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NewsNote: Some of the files on this site are in PDF file format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Class action settlement affecting blind ATM usersDecision Case 06-20 8/22/0606-20 082206 Decision (PDF File) Investigative Report of Improper Discharge at APIThis report presents the Disability Law Center of Alaska’s (DLC) investigation into an incident that occurred on March 5, 2006 at API. The report is available as a PDF file. Investigative Report of Improper Discharge at API (PDF File) SummaryOn June 30, 2006, the Supreme Court of the State of Alaska issued a long-awaited opinion in Faith J. Myers v. Alaska Psychiatric Institute. The Court ruled that the Alaska Constitution’s guarantees of liberty and privacy require an independent judicial determination of an incompetent mental patient’s best interests before the superior court may authorize a facility like Alaska Psychiatric Institute (API) to treat the person with psychotropic drugs. Therefore, the Court held, in a non-crisis situation, before ordering the administration of psychotropic drugs the superior court must, in addition to the statutory requirements, expressly find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the proposed treatment is in the patient’s best interests and that no less intrusive alternative is available. The Alaska Statutes provide that for a person must first be involuntarily committed. Then the state must file a second petition, and prove by clear and convincing evidence that 1) the patient is unable to give or withhold informed consent; and 2) the patient has never previously made a statement while competent that reliably expressed a desire to refuse future treatment with psychotropic medications. AS 47.30.839. These provisions left the court with no discretion to consider a patient’s best interest—if the two requirements were met, the court was required to authorize the administration of psychotropic medication. The Court determined that this statutory scheme to be inadequate to protect a patient’s constitutional rights. The Court found that the right to refuse psychotropic medication is a fundamental right, therefore the state may override a patient’s right to refuse psychotropic medication only when necessary to advance a compelling state interest and only if no less intrusive alternative is available. The Court further ruled that an independent judicial best interests determination is constitutionally necessary to ensure the proposed treatment is the least intrusive means of protecting the patient. The Court did expressly limit its holding to non-emergency situations. In cases of emergency, a different statutory scheme applies. The full text of the opinion may be found at: http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ops/sp-6021.pdf.Medicare Part D Appeals ProcessNew PDFfile explains Medicare Part D Appeals Process. New Word file explains Medical Part D Exceptions Chart Help in selecting a plan is available at: www.cms.hhs.gov High School GraduationDisability Law Center of Alaska invites parents of special education students who are worried about their child graduating without a diploma to contact with us by email. This contact is for any parents and interested persons who have a student with a disability on an IEP that will receive a certificate of attendance instead of a diploma because they cannot pass the High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE). This mainly applies to students who take the Alternate Assessment for the HSGQE. If you have any questions please call one of our offices (Bethel 543-3357, Fairbanks 456-1070, Juneau 586-1627 or toll free 1(800) 478-1234). Thank you! Volunteer OpportunitiesThere are presently several volunteer opportunities available with DLC. Please see our employment page for details. DEED Opens Comment Period to Change Burden of Proof Rule in Special Education Hearings. Alaska law presently requires that school districts bear the burden to prove that they have provided a child with special education needs an appropriate education if the matter is heard by a special hearing officer. DEED has proposed to change this rule to place the burden on parents, except in some cases of discipline. DLC opposes the change as indicated in (link) our position on Schaffer. Parents and organizations may wish to comment on the rule and must submit those comments to the Department of Education (see information below). DLC would appreciate a copy of any comments sent to DEED and DLC will be providing public comments as well. Jake Kammemeyer, in our Juneau office, will be coordinating collection of comments. You may fax copies of any comments to Jake at 907-586-1066 or you may fax as well to Anchorage, 565-1000, attention Teresa Holt. You may also email copies of any comments to us at tholt@dlcak.org. * 4AAC 52.550(e)(9) - Due Process Hearings for Special Education * To see the complete board packet from the December 12 meeting, which includes background material that can be helpful in