February 2002

Lont-Term Rehab News

Long-Term Rehab News
Car Giants Offer Better Driving Accessibility
If this year's mammoth Detroit Auto Show was any indication, car manufacturers are planning quite a few new offerings in 2002 for drivers with disabilities. The 14th annual show, which took place January 12-January 21 in Detroit, featured a variety of new cars and products from giants like Toyota, General Motors (GM), and Ford.

Toyota announced at the show that it would continue to offer its mobility assistance program, which the company launched in late 2001. The program offers reimbursement of up to $1,000 for adaptive equipment installed on any new purchased or leased vehicle. To illustrate the program, Toyota displayed a new Toyota Tundra pickup that features a wheelchair lift in the bed, a power lift bed cap, and a motorized driver's seat. Other equipment covered by the plan includes hand controls, pedal extenders, and reduced-effort brakes.

Chrysler introduced its luxury Pacifica minivan, set for a 2003 debut. The vehicle's height is engineered to require no stepping up or down to enter or exit, improving accessibility. Similarly, Honda's Model X prototype, also on display at the show, features an open design that will make it easier for disabled drivers and passengers to get in and out.

Perhaps the most progressive car maker in terms of new products this year is GM, which launched several new concepts at the show. The company had a large, detailed exhibit offering information about its mobility program. It also introduced the 2002 Goin' Mobile Chevrolet Trailblazer, a modified Sport Utility Vehicle with several adaptive features, such as wheelchair-friendly seats, and a scooter and electric hoist for the car's back storage area.

In addition, GM displayed its AUTOnomy concept car, a hydrogen fuel-powered futuristic car that offers drivers with disabilities the opportunity to steer and brake electronically instead of mechanically. Although the car will not be available this year, the company is researching the idea to make it even more accessible to people with disabilities.

Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities Rise
According to a new report by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), a total of 25.5% of students 17 and older with disabilities graduated from high school with a standard diploma in 1997-1998. That figure represents a continuation of the steady increase in graduation rates over the past 4 years.

In other findings from the 22nd Annual Report to Congress on Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, more than 30% of students with deaf-blindness, speech or language impairments, specific learning disabilities, or visual impairments received a standard diploma, or were most likely to graduate.

Those least likely to graduate were students with mental retardation (14%), multiple disabilities (10%), and autism (8%). Additionally, students with mental retardation showed stable graduation rates, while those with traumatic brain injury had variable rates. According to the report, the states with the largest percentage of graduating students included New Jersey (45.5%), Connecticut (38.7%), and Minnesota (38.5%). States with the smallest percentage were Mississippi (6.8%), South Carolina (10.4%), and Alabama (13.0%).

OSEP's focus on high school completion is driven in part by research showing that students with disabilities who complete high school are more likely to be employed and enroll in postsecondary education and training, and earn higher wages.

As part of OSEP's push to identify factors that influence graduation rates for students with disabilities, the organization has also received funding for a second study, which will provide data on the relationship between high school graduation, student characteristics, and educational services.

Ruling Could Tighten ADA
An upcoming US Supreme Court case review could lead to a ruling that would continue the trend toward narrowing the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Court announced that it will review the Kansas City, Mo, police department's appeal of damages awarded to a paraplegic man injured while being taken to jail. If the court decides that cities can face large punitive damages for not accommodating the disabled, such a ruling could impact cities nationwide that have tried to make their buildings and services disabled-friendly.

The case to be reviewed involves Kansas City resident and paraplegic Jeffrey Gorman, who was arrested outside a nightclub in 1992 and subsequently injured when police ignored his warnings that their van did not have the proper equipment to transport him in his wheelchair. In 1999, Gorman was awarded $1 million in actual damages and $1.2 million in punitive damages, after trial evidence showed that police were not prepared to handle prisoners with disabilities.

However, the US district judge presiding over the case threw out the punitive damages, saying such penalties were not permitted under the 1980 Rehabilitation Act. After Gorman's attorneys appealed, the US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Kansas City was not immune from punitive damages, then urged the police to take the case to the Supreme Court.

John Simpson, an attorney for Gorman, says, "We're not happy about it going to this level, but we still believe we have a good chance of coming out on top with this. If they rule against us, it's another blow to disabled people."

But the implications for cities are also clear. "Cities are already having a hard time figuring out what they're supposed to be doing for the disabled," says Samuel L. Jackson, city attorney for Sacramento, Calif. "If the Supreme Court sides with Gorman, it makes it even more complex, and ultimately it does so at the expense of the city's nondisabled citizens."

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