Four Sussex Technical High School graphic design and production students won first, second and tied-third place in the Delaware Disability History and Awareness Poster Contest held by the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens. The students’ posters emphasized the message “Inclusion is within everyone’s ability.”
The downtown Wilmington public library has banned bedrolls, blankets, bags and wheeled carts, all of which are common possessions of homeless individuals. Members of the homeless population – approximately 40 percent of whom are people with disabilities – regularly spend time in the library to stay warm, charge their phones and access the Internet. They have expressed concern the new policy will effectively prevent them from using library services.
Between 2010 and now, corporations have increasingly embraced neurodiverse employees but have not been as accepting of individuals with other kinds of disabilities. The introduction of the chief diversity officer as an executive position and the improvements in web accessibility are two reasons people with disabilities are being employed at slightly higher rates.
At Thursday’s Democratic debate, three candidates answered a moderator’s question about community and workforce integration for people with disabilities – the first question in all Democratic debates to date regarding disability policy. Notably, Elizabeth Warren discussed specific policy steps but also inadvertently called people with disabilities “the least of us” when trying to quote a Bible passage.
In a panel discussion, legal and educational experts identified shortcomings of Delaware’s school funding approach, which has been blamed for chronic underfunding of supports and programs for children with disabilities, English Language Learners and children from low income households. The speakers said one of the major problems is the reliance on property value assessments that have not taken place for more than 30 years.
