Sunday, July 26, 2009

It's been a while

A lot happened in 2008 but it's 2009 now. I've been neglecting this blog because I've been so busy doing other things. I attended the Y.O Disabled and Proud Conference in March, in Anaheim, California. I did not return to YLF this summer because I started college classes to make up my high school credits. I'm starting a Kurzweil class tomorrow. I took an art history class earlier this summer and got an A. College has been such a great experience; I am so much more free than in high school. I was having a lot of problems with the high school I was attending last year. An incident happened in which I was given an attendance contract and was told to sign. I refused on the basis of the fact that as a student with a disability, I have the right to take it home and bring it back signed. This teacher told me I was being defiant and told me to leave the class. I was disciplined unfairly and put in in-school suspension. I was completely within my rights. I was also having many other problems at the school including inaccessibility to the restroom. I do have hemiparaplegic in the condition I have in which one side of my body does not work as well as the other. I cannot use a push down faucet. When I told the principal about this I asked to use the teacher's restroom. He said yes that's fine no problem. But a few months later, after coming back from winter break, I was denied access to the restroom. A security guard told the very same teacher that I was not permitted to use the restroom. Later about three weeks before school was to let out I discovered that the principal was told that I was listening to my iPod in the teacher's restroom. Which was a complete lie and when I told him, he claimed it was a misunderstanding. By the end of the school year I was completely fed up with all these "misunderstandings" and decided to report the school to the Office of Civil Rights, an organization that acts as a third party, it investigates complaints and tries to negotiate with the school districts into changing whatever the complaint was about. The school I attended was also doing something illegal with the California High School Exit Exam. The case is currently being investigated and I will tell you the result when I find out. The last I heard, the school was looking over the complaint with their lawyers. The worst that can come out of this is that the school loses its federal funding. I honestly wish it hadn't come to this but they should be following the law. As a result of this I am trying to transfer to another district. The problem is this recession we're in. The school district is saying that they are so impacted with special education students that they cannot allow me in. My case is that the school I attended previously did not offer online courses, did not follow regulations, and the fact that the school I'm trying to transfer to another district has had the most experience of any school I can find with students with disabilities. Because my condition I cannot walk far, which is an issue because campuses tend to be very spread out and this high school is not. It is one building with three floors and portables. It also has sports equipment and courts/ fields but I can't use it, making it irrelevant to me. I'm in desperate need of a transfer and am looking towards local government and also writing letters to other politicians in higher office. Two days ago was the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We have come along way but there is still a lot we need to do. In California we are in a gigantic deficit. Our governor is cutting programs for disabilities left in right. He is also cutting funding to schools. We got rid of Gov. Gray Davis because of the same problem we are encountering now. Actually the problem is worse now.

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