A new article by Alia Beard Rau for the Arizona Republic explains how Arizona’s system for funding special education unequally benefits different schools.
“It’s a direct result of how the state funds education for students with special needs: Arizona’s spending on special education benefits schools with the fewest number of students who require it.
About one-third of Arizona students attend schools — most of which are charters — that receive more state money to serve students with special needs than those schools actually spend for that purpose.”
Mobility International USA promotes disability rights by facilitating international exchange for travelers with disabilities. They have several media publications including 1) a general “News & Events” page with travel blog posts from around the world 2) “A World Awaits You (AWAY)” periodical about specific regions such as Africa, and 3) “Ripple Effects,” a podcast of interviews with recent exchange travelers.
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago PD alleging its officers have not received proper training for interacting with people with disabilities. This Chicago Tribune article by Jason Meisner and Jeremy Gorner reports “The suit alleged the brutality was “magnified for people with disabilities.” Nationally, an estimated 33 to 50 percent of those killed by police have a disability, with approximately 25 percent of people killed having a mental illness, the suit alleged. The problem also extends to police use of nonlethal force, including with Tasers, the ACLU contended.”
Al-Jazeera English recently profiled a 25-year-old Indonesian professional photographer who was was born without hands or feet. His name is Achmad Zulkarnain and he travels to photography gigs using a homemade motorbike. Learn more about Zulkarian by watching this 4-minute video by Al-Jazeera and visiting his Facebook business site.
Five state health officials in Maryland are being held in contempt of court for disobeying a court order to provide psychiatric hospital beds to mentally ill criminal defendants. In her 58-page opinion Circuit Court Judge Gale E. Rasin wrote “The actions and omissions of the Department and the respondent officers and agents have been knowing, intentional and voluntary.” Click here to read more on the Washington Post‘s report.
The qualifications of service animals are becoming a contentious issue as more pet owners apply for certification. Some patients register their companions as “Emotional Support Animals” but critics suggest the category is being misused and distracts other service animals from their duties. This article by Robby Berman at BigThink.com the controversy in detail.
Investigative data journalists at iNewsSource.org in San Diego released a surprising report about the dramatic increase in amputation surgeries resulting from diabetes. The investigation found “Statewide, lower-limb amputations increased by more than 31 percent from 2010 to 2016 when adjusted for population change. In San Diego County, the increase was more than twice that: 66.4 percent.” Click here to read the full story written by Cheryl Clark.
Also, click here to readiNewsSource.org’s Data Director Brandon Quester explain their methodology for the investigation.
It’s National Voter Registration Day and election officials across the country are encouraging citizens to register ASAP. Here is Arizona the Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes is hosting a special voter education and registration event at Ability360, a disability resource center near downtown Phoenix. Check out this article from Scottsdale local paper The Scottsdale Independent to learn more.
This was a busy week for protestors expressing concerns on disability healthcare and economic allowances. Today in Washington, D.C. dozens of protestors voiced objection to the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill during congressional hearing on Capitol Hill. Many protestors, including ones using wheelchairs, were forcibly removed by Capitol Police.
Meanwhile in Israel protestors on Sunday blocked a major highway through Tel Aviv in protest of stagnant disability allowances. Israeli local paper Haaretz is tracking the ongoing story, click here to learn more.
The 3rd annual Invictus Games open tomorrow in Toronto, Canada and will feature some of the toughest athletes with disabilities from around the world. The event was created by Prince Harry of the UK and, according to the events homepage, involves “550 competitors from 17 nations” competing in 12 adaptive sports. ESPN today published a photo story titled “We are Unconquered” by Ioana Moldovan about the Romanian national team building tight friendships as they prepared to physically and mentally to compete.
Photo by Ioana Moldovan/ESPN. Romanian veteran Laurentiu Serban trains for the 2017 Invictus Games.
