Protests during Board of Trustees

BY CECILIA PARADA Editor-in-Chief

The Los Angeles Community College District’s (LACCD) mission statement vows to foster student success for all individuals seeking advancement through providing equitable and supportive learning environments.

But students with disabilities have not been afforded that luxury.

On March 3, the Board of Trustees and LACCD said in a press release they have unanimously voted against filing certiorari and will seek additional mediation instead.

The decision came after dozens of students with disabilities, community members and disability rights activists spoke at the Board of Trustees meeting on March 2 to support two blind LACCD students.

Roy Payan and Portia Mason filed a lawsuit in 2017 against the District with the support of the National Federation of the Blind.

The lawsuit alleged disability discrimination after the District failed to provide proper accommodations to the two students, which violated the students’ civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Payan said students with disabilities have the right to expect a decent education and cited the 30 years since the ADA and the 49 years since Section 504 was passed.

“You have 50 years of legislation to fix the system. This institution continued to buy systems that didn't work,” Payan said. “That's not my problem. It's yours. Start buying [accessible] systems or work with us. That's what we're asking for. Ignorance, indifference and neglect are not valid excuses for you to continue to take our rights away.”

Since the lawsuit was filed, California courts have ruled in favor of Payan and Mason twice. Activists asked the board to not file certiorari, a motion that would move the case to the

United States Supreme Court. Executive Counsel for the Association of Higher Education and Disability Paul David Grossman said the actions threatened by the District are hypocritical of their mission statement.

“We all may be and likely will be individuals with disabilities at some point in our life,” Grossman said. “I hope the day does not come when you need the protections of those laws. And they're weak, because you weaken them. You cannot both promise that you want to educate students with disabilities and care about and support students with disabilities, and at the very same time, disrespect and