Disability Rights Advocates Presents Annual "Eagles & Turkeys" Awards

Disability Rights Advocates Presents Annual "Eagles & Turkeys" Awards
Reprinted from the December 2002 Disability World Newsletter

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a major California-based national disability law center presented its sixth annual Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Eagle and Turkey awards on November 26, 2002. The event was generously sponsored by Cingular Wireless. Information about DRA can be found on the web: www.dra-legal.org

The Eagle awards are being presented to businesses and individuals who actively employ and accommodate people with disabilities or who have contributed to the advancement of people with disabilities within society. The Turkey awards are given to entities or individuals who demonstrate pronounced insensitivity to the needs of people with disabilities and therefore impede their progress in employment, education, health care, transportation, or social integration. Larry Paradis, Executive Director of Disability Rights Advocates and a wheelchair user, said, "DRA is proud of this year's Eagle awardees and we hope that they will be models for others in the future. They have placed a value on disability access, a rare quality to find in today's society." Eagle Awards were presented to the following four entities:

1. The J. Paul Getty Museum for its successful utilization of universal design. The museum has managed to integrate accessible features into all aspects of the space, from a ramp that winds throughout the sculpture gardens to a fully accessible tram. The museum's brochures are available in alternative formats and the museum's myriad accessible features are clearly pointed out on maps. Sign language interpreters can be arranged and videos are closed-captioned. The Getty Museum is one of the most accessible museums in the world and it proves that access can be beautifully integrated into the fabric of the museum.
   
   
2. Portland (Oregon) International Airport for its commitment to providing excellent access to deaf and hard-of-hearing travelers. The airport has consistently worked with members of the disability community and it has held numerous focus group meetings in order to gauge community needs. At the moment, the airport features visual paging that is accessible by teletypewriter (TTY) phones for the deaf, TTY phones at hotel and ground transportation information centers, and terminal maps that clearly show where TTY phones can be found. In addition, the airport also has a list of qualified sign language interpreters that can be quickly recruited if needed. Visual screens can be found throughout the airport and they make traveling easier for everyone, disabled or not. In this age of heightened security, the airport's efforts are especially important since traveling can be a precarious and frustrating experience- even if you are not deaf or hard-of-hearing.
   
   
3. AlphaSmart, a technology company that produces affordable and easy-to-use computing devices that are primarily used in the educational world. Since its inception in 1992, Alphasmart has striven to make its portable word processors accessible to students with varying abilities. Its products possess accessible features such as alternate keyboard layouts for left and right hand users, "sticky keys" that allow users with limited mobility to click on one key at a time in a multi-key function, and word prediction software to facilitate the writing process for students with learning disabilities. In addition, its word-processor features different fonts and font sizes that can help individuals with visual disabilities. Individuals with disabilities are active on the company's Advisory Board and they moderate the website's community center where other individuals with disabilities can go to get product support and information.
   
   
4. Fannie Mae for its HomeChoice mortgage loan program, which is designed to enable low- and moderate-income borrowers who have disabilities or who live with family members who have disabilities to purchase homes. Fannie Mae has committed two trillion dollars over ten years to provide assistance to underserved populations. The company also offers special underwriting flexibilities to individuals with disabilities in order to make purchasing a home affordable, such as lower down payments, financing for disability-specific modifications, and high income to expense ratios in housing costs. Fannie Mae trains lenders to work closely with independent living centers and other disability organizations. All of their literature is available in different formats. We also honor Fannie Mae for being a catalyst in helping people who are institutionalized live more independent lives.

1. The California State Board of Education for its politically motivated and hastily implemented High School Exit Exam. The State Board has stuck to an extremely short time line for implementing the exam. This time line does not provide a realistic time frame for the alignment of the students' curriculum to the standards of the Exam and it expects students to know material they have never been taught. The California High School Exit Exam has one of the most restrictive accommodations policies in the nation for its high school students with disabilities. The use of accommodations regularly used in the classroom and on other exams, such as spell-checkers and calculators for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia, or readers for blind students, invalidate the students' test scores. In addition, the State Board has instituted no form of alternate assessment for students whose disability prevents them from being accurately assessed by standardized exams. The consequences are no surprise: nearly 90% of students with disabilities have not passed the Exit Exam and are currently on track to be denied a high school diploma.
   
   
2. The State of Louisiana has proven itself worthy of DRA's second Turkey award as a result of its total disregard for the disability community's desire to live independent lives outside of nursing homes. Ninety-three cents of every Medicare dollar is spent on nursing home facilities in Louisiana. The State's ratio of nursing home beds per capita exceeds the national average by more than 50%. Furthermore, attendant wages average $5.56 and only 7% of these attendants have health benefits. With statistics like this, it is no wonder that disability organizations have labeled Louisiana the worst state in the nation.
   
   
3. The third Turkey award goes to the Walgreen Corporation for its discrimination against individuals with mobility and visual disabilities. Walgreen's stores are consistently cluttered with merchandise and aisles are frequently blocked with merchandise and storage bins, therefore creating a frustrating and hazardous experience for customers with disabilities who attempt to shop at the stores. Customers have reported getting trapped in aisles and tripping over merchandise. Due to Walgreen's refusal to correct this problem, a lawsuit has been filed against them to enable customers with disabilities to shop without barriers.
   
   
4. The final Turkey award goes to The United States Treasury for its refusal to print bills that are accessible to individuals with visual disabilities. Because U.S. banknotes are identical in size and color, individuals experience unnecessary impediments when going about their everyday lives from shopping to taking public transportation. These individuals are also at a higher risk of being victims of fraud and deception. Over 120 countries around the world have taken steps to alter banknotes to make them more accessible and the National Academy of Sciences, in 1995, issued a recommendation to the U.S. Treasury on this matter. However, the Treasury ignored the recommendations. Currently, the American Council of the Blind is battling the Treasury in court on this issue.