- From: Waddell, Cynthia <cynthia.waddell@ci.sj.ca.us>
- Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2000 10:36:06 -0800
- To: "'Shara Bunis'" <sbunis@MAIL.NYSED.GOV>, w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Ms. Bunis: Please see enclosed. Cynthia D. Waddell ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Disabled at S.F. State granted major victory Larry D. Hatfield OF THE EXAMINER STAFF Nov. 5, 1999 ©1999 San Francisco Examiner URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1999/11/05/ NEWS7531.dtl University settles suit, pledges to improve access at campus San Francisco State University has pledged a more vigorous program to make its campus more accessible to disabled students in a settlement that disability rights advocates say puts S.F. State in the forefront of major universities in removing barriers to the disabled. The settlement, announced Thursday by the university and three disability rights law firms, pledges an aggressive program to expand access and provides $100,000 to be divided among disabled student Elizabeth Campos and 29 others who filed suit two years ago under the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. "Our goal in bringing this lawsuit was to make San Francisco State University truly accessible to persons with disabilities," said Campos, the lead plaintiff. "We are glad that this settlement will give students with disabilities the access that they need." The settlement represented a major step forward for people with mobility and vision disabilities, said Guy Wallace, an attorney for the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco and co-counsel for the plaintiffs. "It is vital that persons with mobility impairments and persons with visual impairments have access to basic facilities such as classrooms, laboratories and restrooms," Wallace said. "This settlement goes a long way toward fulfilling the ADA's goal of equal access to higher education." S.F. State President Robert Corrigan also hailed the settlement, which he said "reflects our dedication to continually address the needs of persons with disabilities on our campus. I look forward to working collaboratively with the disabled community to achieve greater success in integrating and supporting students and faculty with disabilities." The settlement committed S.F. State to a full-time disability coordinator to enforce compliance with ADA and to a construction and renovation program to remove barriers and improve access. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in 1997, cited inaccessible bathrooms, dangerous dropoffs and a faculty club that was accessible only by a freight elevator used for garbage removal. The case was due to go to trial Nov. 1. S.F. State said it has spent $8 million in the last decade to improve access and another $2.7 million project was in progress. Besides the Oakland-based Disability Rights Advocates and the Legal Aid Society / Employment Law Center in The City, the plaintiffs were represented by Leonard, Carder, Nathan, Zuckerman, Ross, Chin & Remar of San Francisco. The settlement was the second major victory in a week for Disability Rights Advocates. Last week, a federal judge ordered Macy's West to improve disability access at its flagship Union Square store, a ruling that was expected to affect other Macy's stores throughout California and retail stores throughout the nation. ©1999 San Francisco Examiner Page A 7 --------------------------------------------------- Cynthia D. Waddell ADA Coordinator City Manager Department City of San Jose, CA USA 801 North First Street, Room 460 San Jose, CA 95110-1704 (408)277-4034 (408)971-0134 TTY (408)277-3885 FAX http://www.rit.edu/~easi/webcast/cynthia.htm http://www.aasa.dshs.wa.gov/access/waddell.htm -----Original Message----- From: Shara Bunis [mailto:sbunis@MAIL.NYSED.GOV] Sent: Monday, December 20, 1999 7:42 AM To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org Subject: San Fran State University I work for NYS government and we have recently adopted the W3C Guidelines for NYS Web sites. This has brough up many questions from NYS public colleges and universities. A while back there was some info on the San Fran State University access law suit. Can anyone provide a URL for this or any other pertinent information to help guide us in answering these questions.
Received on Monday, 3 January 2000 13:40:31 UTC