Fw: August Extra: ESPA Resources for Students with Disabilities

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Ellen Garber Bronfeld

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August Extra: ESPA Resources for Students with Disabilities

August 2011

Dear Friend,

Welcome to Extra, Easter Seals Project ACTION's monthly

newsletter.

The news this month:

Upcoming Training

ESPA Introduction to Travel Training in North Carolina

Applications are now being accepted for the Introduction to

Travel Training course scheduled for

October 4-6 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This intensive,

three-day course is a free training initiative designed to help increase the

skills, knowledge and abilities of travel training professionals and includes

both classroom and field instruction. For questions, contact Kristi McLaughlin

at (800) 659-6428 or itt@.... Application deadline: August 26.

Integrating Access and Functional Needs into Emergency

Planning, Response and Recovery

The California Emergency Management Agency is offering a new

two-day course, Integrating Access and Functional Needs into Emergency Planning,

Response and Recovery, September 7-8 in San Diego, November 16-17 in Oakland and

December 15-16 in Los Angeles. For registration questions contact the registrar

at (805) 549-3536, or for course content contact the course manager

Brady at (805) 549-3548. Apply online.

ESPA News

ESPA Resources for Students with Disabilities

As summer winds down and a new school year begins, students

with disabilities are preparing to return to the classroom. Transportation is

essential to get to classes, the work place and all the other destinations of

community life. ESPA offers several resources specifically designed to

facilitate the use of public transportation for students and young adults with

disabilities, such as Project ACTION in Action: Helping Schools Meet the

Transportation Needs of Students with Disabilities, which outlines the process

used by six school districts from across the country to identify their education

and transition services transportation challenges and solutions. Additionally,

young adults with disabilities who are transitioning into the workplace should

check out our ESPA's Transit Customer Rights and Responsibilities Bookmark and

Paratransit Customer Rights and Responsibilities Bookmark available free online.

ESPA Launches Viewpoints - Pathways to Accessible

Transportation Blog

On July 21, ESPA announced the launch of its blog, Viewpoints

- Pathways to Accessible Transportation. Viewpoints features the various

perspectives of ESPA staff and guest bloggers on current issues in accessible

transportation. For 23 years and counting, ESPA has been and continues to be

dedicated to promoting pathways to accessible transportation by working with our

partners in the transportation and disability communities. Read two of our

latest postings, Strengthening Communities with Transportation and Proposed

Rights-of-Way Guidelines Offers Opportunities for Communities.

Volunteer Transportation Program Wins Award

The National Association of Development Organizations has

selected the Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments' Aging and

Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Assisted Rides Program Volunteer

Transportation for their 2011 Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards. The

program provides transportation services to older adults and people with

disabilities and is funded, in part, through a Federal Transit Administration

Section 5317 (New Freedom) grant administered by the South Carolina Department

of Transportation, Office of Public Transportation. ESPA, along with the

National Center on Senior Transportation, reviewed the ADRC's volunteer manual

and policy & practice guide and also participated on calls to offer technical

assistance.

Industry News

Access Board Issues Proposed Guidelines for Accessible Public

Rights-of-Way

On July 26, the U.S. Access Board released for public comment

new rights-of-way guidelines. When implemented, the guidelines will help make

the pedestrian circulation route more accessible and usable to everyone in areas

of new construction. " The Board's proposed guidelines are the first of their

kind in detailing how public streets and sidewalks can be designed and built to

serve all pedestrians, including those with disabilities, " notes Starnes,

chair of the Access Board. Two public hearings on the guidelines are scheduled

during the 120-day comment period: September 12 in Dallas and November 9 in

Washington, D.C. View the proposed guidelines online and submit comments at

http://www.regulations.gov/. Deadline for comments: November 23.

18th Annual Mid-Atlantic ADA Update Conference

The 18th Annual Mid-Atlantic ADA Update conference, the

region's leading conference on the Americans with Disabilities Act, will take

place September 21-22 in Baltimore, Md. Representatives from the U.S. Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal

Transportation Administration, and U.S. Access Board will provide the latest

information on the ADA. Breakout session topics will include: accessibility

focusing on the new 2010 Standards for Accessible Design, recreation issues, and

rights of way; employment with sessions on case law, reasonable accommodation,

applications and interviews; and general ADA Topics such as updated regulations

for Title II & Title III, communications and technology, and accessible

meetings.

White House Announces Strong Cities, Strong Communities

On July 11, the White House announced the launch of the Strong

Cities, Strong Communities Initiative?a new interagency pilot initiative that

aims to strengthen neighborhoods, towns, cities and regions around the country

by strengthening the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their

economic vision and strategies. The initiative bolsters local governments by

providing necessary technical assistance and access to federal agency expertise

and creating new public and private sector partnerships.

Research

TCRP Synthesis 88: Strollers, Carts, and Other Large Items on

Buses and Trains

The Transit ative Research Program has recently released

Synthesis 88: Strollers, Carts, and Other Large Items on Buses and Trains, which

documents the practices transit agencies use to manage bus and rail vehicles

carrying customers with large items. Items covered include wheelchairs, Segways,

scooters, and other mobility aids; strollers; bicycles; luggage; and

miscellaneous large items such as skis and dog carriers. Sample policies as to

how transit agencies handle large items are presented along with a discussion of

vehicle designs to accommodate large items.

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Did you miss last month's Extra? Previous issues are available

on the website.

The electronic editions of the latest and archived issues of

Update, ESPA's biannual newsletter, are also available online. To be added to

the surface mailing list, please sign up online at www.projectaction.org. Or,

call ESPA at (202) 347-3066 or toll-free at (800) 659-6428.

Follow us on Twitter @projectaction

Follow our blog Viewpoints - Pathways to Accessible

Transportation

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cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal

Transit Administration, and is administered by Easter Seals, Inc. This document

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Seals nor the U.S. DOT, FTA assumes liability for its contents or use thereof.

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Easter Seals Project ACTION, 1425 K Street, NW Suite 200,

Washington, DC 20005