News from Around the Region
Rhode Island's Public Art Law
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, in collaboration with the Governor's Commission on Disabilities and VSA arts of Rhode Island held a reception to celebrate the purchase and presentation of works by artists with disabilities to several state agencies, for permanent display in their offices. The reception took place on July 19 at the Atrium Gallery at One Capitol Hill, the state's main administration building in Providence. Artists presented artwork to representatives of 17 state agencies for prominent display in their department headquarters.
Above: Artist Bijan Shadravan presents his artwork entitled "Reflection" to Bob Cooper from the Rhode Island Governor's Commission on Disabilities.
Rhode Island allocates 1% of the cost of accessibility renovations to bring state facilities in compliance with 504/ADA to the purchase of artwork by people with disabilities. RI has a 1% for Public Art Law that requires 1% of all public (non-road) construction projects be used to purchase art. Since the Commission controls the funds used to renovate state facilities, we entered into an arrangement with the State Council on the Arts to use our 1% to purchase art made by people with disabilities, that is then exhibited in the facilities we have renovated. About $50,000 has been set aside for this purpose.
Massachusetts Voting Place Access Update
From October 2003 to June 2004 the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD), under an agreement with the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth (SOC), conducted surveys of all 1488 polling places throughout the state to determine compliance with Massachusetts voting accessibility requirements. The survey results were published in August. Since the report's publication, MOD has received notification from municipalities indicating the steps that they are taking to ensure their polling locations meet the accessibility requirements. For a copy of the complete report, visit MOD's website 
(www.mass.gov/mod).
$2.4 Million in Telework Grants Awarded
The US Department of Labor has awarded more than $2.4 million in grants to help fund initiatives that will increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities in Connecticut, Minnesota and Virginia. The three winners selected for departmental grants were The Workplace Inc., Bridgeport, CT, Resource Inc., Minneapolis, MN, and Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
The telework grants are being funded through the Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) to operate the three projects for the next 36 months. The work will include investigating, developing and validating strategies likely to yield the largest number of telework positions for people with disabilities in cooperation with federal and state agencies. According to the Office of Personnel Management, telework (also called telecommuting) is the ability to do your work at a location other than your "official duty station." For more information, visit ODEP's Labor Department Web site (www.dol.gov/odep).
Accessible Outdoor Recreation Opportunities in New England
Above: Naturalist Ted Watt leads a nature walk on a wheelchair accessible trail at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, MA.
A new project operating in New England to promote accessible outdoor recreation opportunities is called Project INSPIRE - Initiative for National and State Park Inclusive Recreation Expansion. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), along with All Out Adventures, an outdoor recreation organization of Easthampton, MA, are working together under this 3 year federally-funded grant. DCR's Universal Access Program has been providing adaptive rowing, cycling, hiking, kayaking, cross country skiing, and other outdoor activities for 10 years in the Massachusetts state park system.
Under Project INSPIRE, DCR's successful model for inclusive recreation will grow to include new activities - bird watching, orienteering, and competitive sled hockey - by making use of already established resources within border communities, including birding clubs, nature centers, hiking and orienteering clubs, and skating rinks. Project INSPIRE will provide training for state park personnel and recreation organizations. In addition, Project INSPIRE will collaborate with state parks in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont to host public events to introduce more Northeast residents to accessible outdoor recreation. For further information and to obtain a program calendar, contact DCR's Universal Access Program: 413-545-5353.
Maine School District Sued After Playground Banning
The playground banning of a child with autistic-like behavior could end up having repercussions for the way school districts treat children with neurological disorders. The parents of 9-year-old Jan Rankowski are suing school officials in Falmouth, ME for banning their son, who has Asperger's Syndrome, from the town's public playground. School officials say Jan was never permanently barred. They only wanted a psychologist to evaluate his playground behavior after complaints from students and staff. Jan's parents say previous assessments of the boy were sufficient and that his suspension was meant to exclude their son.
Jan's family moved from New York to Falmouth after the 9/11 attacks and he attended second grade special education classes. He improved so much over the year that school officials wanted to move him to a regular class in the third grade. However, Jan's parents wanted him to stay in special education classes. His mother felt that putting Jan into mainstream classes was "a disaster waiting to happen" so she taught him at home. Jan's parents were pleased when he asked to go to the school's playground after a year of home-schooling.
In the year that Jan attended public school, there were no incident reports filed about his playground behavior. School administrators said they began fielding complaints shortly after he began playing there last fall. Students reported that Jan swore and threatened them, played roughly with younger children and kicked one child. Teacher's aides said he defied their commands. School officials say Jan's suspension was not disciplinary. They wanted to return him to the playground once a psychologist could evaluate his behavior and determine ways for him to interact better with other children.
A state judge last month denied a request by Jan's parents for an injunction to allow him to visit the playground while the case was decided. No trial date has been set. The boy's parents say they hope their lawsuit will force schools to treat disabled or home-schooled children the same way as other children. Others across the country are watching the case as the number of children diagnosed with Asperger's continues to climb.
(Source: "Boy With Disability Banned From Playground," by Sara Leitch, Associated Press, September 22, 2004.)
