Dr. Jan Bartleson, a counselor and emotional/behavioral disabilities clinician with M-DCPS for twenty-six years, has been unable to perform critical parts of her job independently because her employer requires that she utilize software, web content, and web platforms that are not compatible with screen reading technology. Dr. Bartleson’s job is to provide clinical services to students with emotional disabilities, individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, and conflict resolution, as well as participating in IEP meetings.
She is forced to rely on assistance from her sighted coworkers and has been unable to apply for promotions and other employment opportunities within the school system for which she is highly qualified.
Dr. Bartleson’s lawsuit asks the court to order M-DCPS to fix the district’s inaccessible technology and web content or to replace it with accessible technology.
Dr. Bartleson is being represented with the assistance of the National Federation of the Blind by Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum, Brown, Goldstein & Levy’s managing partner, and by Matthew W. Dietz of Disability Independence Group, Inc. of Miami, FL.