PASSAGE AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT INVOLVES, AS MUCH AS ANYTHING, A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE. IT INVOLVES MOVING FROM A PERSPECTIVE WHEREIN EXCLUSION IS TOLERABLE TO ONE WHERE IT IS INTOLERABLE. IMPOSED, ARTIFICIAL BARRIERS CREATE ARTIFICIAL DISABILITIES. AS WE ELIMINATE THE BARRIERS, WE ELIMINATE THE DISABILITIES. WE MAY BE SURPRISED AT HOW MINOR THE LIMITATIONS ARE OF THOSE WE CLASSIFY AS DISABLED WHEN THE ARTIFICIAL BARRIERS ARE REMOVED. IN MANY CASES THEY ARE PROBABLY LITTLE MORE THAN THE INVISIBLE DISABILITIES EACH ONE OF US CARRIES AROUND FROM DAY TO DAY BUT WHICH WE REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE. FOR ALL OF THESE REASONS, I STRONGLY SUPPORT PASSAGE OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT. We will now take the testimony of Melody Ellis, the President of the Board of Education, Houston Independent School District. STATEMENT OF MELODY ELLIS, PRESIDENT, BOARD OF EDUCATION, HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT Ms. ELLIS. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I am here in support of H.R. 2273, the Americans with Disabilities Bill of 1989. The Houston Independent School District provides services for over 23,000 students who have been identified as qualifying for one or more of the 12 disability conditions defined by the Federal and state regulations. Our district provides services through funds from local revenues, as well as those funds from state and Federal sources. Our district provides services to students with disabilities through resource programs on every campus, and we have 233 campuses currently. Our district provides specialized programs for students who need more intensive instruction throughout our city to ensure that students are served at their home schools, or on campuses relatively near to their homes. Our district provides teachers and related service personnel through 16 community agencies, and 16 hospitals. Our district provides services for students who require special services in their homes through our home-bound programs. In addition, we have arranged our class sizes to give virtually individualized attention to the disabled student. In addition, we have a part-time employment situations at one of our high school. This overview merely covers the effort through 1st through 12th grades. It represents the district's effort to keep faith with a disabled community in Houston. However, this is just a beginning. The graduate of our program faces enormous barriers to gaining full access to employment, housing, transportation, extrication, and opportunities that able-bodied persons take for granted. H.R. 2273 establishes a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. For too long our society has not taken cognizance of our disabled citizens. This bill seeks to remedy that by prohibiting discrimination in employment, public housing, extrication, transportation, communications, recreation, institutionalization, health services, voting and access to public services. It gives legal recourse to persons with disabilities. It is legislation whose time has come. On another note, I want you to know that in March of this year our school district passed a $197 million bond issue to improve our facilities. And as a part of that facility improvement program, we are going to make sure that all of our schools are accessible to every student. [Applause.] [The prepared statement of Melody G. Ellis follows:] Testimony of Melody G. Ellis, Ed.D., President Houston Independent School District Houston Metropolitan Multi-Service Center for the Handicapped 1475 West Gray, Houston, Texas 77019. I am here in support of HR2273, the Americans With Disabilities Bill of 1989. The Houston Independent School District provides services for over 23,000 students who have been identified as qualifying for one or more of the twelve disability conditions defined by federal and state regulations. Our district provides services through funds from local revenues, as well as through funds from state and federal sources. Our district provides services to students with disabilities through resource programs on every campus. Our district provides specialized programs for students who need more intensive instruction throughout our city to ensure that students are served at their home schools, or on a campus relatively near to their homes. Our district provides teachers and related service personnel through sixteen community agencies, and sixteen hospitals. Our district provides services for students who require special services in their homes through our home-bound programs. In addition, we have arranged our class sizes to giv. virtually individualized attention to the disabled student. In addition, we have a part-time employment situation at one of our high schools which has been dubbed the "Sheltered Workshop." Testimony of Melody G. Ellis, Ed.D., President, Board of Education Page 2 This overview merely covers the effort from the 1st through 12th grade. It represents the district's effort to keep faith with a disabled community in Houston. However, this is just a beginning. The graduate of our program faces enormous barriers to gaining full access to employment, housing, transportation, extrication, and opportunities that able-bodied persons take for granted. HR22173 establishes a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. For too long, our society has not taken cognizance of our disabled citizens. This bill seeks to remedy that by prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, extrication, transportation, communications, recreation, institutionalization, health services, voting, and access to public services. It gives legal recourse to persons with disabilities. It is legisla tion for whose time has come. Thank you! Mr. OWENS. Thank you. I just have one question, and that is: Do you find that your students in high school, for example, are aware of the tremendous barriers that they face and are therefore discouraged, give up hope, and do not make that transition after they leave school? Ms. ELLIS. I know of one instance where a child was working in our part-time situation at the school. And when that child left school, it was not as easy to find employment as they thought it would be. Mr. OWENS. Thank you. Mr. Bartlett? Mr. BARTLETT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I very much appreciate your excellent testimony. It really is helpful. From time to time, as legislation progresses, I may want to get back to one of you regarding some of the specifics of the legislation. I have a question, first of all, for Dr. Hightower as well as Dr. Ellis, with regard to creation of other laws. Both of you are head of agencies that are already covered by Federal law as recipients of Federal funds. And so therefore you are covered essentially by Section 504 for these purposes. Now my question is twofold. In the bill, no doubt there will be other agencies like yours who would be covered by Section 504 as well as covered by the new ADA of prohibition against employment. Now, should there be a conflict between those two, do you think we should have a preemption so that you would have to deal with only one and not with both, or do you think we should require that there are different versions of the legislation, some that provide for preemption and some that don't? So my question is, as head of an agency, would it be useful in the logical progression of this for us to give you one agency or one set of laws which you have to deal with, or could you see a potential problem to having to conform to both 504 as well as the new ADA? MS. ELLIS. I think it would be helpful if the two agencies could get together. We will do whatever it is that is required, but sometimes it is difficult to deal with more than one agency. Mr. BARTLETT. Dr. Hightower? MS. VAN HIGHTOWER. Well, I think that is true. I would hope that we would go with the strongest legislation as possible. Mr. BARTLETT. So preemption, but erring on the side of whichever one was stronger? MS. VAN HIGHTOWER. That is correct. Mr. BARTLETT. Second question. As the head of, again, a public agency, do you see a problem with definitions in the legislation? That is, would you have us write out very specifically in the statute a definite for what reasonable accommodation is that's readily achievable, and undue hardship and the various other definitions that we have to have? Or would you rather leave that up to the administrative agencies for regulations, or for the courts to interpret? MS. ELLIS. Whichever you see fit. The school district does have a history of going above and beyond whatever mandates are placed on us. So we are ready, willing and able to make our buildings, our |