The following information is provided by DREDF (Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund)www.dredf.org:

Dear Friends,

DREDF has a great victory to share with you: We've secured a historic settlement inNational Association of the Deaf, et al. v. Netflixthat will ensure 100% closed captions in Netflix's ondemand streaming content within two years. DREDF's work firmly establishes a precedent for a critical issue of disability civil rights law: that a web-based business is a place of public accommodation and is covered under Title lll of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Specifically, the settlement benefits people who are deaf and those who are hard of hearing, as well as a growing number of older Americans with hearing loss, who require captions in order to access online streaming video. As DREDF Directing Attorney Arlene Mayerson said, "For people who are deaf and hard of hearing, captions are like ramps for people who use wheelchairs."

As lead counsel, DREDF alleged that Netflix's "Watch Instantly" on-demand streaming programming discriminated against people who are deaf and hard of hearing because it did not provide closed captioning on all content. The case not only opens doors to entertainment, but also education, government benefits, employment, and more, as systems are increasingly accessed online.

The National Association of the Deaf, along with theWestern Massachusetts Association of the Deaf and HearingImpaired(WMAD/HI) and Lee Nettles, a deaf Massachusetts resident, brought suit against entertainment giant Netflix in 2010 to secure a commitment to provide closed captioning for "Watch Instantly" movies and television streamed on the Internet.

The case resulted in a precedentsettingConsent Decreefiled on October 10, 2012, which will increase access for the 48 million Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing to movies and television streamed on the Internet, one of the fastest growing entertainment venues in the country. The Consent Decree requires Netflix to provide captions on all streamed programming by 2014.

The case is notable for establishing that the ADA applies to online-only businesses, a critical issue as society moves from accessing services on Main Street to the Internet. To state a claim under Title III of the ADA, a plaintiff must show that the alleged discrimination involves the services of a "place of public accommodation."

In the motions leading up to the Consent Decree, DREDF successfully argued that Netflix's Watch Instantly website is a place of public accommodation by analogizing Netflix's service to that of a brick-and-mortar store or other venue that provides similar services, such as a video rental store. In hisOrder to Netflix's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, Federal District Court Judge Michael Ponsor rejected Netflix's argument that Title III did not include entities like websites or streaming services on grounds that when the ADA was written web-based services did not exist and could not have been explicitly included:

"In a society in which business is increasingly conducted online, excluding businesses that sell services through the Internet from the ADA would run afoul of the purposes of the ADA and would severely frustrate Congress's intent that individuals with disabilities fully enjoy the goods, services, privileges and advantages, available indiscriminately to other members of the general public."

Moreover, Mayerson convincingly argued that the legislative history of the ADA makes clear that Congress intended the ADA to adapt to changes in technology and that Congress did not intend to limit the ADA to specific examples listed in each category of public accommodations.

Judge Ponsor found that plaintiffs convincingly argued that the website falls within at least one, if not more, of the enumerated ADA categories, including that it is a "service establishment" providing customers with the ability to stream video programming through the internet; a "place of exhibition or entertainment" because it displays movies, television programming, and other content; and a "rental establishment" because it engages customers to pay for the rental of video programming.

The Consent Decree is a model for the streaming entertainment industry, and will also serve as a model to improve access to Internetbased services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. DREDF is honored to have worked with Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson P.C., and the Boston, MA law firm Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C. on this case.

Don't Forget to Cast Your Vote! Accessibility of Polling Places

On Sept. 18, 2012, this webinar was held by the ADA National Network. Visit their websitewhere you can listen to the archived recording and/or read the transcripts to learn more about this important topic. Here's a description of what the webinar:

2012 is a presidential election year and as we reflect back to 2008 we know that 14.7 million Americans with disabilities voted in the 2008 election. This is a significant increase over the 10.9 million Americans with disabilities who voted in the 2000 presidential election. Passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002 increased the focus and attention on the barriers faced by people with disabilities attempting to exercise their civic responsibilities. However, many polling places remain inaccessible and individuals continue to report that they do not get the supports they need in the polling place to ensure that they can vote independently and confidentially. Join this session as we explore the obligations under the various laws and regulations and strategies for working with local election officials.

You can also learn more about accessibility of polling places from thischecklist.

Rental Housing Search and Occupancy Experiences of Veterans with Military Associated Disabilities

-For participating in this study, veterans have the opportunity to enter into a drawing to win 1 of 4 money orders in the amount of $50.00!

Finding a great home that meets your needs is always challenging, and finding one that meets the needs of someone who acquired a disability while serving in the military can be especially difficult. The Housing program at Virginia Tech is conducting a study to gather information and bring awareness to the rental housing search experience and occupancy situation of veterans with disabilities. Findings from this study may help improve the housing search process and housing conditions for veterans with disabilities.

