05-12-95 Conference Examines Disability Law Compliance Questions

NEWS ADVISORY
CONFERENCE EXAMINES DISABILITY LAW COMPLIANCE QUESTIONS

     COLUMBUS -- When a deaf student enrolls in college, how far
must that institution go to accommodate the student?  Federal law
mandates that Ohio State and other post-secondary institutions
provide reasonable accommodations.  What does that mean for the
student who is deaf?  Does the school offer an interpreter --at a
cost of $2.00 to $30.00 an hour--for classroom lectures?  How
about athletic events or sorority meetings?

     A two day conference hosted by The Ohio State University
will examine "Legal Issues and Disability" for college and
university administrators who have questions about compliance
with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The conference,
sponsored by Ohio State and 10 other Ohio institutions, will be
held in the Ohio Union Conference Theater, 1739 North High
Street, Monday May 15, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. and Tuesday May 16,
9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

     Although the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
ordered equal access for everyone, the laws are vague.  "A lot
of this is very unresolved," says Lydia Block, assistant
director of disability services at Ohio State.  "The ADA leaves
room for interpretation.  It calls for 'reasonable
accommodation.'  But there are no firm standards that tell us
what we have to do, or what the right thing to do is."

     The keynote speaker at the conference, Jeanne Kincaid, is an
attorney who specializes accommodation issues.  Kincaid's speech,
Monday, May 15, 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.,in the Ohio Union Conference
Theater, will examine recent court and agency decisions regarding
the ADA and 1973 Rehabilitation Act.  Other sessions include case
scenarios involving students with sensory and physical
disabilities and with learning or psychiatric disabilities.

     Reporters interested in covering this conference or in
interviewing Ms. Kincaid should contact Lydia Block, Patty
Carlton or Jim Baker at Ohio State's Office for Disability
Services, (614) 292-3307, or on Monday and Tuesday, at the Ohio
Union, (614) 292-7924.

                               #

Written by Amy Murray


[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 12 May 1995 16:57:39 -0500]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.