[CTRL] Land of the free- Branchburg NJ Bans Sign Language On Bus]

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No comments by me, I am pissed off enough already.
 
 

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From: Mike Balog [PBN-VT. Editor]
To: Patriot Broadcast Network
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2001
Subject: NEWS: New Jersey: Branchbury Bans Sign Language On Bus:
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Comments: How ironic it is that Public Schools Teach "Tolerance and Diversity" of
Weird, Perverted Practices. But do not Teach Students to "Tolerate" those who are
Handicapped, such as the Hearing Impaired. When a student cannot communicate in
a normal manner, resorts to learning and using "sign language" it should be standard
procedure for the School System to accept that disability. However in this case a
young child was banned from using "sign language" due to atypical rowdy student
response on her school bus - and the School Principal Blames Her for her Disability
causing the "normal students" to get rowdy on the bus. Hence the hearing impaired
student is the one who gets "suspended" from using the bus. Since when do School
Officials have the right to Violate a Disabled Student's Civil Right of Free Speech,
protected by the 1st Amendment and the American Disability's Act? School Administrators
should be made to answer to the Parents and Community who pays their salary and Not
act as some unresponsive Commissar. I know how this feels first hand, as I am Hearing
Impaired. ~ Mike Balog, PBN-VT., Editor.
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             NEWS: New Jersey: Branchburg Bans Sign Language On Bus
             04/18/01

               BY JENNIFER DEL MEDICO
                STAR-LEDGER STAFF

                Her hearing has started to deteriorate, her parents say, so
                12-year-old Danica Lesko usually communicates with her
                friends in sign language, especially in noisy places like the
                school bus.

                But Branchburg school officials have ordered her to stop
                signing, insisting the practice has created a safety problem
                on the bus.

                The Leskos want to know how silent communication can
                cause a ruckus.

                On March 30, the parents of Danica Lesko received a
                written report that their daughter was "doing sign language
                after being told it wasn't allowed on the bus."

                The report, signed by Stony Brook School Principal J.
                Harry Westerholm, threatened that if she kept signing,
                Danica would be slapped with a three-day bus suspension.

                Her parents, who were already suing the district for an
                in-school incident they say cost their daughter her hearing,
                were outraged.

                "She has a hearing problem, and now she's being punished
                for using sign language," said Mary Ann Lesko, a former
                school board member. "It's absurd."

               Westerholm said his decision was appropriate and he
                stands by it.

                "Sign language, or any behavior, is not permitted if it is
                going to cause a disturbance on the bus," Westerholm
                said yesterday. "Rest assured, we are not going to do
                anything that jeopardizes a true handicapped student."

                Westerholm said he could not describe how the girl's sign
                language caused a disturbance and referred the question
                to the district's transportation office.

                Transportation Supervisor Gilbert Taylor referred calls to
                Superintendent Lois Capobianco, who did not return calls.

                The Leskos say it was other students in the front of the
                bus who started acting up, mocking the girls who were
                signing and jumping out of their seats.

                "(The district) doesn't want to deal with the real discipline
                issue," Lesko said. "They don't want to deal with kids who
                are doing these things.

                Lesko said she believes the district is targeting her
                daughter for punishment.

                Westerholm said Danica was the only student reprimanded
                because she was the only one who refused to stop
                signing.

               Danica learned sign language through her school's sign
                language club, which she joined three years ago. She often
                practices at home because her 9-year-old brother has a
                hearing impairment.

                The Leskos say when they are out to dinner their children
                communicate only through sign language.

                Advocates for the hearing impaired were outraged by the
                district's action and said if that signing is banned, all
                communication should be banned.

               "Her freedom of speech was violated," Charlotte Karras,
                deaf outreach coordinator for the Edison- based Alliance for
                Disabled in Action, said through an operator. "This is her
                way of communicating, and the principal apparently does
                not know about the (Americans with Disabilities Act) laws
                nor the First Amendment to our Constitution, freedom of
                speech. You can be sure most of our deaf and hard-of-
                hearing population will be outraged by this."

               The Leskos say their daughter's hearing problem was
                caused by an incident at the school last November, when a
                classmate shot a bottle rocket off near their daughter's ear.

                They have sued the district over that incident and are
                considering filing another charged it violated their
                daughter's civil rights and the Americans with Disabilities
                Act. The family is in the process of filing a complaint with
                the state Department of Education.

                The bottle rocket incident left Danica moderately hard of
                hearing and impaired her from hearing low tones, such as
                the trombones in her school band and soft musical cues at
                her ballet class, her family said.

                An audiologist at Hunterdon Otolaryngology Associates
                issued a report that Danica's hearing is below normal. The
                Leskos say doctors have advised them that a hearing aid
                may be necessary.

               As for Danica, she said she will continue signing -- with her
                parent's encouragement -- on the bus.

                "I look fine, but not in here," she said, clutching her ears.
                "These things don't work that good."
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           © 2001 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.
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