Veterans with military associated disabilities who live in rental housing are invited to participate in a research study to bring awareness of their rental housing search and occupancy experiences. If you are interested in participating in this research study, please cut and paste the following link to your internet browser to access the electronic version of this study: https://vtsurveycenter.us2.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5BVhEcHNiAKnXqB

Participants have until Saturday, December 15, 2012 to complete the survey.

For participating in this study, you have the opportunity to enter into a drawing to win 1 of 4 money orders in the amount of $50.00! The odds of winning 1 of the 4 money orders in the amount of $50.00, is 1 out of 32 individuals.

If you have any questions regarding this research, contact Luz Semeah via phone or email at (561) 603-2350 or lmsemeah@vt.edu ; lmsemeah@cornell.edu .

Remember:

To participate, the veteran must have a service-related disability as a result of serving in the U.S. military and must be in rental housing.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the rental housing search and occupancy experiences of veterans with disabilities whose injuries were sustained while serving in the U.S. military. The supply of accessible housing units is small and the number of housing discrimination grievances filed by or on behalf of persons with disabilities is significant. To date, there have been few studies looking into the rental housing accessibility issues of veterans with disabilities. The goals of this research are to: (1) bring awareness of veterans rental housing experiences, (2) to promote an increase in the number of accessible housing units (by highlighting the role of the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines), and (3) to advocate for the availability of grants for housing modifications, especially for veterans with less than a 90% disability rating.

Here are a couple interesting websites that provide information about assistive technology and workplace accommodations. Be sure to check them out:

• AbleData: AbleData provides objective information about assistive technology products and rehabilitation equipment. Go to the website and click on Products to see their database - almost 40,000 products in 20 different categories
• Job Accommodations Network (JAN): The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability, and shows employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace.

The following information is forwarded to you by the Great Lakes ADA Center (www.adagreatlakes.org) for your information:

NCD Issues Groundbreaking Report "Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children"

WASHINGTON, DC -- On Thursday, September 27, the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency, released Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children -- a groundbreaking policy study, infused with real life stories of parents with disabilities, to provide a comprehensive overview of factors that support and obstruct Americans with all kinds of disabilities from exercising their fundamental right to begin and maintain families.

Twenty-two years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act with an increasing number of people with disabilities taking advantage of increased protections to receive an education and go to work, parents with disabilities continue to be the only distinct community that have to fight to retains and sometimes gain custody of their own children without cause, said NCD Council Member, Ari Neeman. Currently, the U.S. legal system is not protecting the rights of parents with disabilities and their children. Two-thirds of state child welfare laws allow courts to determine a parent is unfit solely on the basis of a parents disability. In fact, every state allows disability as a consideration when determining the best interest of a child in family or dependency court. Whether actions are taken at the state or federal levelas an amendment or a new lawthe need to correct this unfair bias could not be more urgent or clear.

About the report: Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children explores the pervasive prejudices faced by parents with disabilities by exposing the disparate treatment often encountered by parents with disabilities and their children within court and service systems and offers draft model state and federal statutory language to correct the discrimination faced by parents with disabilities in the United States.

Key findings:

Estimates indicate 6.1 million children in the U.S. have parents with disabilities Nearly 1 in 10, almost 10% of the population.

Parents with disabilities are the only community of Americans who must struggle to retain custody of their children.

Removal rates of parents with psychiatric disabilities is as high as 70 80 % Removal rates of parents with intellectual disabilities is as high as 80% Extremely high removal rates and loss of parental rights for parents with sensory or physical disabilities.

Parents with disabilities are more likely to lose custody of their children after divorce.

Prospective parents with disabilities have more difficulty when it comes to accessing reproductive health care such assisted reproductive technologies.

Prospective parents with disabilities face significant barriers to adopting children.

In the face of numerous obstacles, hope remains with several programs that show promise, long-term sustainable impact and potential for replication. With more funding, model programs currently serving American parents with disabilities could easily grow and develop nationwide to better serve this often overlooked population.

NCD thanks Through the Looking Glass, the NIDRR-funded National Center for Parents with Disabilities and Their Families, for their valuable assistance in writing sections of this report. Their insight and guidance during the research and drafting of Rocking the Cradle was instrumental in its development and completion.

Web version of this news release is available at:

http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/09272012

Full report is available on NCD's website at:

http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2012/Sep272012/

For more information contact:

Lawrence Carter-Long, Public Affairs Specialist National Council on Disability

Email: LCarterLong@ncd.gov

Phone: 202-272-2004

NCD on the web: http://www.ncd.gov

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NCDgov On Twitter: http://twitter.com/NatCounDis