understanding the context of the recently proposed regulations, click here <http://www.eed.state.ak.us/State_board/pdf/December_packet.pdf>. The Department of Education & Early Development proposes regulation amendments listed above. You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments on the online comment form located on this web page. You may also submit written comments to Commissioner's Office, Department of Education & Early Development, ATTN: Regulations Review, 801 West Tenth Street, Suite 200, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1894. Comments may also be submitted via facsimile, (907) 465-4156. Comments must be received no later than 4 p.m., February 10, 2006. In addition, the State Board of Education and Early Development will hear oral comments on the four proposed regulations listed above on March 16, 2006, in the state board meeting room, first floor, Department of Education & Early Development, 801 West 10th Street, Juneau, AK. This hearing will be held from 8:05 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and might be extended to accommodate those present before 8 a.m. on the day of the hearing who did not have an opportunity to comment. Persons may also comment at the oral hearing via the following Legislative Information Offices: Anchorage, 716 W 4th Ave., Ste. 200; Barrow, 119 Bank Bldg.; Bethel, 301 Willow St.; Cordova, 705 2nd St.; Delta Junction, Jarvis Office Center, Rm. 218; Dillingham, Kangiiqutag Bldg.; Fairbanks, 119 N Cushman, Ste. 101; Glennallen, 186 Glenn Hwy.; Homer, 345 W Sterling Hwy, Ste. 102A; Juneau, Rm. 111 Terry Miller Bldg.; Kenai, 145 Main St. Loop, Ste. 217; Ketchikan, 50 Front St., Ste. 203; Kodiak, 112 Mill Bay Rd.; Kotzebue, 373 2nd St., Pillautug Centre; Mat-Su, 600 E Railroad Ave.; Nome 320 Front St.; Petersburg, 11B Gjoa St.; Seward, 2001 Seward Hwy.; Sitka, 201 Katlian St., Ste. 200A; Tok, W 1st St., UAF-Tok Unit 1; Valdez, State Office Building, Rm. 13; Wrangell, 223 Front. St. NOTE that you can submit comments by email; if you do so, you should be sure to retain a paper copy and again, DLC would appreciate a copy of that information. Sample letter from parent(s). (Word document) Sample letter from organization(s). (Word document) Read letters from clients and staff regarding the Changes to AK Regulations 4AAC 52.550 (e)(9) Public Comment (PDF Document, 32 pages) Return to Top.Bazelon Mini Conference. Bazelon Mini Conference July 19th at the Millennium. Return to Top. Governor's Response. Letter from the Governor's office regarding a letter from DLC about the Bring the Kids Home Initiative. (PDF File) Return to Top. Report of Targeted Technical Assistance Provided in Alaska, December 2001. Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health: Report of Targeted Technical Assistance Provided in Alaska, December 2001. (PDF File) Return to Top. NOTICE – ASD SCHOOL BOARD TO HEAR REVISED DISCIPLINARY POLICY AS IT AFFECTS STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DLC has requested ASD to revise its disciplinary policy as it affects students with disabilities. ASD has proposed a revised policy. The ASD school board will have a first reading of the revised policy on May 9 th and a second reading on May 23. Both meetings will be during the school board’s regular meetings at District offices. We encourage all parents to attend. You may view the revised changes in Microsoft Word below: APPENDIX A -- STATEMENT OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES Return to Top. NOTICE: HSGQE REGULATIONS COMMENT PERIOD ENDS MAY 13, 2005 The Department of Education and Early Development has proposed new regulations for the HSGQE. Comments are due to DEED by May 13, 2005. To review the regulations, go to http://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/modified.html. Note that you must look for the Participation Guidelines for June 2005 to understand the detail as the regulations merely "approve" the Participation Guidelines booklet. To assist parents, DLC has prepared a form letter that you can use to forward to the DEED about how the regulations will impact your student. To use this form letter, click (here): The letter must be sent to: Commissioner’s Office Department of Education and Early Development Attn: Regulations Review 801 West Tenth Street, Suite 200 Juneau, AK 99801-1894 You may submit by fax to: 907-465-4156 You may submit by internet: http://www.eed.state.ak.us/regs/ If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact DLC. DLC’s view is that IEP or Section 504 teams are in the best position to make the decisions about children with disabilities and what assessments they should take, and what accommodations and modifications they need. We will be submitting public comments and hope to have those up shortly for your review. For more information, please read the 2005 Monitoring Report from DEED. Return to Top. MP Decision & Appeal To read the MP Decision & Appeal, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Fact Sheets on Special Education DLC is committed to providing parents of children with disabilities, their advocates and professional providers with information about their rights. Towards that end, we are developing a series of fact sheets about various topics of interest or concern to parents. If you would like to see a topic addressed in a fact sheet, please contact Sonja Kerr or Teresa Holt at the DLC. Please visit our Fact Sheets page under the Publications section. Return to Top. DLC Submits Comments to Office of Special Education on IDEA The U.S. Department of Education is in the process of publishing regulations following the Congressional reauthorization of the IDEA, 2004. The DLC submitted comments on February 28, 2005. To review the comments, click here. