Salt Lake City, Utah (June 9, 2009): The National Federation of the Blind, its Utah affiliate, and its subsidiary organization, the Utah Parents of Blind Children, filed a complaint today against the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) alleging violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and comparable state law.  The organizations represent parents with blind and visually impaired children in Utah’s public and charter schools who receive services primarily through the Blind Outreach program of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind (USDB).  The complaint alleges systemic problems at the USOE and within the USDB Blind Outreach program that prevent Utah‘s blind and visually impaired students from receiving a free appropriate public education as required by law. 

Complainants allege that these systemic problems have:

• Resulted in failure to provide appropriate individualized evaluations crucial for determining needed educational support/services;
• Prevented blind and visually impaired students from receiving timely access to textbooks and course materials in alternative formats like Braille and large print;
• Caused students to receive state test materials in Braille with multiple errors and omissions, making test results invalid;
• Denied students appropriate Braille instruction; and
• Resulted in a lack of access to appropriate assistive technology and related training necessary to support literacy and curriculum access.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “Blind and visually impaired students can compete on terms of equality with their sighted peers and go on to lead productive and successful lives, but only if they are provided with an equal education.  The National Federation of the Blind will do everything in our power to ensure that every blind and visually impaired child receives the educational services he or she needs to succeed, and that is why we have brought this action.”

Ron Gardner, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah, said: “For many years now we have waited in vain for the USOE and the USDB to implement effective policies and hire needed personnel to ensure equal education for Utah’s blind and visually impaired children. We hope that this complaint will be the catalyst for a constructive dialogue that will finally resolve the outstanding issues and remove the barriers that stand in the way of the free appropriate public education to which blind and visually impaired students in Utah are entitled by law.”

Marla Palmer, president of the Utah Parents of Blind Children, said: “Nothing is more frustrating to a parent than seeing his or her child struggle in school for no other reason than that the child doesn’t have a Braille textbook or can’t access the school computer system.  We are not asking for special treatment for our children; we are only asking that the state do what is required by law and create a level playing field where our children can succeed on their own merits.”