Draft Guidelines for Programmatic Access
Jill Manton, Director of
the Public Art Program for San Francisco Art Commission gave a report on the
Commission’s Guidelines for Programmatic Access.
The Art Commission was established
by a City ordinance in 1969 and provides for a percentage of civic improvement
projects to be set aside for artwork. The Art Commission is not a part of the
Fine Arts Museums.
In attempting to provide
programmatic access for public art projects, the Commission conducted a study
involving artists, members of the disabled community and others throughout the
United States. The Commission found no other public art programs in the country
to-date that dealt with programmatic access. Now other cities are requesting
copies of the Commission’s guidelines. The Commissions’ Action Program is described
in its "Guidelines for Programmatic Access." A brief summary of measures
being put into place are: identification plaques with raised letters in appropriate
font size, Braille translations, companion notebooks inside the facility with
Braille interpretive text, large print reprints of text, photographic blow-ups
of art-work details, tape recordings with the artist and project manager describing
the artwork and the artist’s intent. The Commission plans to distribute recordings
to the Main Library Access Services, Rose Resnick Lighthouse and the Commission
library.
The Guidelines also encourage
artists who are interested in contracting with the Art Commission to conceive
of their work differently from the beginning, and consider how to convey their
message through a variety of mediums accessible to people with disabilities.
Ms. Manton may be reached at the following numbers, telephone: (415) 252-2585
and fax: 252-2595. Web address is www.sfac.sfsu.edu.
11 Self-evaluation
and Transition Plan consultant’s report.
Logan Hopper’s May 15, 2000
report written was received by the Council.
12 Requests
for future agenda items.
San Francisco General -
Talking Signs
DPW - white zones
Taxi Commission - ramp taxis
San Francisco website &
programmatic access
13 Announcements.
Damien Pickering announced
that the talking ATM located in City Hall, Room 140 is now fully accessible,
including account balances, and suggested that the Council write a letter commending
Treasurer Susan Leal and the San Francisco Federal Credit Union.
14 Adjournment.
The meeting was adjourned.