Please encourage your law schools to fill out the ABA’s survey on their disability services programs (http://new.abanet.org/disability/Pages/lawschools.aspx). The survey was recently sent to law school associate deans, and it helps keep the ABA’s information up to date.
The FCC, partnering with the Coleman Institutute for Cognitive Disabilities and Raising the Floor, is asking the public to submit short multimedia presentations on how cloud computing can increase opportunities for people with disabilities. The winning submissions will be posted on the FCC website and be eligible to receive a $1000 prize. The contest runs from October 22, 2010 through May 1, 2011. More details in the press release printed below.
The challenge is part of Chairman Genachowski’s Accessibility and Innovation Initiative, announced last July, which brings together parties who have a stake in helping improve communications for the disability community. http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/genachowski/speeches2010.html.
The most inspiring visions will be posted on the Commission’s Accessibility and Innovation Initiative website: http://www.broadband.gov/accessibilityandinnovation, and will be considered for the Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility. In addition, the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities will award $1,000 for the best presentation that addresses the interests of people with cognitive disabilities, and Raising the Floor will award $1,000 for the best presentation that addresses the interests of people in developing countries.
The challenge, entitled “Lifted by the Cloud: Visions of Cloud-Enhanced Accessibility,” is the first one the FCC has launched on GSA’s new platform, which was unveiled at Gov2.0 in September. The platform allows the U.S. Government and the public to bring the best ideas and top talent to bear on our nation’s most pressing challenges. “We are very excited to launch this challenge today and to tap into the creativity and ingenuity of the public, including students, developers, filmmakers, and industry representatives,” said Pam Gregory, the Director of the FCC’s Accessibility and Innovation Initiative. “We believe that these kinds of challenges can help broaden awareness and help stimulate innovative solutions for people with disabilities.”
Raising the Floor is an international coalition of individuals and organizations working to ensure that the Internet is accessible to people experiencing accessibility or literacy problems, even if they have very limited or no financial resources. The goal is to ensure that individuals who need special interfaces are as free and able as everyone else to use the new and emerging Internet tools and resources to live more independently and productively, and to achieve their life’s goals. More information on Raising the Floor can be found at: http://raisingthefloor.net/. Further information about the Chairman’s Accessibility and Innovation Initiative is available at the Broadband.gov’s website, http://www.broadband.gov/accessibilityandinnovation/.
For everyone in the Los Angeles area..
The Disability Rights Legal Center in Los Angeles is sponsoring and organizing Disability Mentoring Day on Wednesday, October 20. They have a number of mentor matches that would be great opportunities for any NALSWD members in the area, such as spending the day with an attorney at the National Labor Relations Board, an attorney at Munger Tolles & Olson, or a member of the city council. If you are interested and would like to attend, you sign up on-line at www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org or contact John Longoria at
There is a disability panel at Stanford Law School this Saturday, October 16th at 2:15 pm. For full info, see below. If you’re in the bay area, come on down!
If you can’t make it but wish you could, we’ll try to post a video link to the conference later.
October 16, 2:15-3:45 PM (Room 280A)
In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this panel will trace the genesis and progress of this historic civil rights movement. One lawyer and two activists who have worked and still work at the forefront of disability rights will tell the story of the protests and rallies that brought it into being, the barriers it shattered, and the science behind its uncertain future.
NALSWD’s own Elizabeth Kolbe, a 2L at Stanford and our Vice President, is profiled in the new diversity issue of the National Law Journal.
Check it out!
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202473089733
NALSWD is very pleased to announce that our national conference is going to be held on the weekend of January 22-23rd in San Francisco at Golden Gate University School of Law,
We will need volunteers to prepare materials, order supplies, spread the word, and, of course, COME! Registration is free and we will be working very hard to make lodging options as affordable as possible. Plus, many law schools will reimburse for travel expenses, and we will coordinate with students to get them any necessary invitations or paperwork necessary to get approval from their school. The weekend will feature professional networking, panels from practitioners and experts about employment and school and bar accommodations, elections for the NALSWD Executive Board, and a ton of fun time with other law students with disabilities from around the country.