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Return to Top. DLC Negotiating with Anchorage to Revise its Disciplinary Policy DLC is presently negotiating with Anchorage School District to revise its disciplinary policy to more accurately reflect the rights of students with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the 1974 Rehabilitation Act provide students with disabilities certain protections in disciplinary situations. DLC has received a number of calls and concerns about this situation. In an effort to avoid costly litigation, DLC proposed reviewing the disciplinary policy and then meeting with ASD to try to revise its policies to more fairly reflect the rights of students with disabilities. To read the proposed changes, click here: If your student with disabilities is experiencing out of school suspensions, dismissals or proposed expulsion, please let us know by writing to Sonja Kerr or Teresa Holt through the comment box. If you have ideas or suggests about the proposed changes, please let us know that too. Return to Top. DLC's proposed Changes to Anchorage School Districts Discipline Procedures The following are PDF documents. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
IHO Orders District Failed to Comply with DEED Complaint Decisions, Orders Compensatory Services and Reimbursement. Read more by clicking here. Return to Top. Summary of Case No. 05-18 KJ, a high school student with ADHD, was suspended twice for fights during the fall semester. KJ had previously attended a private school where he was successful. The ASD failed to provide KJ a timely evaluation during the 2003-2004 school year. Because of this, and the suspension, the IHO ruled that KJ’s parents were to be reimbursed for the 2003-2004 private school tuition and that ASD must pay for the 2004-2005 school year tuition as well. KJ is undergoing an IEE at district expense and there is to be an IEP meeting after that is completed. Parents substantially prevailed. Read more here (PDF File). Return to Top. Decision for Case No. 05-18 Here is the final order in a case we had against Anchorage School District on behalf of KJ. KJ was out of school and this was a disciplinary expedited hearing. His parents placed him privately. The IHO order payment for private school for 2003-2004 and for 2004-2005. Read the Decision here (PDF file). Return to Top. Summary of Case No. 05-19 A.C. is a middle school student with ADHD and related problems. A.C. repeated fifth grade, was not allowed to attend sixth grade, and repeated seventh grade. Despite parental requests, and two opportunities to evaluate A.C., the ASD did not determine A.C. eligible for special education. The IHO determined that A.C. is eligible for special education and related services as a student under the Other Health Impaired category, a category which the district should have but did not ever consider for A.C. Parents substantially prevailed. Read more here (PDF File). Return to Top. NOTICE: EXIT EXAM CASE SETTLES The parties have reached a settlement in Noon v. Alaska, a class action addressing the needs of students with disabilities in the context of the HSGQE. The settlement was signed August 2, 2004 and may be read clicking here (PDF File). Judge James K. Singleton has issued an order granting preliminary approval of and setting a hearing on the proposed class settlement. The hearing is set for September 30, 2004 at 8:00 a.m. in Courtroom 2, United States Courthouse, 222 W. 7th Ave. , Anchorage, AK. The fairness hearing is to determine if the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. Judge John Sedwick will conduct the hearing. Any objections by class members must be filed by September 20, 2004. Counsel from the Disability Law Center as well as Disability Rights Advocates will be present for the fairness hearing. Please feel free to call the DLC if you have questions about the settlement. |
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Phone: 907-565-1002 Phone/TTY Fax: 907-565-1000 Toll Free: 1-800-478-1234 Phone/TTY (In State Only) |
Disability Law Center of Alaska Mail: 3330 Arctic Boulevard, Suite 103 Anchorage, AK 99503 E-mail: akpa@dlcak.org |
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(C) 2004 Disability Law Center of Alaska 3330 Arctic Boulevard, Suite 103, Anchorage, AK 99503 akpa@dlcak.org |