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BEND, Ore. (AP) — A central Oregon school district agreed to evaluate two schools for their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act after a complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education.
By signing the voluntary agreement, the district avoided having a formal investigation led by the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights. The name of the person who filed the complaint was redacted in documents obtained by The Bulletin newspaper (http://is.gd/jHxokE ) through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The deal requires evaluations at Ponderosa Elementary School and Sky View Middle School. Issues identified at Sky View include a flagpole located on a raised curb without an access ramp and a 3-inch wide crack running through an outdoor basketball court. At Ponderosa, concerns include inaccessible playground equipment and overly steep wheelchair ramps.
"Physical barriers to access are evident throughout this facility, which means students and/or visitors to this school face discrimination when trying to use certain areas," the complaint about Sky View reads.
Sky View Principal Scott Edmondson said he's aware of the issues, and he pointed to a new automatic door system as a recent upgrade.
"When it was built (in 2000), everyone was up to ADA standards," he said. "But those have changed. We want for every student to be able to get not only where they need to go, but anywhere in the school. I think the biggest thing for our school is I'd love to have the handicap parking spaces closer to the front entrance. That's definitely the biggest, most expensive thing we need."
The complaint asked the district to hire a full-time accessibility coordinator "to ensure that all facilities, programs, services and activities are accessible in facilities old and new and remain that way in perpetuity."
But the voluntary agreement only requires the district to designate one employee to handle accessibility issues at both schools named in the complaint. Each building's respective principal will serve that role, said Brad Henry, the district's chief operations and financial officer.
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Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com
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