Can they legally refuse me an interpreter?

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jasin

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I am a hard of hearing student and the college I attend is refusing to provide me with an interpreter.

I requested one nearly 3 quarters ago that's almost 30 weeks. They said it takes 2 quarters to get one. However, they still have not provided me with one and gave me a broken hearing amplification device to use instead. All it does is amplify nose and make squelching noises. It's worthless!

What can I do? What is the law regarding this? I think this would fall under the Ada, but how can I get them to adhere to that? I am not rich, so I cannot just go out and buy an attorney.
 
jasin said:
I am a hard of hearing student and the college I attend is refusing to provide me with an interpreter.

I requested one nearly 3 quarters ago that's almost 30 weeks. They said it takes 2 quarters to get one. However, they still have not provided me with one and gave me a broken hearing amplification device to use instead. All it does is amplify nose and make squelching noises. It's worthless!

What can I do? What is the law regarding this? I think this would fall under the Ada, but how can I get them to adhere to that? I am not rich, so I cannot just go out and buy an attorney.
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Contact an attorney. Now. They will get their bottoms burnt for this.
 
jasin said:
I am a hard of hearing student and the college I attend is refusing to provide me with an interpreter.

I requested one nearly 3 quarters ago that's almost 30 weeks. They said it takes 2 quarters to get one. However, they still have not provided me with one and gave me a broken hearing amplification device to use instead. All it does is amplify nose and make squelching noises. It's worthless!

What can I do? What is the law regarding this? I think this would fall under the Ada, but how can I get them to adhere to that? I am not rich, so I cannot just go out and buy an attorney.
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Does your college have disbaility services. You might want to talk to them about the issue and need an interpreter because you cannot communicate thru speech effectively enough to keep up. I think that case is absurd for state of washington student rights.
 
sequoias said:
Does your college have disbaility services. You might want to talk to them about the issue and need an interpreter because you cannot communicate thru speech effectively enough to keep up. I think that case is absurd for state of washington student rights.
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I've already dealt with them over this issue at least 3 different times.
 
Well, I've heard of lawyers for low income people and you might able to provide one. I'm not sure about where to get one, though.
 
jasin said:
How? I am not rich, I live off social security below the poverty line.
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Which is why some lawyers don't make you pay till a settlement is reached. The college will probably end up having to pay your legal fees. You are paying to get an education and they should provide you with an interpreter. They should pay your legal costs because you had no choice but to take action against them.
 
Banjo said:
Which is why some lawyers don't make you pay till a settlement is reached. The college will probably end up having to pay your legal fees. You are paying to get an education and they should provide you with an interpreter. They should pay your legal costs because you had no choice but to take action against them.
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I have known of cases like these where the lawyer doenst require a fee up front. It depends on the lawyer but there is a deaf advocacy group..NAD (National Association for the Deaf). Home - National Association of the Deaf

Contact them and see what they suggest..maybe they have lawyers on contract for situations like these.

Good luck!
 
definitely get an attorney. You have every right to be accomodated. If you need help, let me know. What college are you attending?
 
I agree that you need an attorney. Keep all documentation of your contact with the diswability services department. I would also recommend filing a complaint immediately with the Deptartment of Justice. the NAD can often be helpful in assisting you in finding an attorney. If you woud like to discuss this further, you can pm me. I work in disability services in a college, and might be able to help you with the steps you need to take.
 
I see lots of good advice.

Jasin, bottom line is this...
No one can do this for you, you are the one who has been wronged, you have to be the one to stand up for yourself.

Follow every person's advice! I'm sure things will reach a speedy resolution when you do :)
 
They probably couldnt find one. Add this to the long glorified lists of casualties of the interpreter shortage.

Richard
 
I do need a lawyer because what their doing to me is wrong. It's discrimination and a violation of federal law and state law. I guess my disability is different though since I am hard of hearing and not completly deaf, but that should not matter. By the way, all the deaf students at the college consider me deaf as do the students who know asl.

This is just a local college here that I am attending and I have just 3 quarters left. I have to finish several math classes and then I am done. If I had an interpreter I think I would be doing much better in math as I could understand so much more. It's strange but I do seem to understand math better when it's signed. I guess thats partly because the Asl teacher really drilled numbers into us.


I do got some good news in all this, the asl teacher at the college I am attending that taught me Asl is red hot mad over all this. One of students who took asl with me informed her of the situation and she went storming off to the disability office. However, the head of the disability office was not in so I don't think it was of much help. Maybe I should get her to go back down there on Monday when the head of the disability office is in?
 
Nesmuth said:
They probably couldnt find one. Add this to the long glorified lists of casualties of the interpreter shortage.

Richard
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The asl teacher at the college, the one who taught me asl, specifically stated that if they cannot find me an interpreter that she knows several who can interpret for me, so that should not be an issue.
 
jasin said:
I do need a lawyer because what their doing to me is wrong. It's discrimination and a violation of federal law and state law. I guess my disability is different though since I am hard of hearing and not completly deaf, but that should not matter. By the way, all the deaf students at the college consider me deaf as do the students who know asl.

This is just a local college here that I am attending and I have just 3 quarters left. I have to finish several math classes and then I am done. If I had an interpreter I think I would be doing much better in math as I could understand so much more. It's strange but I do seem to understand math better when it's signed. I guess thats partly because the Asl teacher really drilled numbers into us.


I do got some good news in all this, the asl teacher at the college I am attending that taught me Asl is red hot mad over all this. One of students who took asl with me informed her of the situation and she went storming off to the disability office. However, the head of the disability office was not in so I don't think it was of much help. Maybe I should get her to go back down there on Monday when the head of the disability office is in?
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Absolutely. There is strength in numbers. The more people you have that will express their anger and outrage over your situation, the more chance the idiots in the disability office will listen.
 
jasin said:
I agree with you Jillio, shortage or not the law is the law.
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Then lets use the law to pluck the terps from, like Sorenson VRS or so, as we, the deaf consumers, have a greater need for them than the VRS industry does.

Richard
 
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