USU, hearing-impaired students meet
A group of hearing-impaired students who threatened a lawsuit against the university last October have now met with USU officials, and their attorney says they are “hopeful, but cautious.”
“Utah State said some things that made us hopeful that there could be a resolution,” said Dale Boam, a Sandy attorney. “But we’re cautious because Utah State has talked before. We’re waiting for action.”
Both parties met Jan. 20 to gain a “better understanding of what both sides were after,” Boam said.
Boam represents 12 hearing-impaired students who, in October, filed an intent to sue the university in 60 days if alleged violations of students’ rights under Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, as well as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, were not remedied.
At the time the intent was filed, USU had 15 hearing-impaired students, but only five interpreters and six note-takers. Diane Baum, director of the Disability Resource Center, said the university has since added four more temporary interpreters subcontracted through InterWest, a private interpreting agency.
Baum said she is hopeful the university will hire two full-time interpreters in the coming weeks, but she needs applicants first. Baum said she has posted the position nationally since December with only one applicant.
“There is a national interpreter shortage,” she said. “But we’ve had two more nibbles today. We’d gone months without anything.”
Baum said she understand the frustrations of the hearing-impaired students who have said a lack of interpreters has made their college experience even more difficult.
“We want the students to do well and a have good college experience,” she said. “I know how frustrated and angry they are. I’m frustrated, too.”
Baum said three of the Disability Resource Center’s best interpreters graduated last year and she has been unable to replace them with interpreters of the same skill.
In addition to adding new interpreters, she said the university will likely make some policy changes, including improvements to grievance-filing procedures.
No new plaintiffs have been added since October, Boam said, because he is hopeful the situation will be resolved without having to go to court.
“We’re putting a hold on the plaintiffs,” he said. “We do have other people who are interested. We have many people who are watching it cautiously and carefully and if things fall apart, we’ll have more plaintiffs.”
“The university has said their focus was going to be on a long-term goal,” Boam said. “We understand this isn’t something that can be solved overnight.”
Boam said the two parties plan to meet again the first week of March.
-acf@cc.usu.edu