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 THE
PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CENTER OF PHILADELPHIA
Affiliated with the
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
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Support the Law Center today!
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The
Law Center counts on donors like you to be able to continue offering
exceptional services to our clients. Please join us in our efforts by
making a tax-deductible gift today.
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Letter
from the Executive Director
Here at the Law Center, we are wrestling with an issue
that plagues the nation: African American students too quickly assigned
to the lowest tracks where they are placed in below- grade classes
comprised of high concentrations of other African American children.
Thus placed, children do not have access to advanced courses or the
knowledge and skills needed for college. In its Call for
Action in Education, the NCAAP reports that "a growing body of
research reveals class and race disparities in students' access to
challenging curricula (e.g., algebra, laboratory sciences, and advanced
placement courses.)" Where significant disparities exist within a
district regarding access to advanced courses, the NCAA calls on school
officials to "examine policies and practices, including tracking,
rigid gate-keeping pre-requisites and tests in middle school, and class
and race-based differential treatment reflected in teacher referrals
and academic counseling." Read the NCAA
report here.
How does this happen? Consider for a
moment Ellie (not her real name) an eager 6-year old first grader
who proudly reads Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish Two Fish at
home. At school it is another story. She is pulled out of
her regular class with the only other African American children in
the class (and one white child) to a "special" reading club
where the reading material are books that appear mimeographed with one
or two simple words on a page. She is ashamed of her school books
and doesn't want a visitor to see them. Ellie's teachers say they
put her in this "special" class because she has trouble
following directions. I worry about Ellie. I can only
imagine what such latter-day segregation does to a child's self-esteem,
motivation to learn and, ultimately, success in life.
In partnership with lawyers at DLA Piper, we are in the
midst of challenging these damaging practices through federal
litigation and the use of the Individuals with Disabilities with
Education Act. We are ferreting out all too common instances
where African American children are deemed to have intellectual or
emotional disabilities when in fact they have diabetes, or color
blindness or are just different than the administrators who evaluate
them. More important, though, we are working on solutions to the
problem. It is not enough to say "stop tracking" or
dictate that administrators suppress their biases. What we need
is the "wholesale examination of policies and practices"
called for by the NCAAP. This is a problem that can and should be
solved. With your continued help and support, we will keep at it
until we do so.
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 A brilliant blue and gold Pennsylvania historical marker
was unveiled on April 10, 2010 recognizing the Pennhurst State
School and Hospital, widely considered to be the epicenter of the modern
disability rights movement. US Congressman James Gerlach, State
Senator Andrew Dinniman, Representative Tim Hennessey, and Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commissioner Michelle Bortner joined a crowd of
about 400 attendees including former residents, employees, and
advocates whose pioneering work helped close the institution and set
the precedent for ending forced institutionalization of disabled
persons across the globe.
Download the event
program | View a photo slideshow from
the event
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Law Center announces "Hot topics in special
education," a yearlong training for parents, educators,
attorneys and advocates
 Beginning on June 22, 2010 the Law Center will offer
monthly training sessions here at our new location in the United Way
Building. The first session is "Autisim: ABA and Inclusion, not necessarily
mutually exclusive." The price is $200 for
attorneys (includes CLE credit) and $100 for all others.
Scholarships may be available for those who qualify. Look out for
monthly announcements of new courses.
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Need more
individualized help with your special ecucation questions?
The Law Center's new consultation services are here for
you. As a way to begin to meet the overwhelming demand for legal
assistance by families of kids with disabilities, the Law Center
is now offering private consultation meetings. Prior to the
meeting you will provide the Law Center with a completed questionnaire
and documentation about your child's education. Based on these
records and a one hour meeting with you we will provide a letter with
recommendations for next steps to further your child's education.
The cost is $225, and scholarships may be available for those who
qualify. Learn more or
request an appointment...
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Health Care
Reform Provision Closes Loophole Created by Court  Interpretations
Most Americans now know that the health care reform
legislation, signed into law in late March 2010, will prevent insurers
from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and will,
eventually, require everyone to have coverage by imposing a tax on
those who fail to do so. One provision that is less heralded, but
equally powerful, removes an obstacle that prevented people who are
harmed when a state fails to deliver medical assistance to them from
enforcing the Medicaid law in federal court. The problem arose when
Judge Posner in the Seventh Circuit suggested that the definition of
"medical assistance" that states must make available under
the law might not mean the actual care and services that are required
in hundreds of pages of statutory language, but instead might mean
only that a state must pay any doctor or other provider who does
deliver care. More...
