When Jill Street, an MCC - Penn Valley student with a physical disability, tried to participate in the school's scheduled Civil Rights Pilgrimage Learning Community, she forced MCC to reevaluate its ADA compliance.

"ADA" refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal statute designed to ensure equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. As a federally recognized and accredited institution, MCC is subject to ADA standards.

Normally, all school-sponsored events and activities comply with the ADA. Deaf students are provided interpreters, those in wheelchairs are ensured access, and students with special learning needs have those needs met by the administration.

However, the Civil Rights Pilgrimage, an intersession class and trip to important Civil Rights sites around the U.S., is not and has never been accessible to students like Jill Street, who is in a wheelchair. For that matter, none of the school's trips, beginning as early as 2002, have been wheelchair-accessible.

Street is by no means limited by her disability. She has used a wheelchair for the last fifteen years, but nonetheless holds down a part-time job, is an honors student, and participates in a number of charities and student organizations.

When Street decided to enroll in the field trip, she met with Dr. Karen Curls, head of the Social Sciences division and co-instructor for the class, to ensure that necessary accommodations would be made. Street says, "I went up to her and told her that we'll need an accessible bus. I told her, ' I know we can get one because I went to Jeff City in one.'" Jefferson City was another school-sanctioned trip, to the state capital for the purpose of lobbying for student interests.

Jill Street

Street adds that, "[Dr. Curls] said, 'We'll see what we can do.' And the next day, she cancelled the trip and was trying to tell me it was not wheelchair-accessible." Spectrum called the bus company, Sunset Tours and Charter. The representative verified that none of their buses offered lifts, but promptly rattled off three other companies which did. Of course, there may have been other reasons to choose Sunset.

Street perceived the cancellation as discrimination, which is against the school's anti-discrimination policy, and said so to Dr. Curls.

Curls insists, "This is not about Jill Street. No one canceled any trip in twenty-four hours." Later, Curls says, "It's almost embarrassing to think a student would think we would try to disadvantage them."

Both Street and Curls agree that the trip needs to be restructured in order to accommodate students with disabilities. Initially, the trip did not account for alternative needs, due largely to oversights by everyone involved in the planning and approval process throughout MCC.

Not only does Curls maintain that she had no prior knowledge of the trip's noncompliance, nor even the need to be compliant, she also notes, "The district is not compliant."

Regarding who bears responsibility for ADA awareness, Dr. Dimmitt, Dean of Instruction, says, "We're all responsible for that in everything that we do."

Seeking to have the trip meet ADA guidelines, Street brought the issue to Joanie Friend, MCC's ADA representative. They called the scheduled venues to see what changes would need to be made.

Street says, "Joanie Friend called and told [Dr. Curls] that everything's accessible. I've called and told her everything's accessible. And she's like, 'Well, we have the right to cancel.'"

Co-instructor Greg Sanford, who was also scheduled to go on the trip and has been to several of the venues in recent years, says that even venues that claim ADA access do not necessarily have functional equipment or access to all areas. In some cases, access can be arranged, but after indeterminately long waits. Since the trip is jam-packed with activity, time delays present a major concern.

Sanford and Curls say that the trip could be restructured for next year, but thirty days out is insufficient. Sanford says, "If a person could wait a year, we would use their input and offer a scholarship." That possibility is still under discussion.

Greg Sanford

The input of disabled students is part of Dr. Curls' three-fold proposal to amend the civil rights field trip. Her suggestions are as follows:

Connie Spies, Special Needs Counselor for the Access/ABLE Office, should go on the trip to provide a first-hand account of mandatory changes.

A truncated trip should be offered in a larger city of comparable historical significance. A larger city is more likely to have accommodations for the disabled already in place.

At least one disabled student should be involved in planning the next trip, in order to act as a representative for other disabled students. Curls implied that Street could qualify for this position.

Curls says, "Jill brought to us the realization that we have a disabled population that wants to participate." Yet the changes that need to be made must address all disabilities, not just Street's. Curls points out that "we cannot discriminate, even among the disabled."

There are three clauses to the ADA policy: requests from disabled persons must be followed so long as the requests are timely and designed to enrich and enhance the experience.

As previously mentioned, Curls does not see the request as timely, given that it only allowed thirty days to make accommodations. As for a complete restructuring of the trip and accompanying curriculum, the reasonability of that request has yet to be determined.

MCC's group travel policy requires that ability for the disabled is accounted for in the elementary planning stages. The trip organizer is required to meet with the Access representative before any plans are finalized.

None of the people who spoke with Spectrum were able to comment on legal repercussions of ADA noncompliance save Curls, who said, "If you have no trip, you have no suit."

Dean Dimmitt says that the class has not yet been officially canceled, as the school is still hoping to reach an acceptable solution, though he has no current notion of what that solution may be.

President Bernard Franklin says, "I'm working to try to get a resolution by the end of the week."

Spectrum will provide an update to this story if a resolution is reached or new information becomes available.

Copyright 2007 Metropolitan Community College