Americans with Disabilities Act

Local

Woman with a disability had to eat off chair during Special Olympics fundraiser at Tully's Good Times

Emyle Watkins

If you’ve ever been to a fundraiser at a restaurant, you know it’s a chance to have a great time with friends and support a cause. But for a local woman with a disability, a trip to Tully’s Good Times in Cheektowaga for a Special Olympics fundraiser, ended up being a bad time, as she was left to eat her meal off of a chair.
Education

10-year-old Buffalo Public Schools student returns to class after family files ADA lawsuit

Emyle Watkins

On Monday, a 10-year-old Buffalo Public Schools student returned to school for the first time in almost two years, just weeks after his family filed a federal lawsuit against the district, regarding reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Education

Buffalo Public Schools to allow reasonable accommodations to face masks after local family sues to get their disabled son back in school

Emyle Watkins

Earlier this week, Buffalo Public Schools quietly agreed in federal court to begin reaching out to families who have requested reasonable alternatives to masking for kids with qualified disabilities, after previously having a policy in place that did not allow for any exemptions to masking during "red zones." WBFO’s Emyle Watkins spoke with the family and their 10-year-old son about the push for reasonable accommodations for kids who, like him, would be unable to mask in school.
Local

Inclusive, first-of-a-kind hotel opens in Amherst

Ryan Zunner

A new Hampton Inn in Amherst will be the first hotel to receive a Universal Design certification through the University at Buffalo’s School of…
Future Amherst hotel seen as first-of-a-kind for all-access accommodations

Michael Mroziak

Ground was broken Thursday in the Town of Amherst on the site of a future hotel that developers say will be a first in the nation: a "universal design"…
Health & Wellness

ADA anniversary marked with protest of inaccessible disabilities service office

Avery Schneider

Western New Yorkers marked the 28th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by spotlighting a rather ironic lack of accessibility.The state’s…
Local

Dollar General stores sued over ADA inaccessibility

Marian Hetherly

Disability Rights New York has filed a class action lawsuit against the Dollar General Corporation for failing to make their New York stores accessible to…
Local

ADA advocates worried about new Republican bill

A recently passed House bill has many in the disability community speaking out. Advocates say the ADA Education and Reform Act would gut many provisions…
Local

Disability Pride recognized in Buffalo

Tuesday will mark the 26th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that made discrimination against people with disabilities illegal.To…
Local

Raising accessibility awareness for wheelchair users

This past July the nation celebrated the 25th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act. The civil rights law was designed to prevent discrimination…

NOW PLAYING

What’s Next? is a program that uncovers and discusses the issues and topics pertinent to marginalized and underrepresented populations of Western New York and Southern Ontario.

Learn More