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Law Center continues productive relationship with Fair
Housing Rights Center of South East Pennsylvania
Continuing a longstanding partnership, the Law Center entered into a
subcontract with the Fair Housing Rights Center pursuant to which the
Law Center will provide legal advice, technical support and, where
necessary, represent clients who are the victims of housing
discrimination. In 2009 the Law Center represented both the
Fair Housing Rights Center and a victim of domestic violence who was
denied accommodations at a Days Inn in Horsham. The case recently
settled, with monetary compensation for the plaintiffs and, as a
safeguard to ensure that the possibility of acts of discrimination
against domestic violence victims does not occur, the Days Inn has
agreed to provide its employees additional training on domestic
violence and discrimination. More...
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Public
Health and Environmental Justice Clinic Students show  "Faces
of the Grassroots" in video
Students
from Drexel University's Earle Mack School of Law participating in the
Law Center's Public Health and Environmental Justice Legal Clinic have
created a video highlighting the grassroots Environmental Justice movement
in Philadelphia's Hunting Park community for an EPA video
contest. The Clinic represents the Hunting Park Stakeholders
Group - a group of local residents and activists concerned with the
environmental health of their community. At right, clinic director
Adam Cutler with one of the HPSG leaders, Catalina. We congratulate
the filmmakers - Ellie Austin, Kim Magrini, Jaimee Moore, Ted
Oswald, Jeff Stacey, and Cory Thomas - on their video being named
one of 10 finalists in its category!
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Controversial mine filling project challenged by Hazelton,
PA residents
S.U.F.F.E.R. (Save Us From Future Environmental Risks), a
group of concerned Hazleton citizens, challenged Pennsylvania's
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)'s extraordinary decision
to allow a developer to fill a local mine pit with over two million
tons of a potentially hazardous mixture of waste materials. The group
claims that the DEP misapplied a special research and development (R&D)
permit process to allow the project to go forward. The Public Interest
Law Center of Philadelphia's Public Health and Environmental Justice
Project, representing S.U.F.F.E.R., asked the state Environmental
Hearing Board to overturn the decision and to stay any dumping
activities until the appeal is decided on the merits. More....
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 Volunteer Spotlight: Wendy R. Lewis
This month the Law Center gratefully recognizes Wendy
Lewis. A dedicated volunteer, Wendy has contributed her time over
the past 5 months to develop a sophisticated intake tracking
database for the Law Center. The new system helps us to more
efficiently follow through on and analyze trends in the requests for
assistance that we recieve. Wendy has extensive experience
not only as a nonprofit professional but also as a filmmaker with
her own production company, Flying Dart Productions. The entire
Law Center staff appreciates Wendy's warm and friendly
demeanor as well as her patience and project management skills.
Thank you Wendy, for your tremendous contributions to the Law Center!
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Join us at these upcoming
events:
Education
Summit: The Village Takes Responsibility, Part IV
When: Saturday, May 8, 2010,
9:15am - 3:00pm
Where: 92 Greenfield Avenue (Zion Annex), Ardmore, PA 19003
Hosted by: Concerned Black Parents, our clients in Blunt v.
LMSD
Featuring: the Law Center's Director of Disability
Rights Projects, Sonja Kerr and other education experts
An evening with Mental Disability
Rights International
 MDRI
is the recognized leader in international human rights
advocacy for people with disabilities. The Law Center joins MDRI as a
sponsor of this special opportunity to learn about the
fight to protect the rights of children and adults with disabilities
worldwide, and how you can help.
When:
Tuesday, May 25th, Merion Station, PA
Autism - ABA and Inclusion: Not
Mutually Exclusive"
The first of a series of training and CLE sessions for
parents, attorneys, educators and advocates of kids with disabilities,
hosted by the Law Center's Sonja Kerr.
When: June 22, 2010
Where: United Way Building, 1709
Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Online registration is NOW OPEN
Save the Date: the Law Center's
3rd Annual Symposium on Equality
When:
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Where: the
Symposium will take place at the Arch Street Meeting House, 4th and
Arch Streets, followed by a reception at the Down Town Club, 6th and
Chestnut Streets.
This year's symposium will focus on Education and how we
can make access to a quality education a reality for all children.
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The Public Interest
Law Center of Philadelphia is dedicated to advancing the Constitutional
promise of equal citizenship to all persons irrespective of race,
ethnicity, national origin, disability, gender or poverty. We use public
education, continuing education of our clients and client organizations,
research, negotiation and, when necessary, the courts to achieve systemic
reforms that advance the central goals of self-advocacy, social justice
and equal protection of the law for all members of society. www.pilcop.org
The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia is a
registered charitable organization. A copy of the official registration
may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll
free within Pennsylvania 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply
endorsement.
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