Media ContactLisa Ramirez, Communications Director, lramirez@mylegalaid.org
More than 50 Minnesota school districts continue to use so-called seclusion rooms, according to data obtained by the Minnesota Disability Law Center. Districts use seclusion rooms for children with a disability and who are at risk of harming themselves or others. This practice is banned or extremely limited in 21 states.
After a settlement was reached with Lyft for repeatedly denying rides to a passenger with a service animal, Minnesota Disability Law Center Attorney Chad Wilson said he hopes the case raises awareness in Minnesota. He added that people with service animals are also not legally required to show paperwork to rideshare drivers.
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid client, Tori Andres, was repeatedly left stranded when Lyft drivers saw her service dog. In a settlement, Lyft will pay Andres $63,000 and strengthen their policies, driver education training and introduce updates to the Lyft app.
As a result of Operation Metro Surge, families of detainees have been left struggling to recover. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Attorney Camila Pacheco-Fores emphasizes how catastrophic even a short detention can be.
Ralonda Mason, an attorney with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, explained the challenges policymakers are facing with limited guidance from the Federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). At a news briefing hosted by the Minnesota Budget Project, she outlined how work reporting requirements could have a detrimental effect on people across the state.
People facing deportation are offered little hope for legal help in immigration court. This is the observation of WCCO reporter Jennifer Mayerle. She asks Alison Griffith of Legal Aid’s Immigration Law Project if it’s true that immigration lawyers aren’t taking new clients. Griffith says people shouldn’t give up.
Alison Griffith, a supervisory attorney with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, shares a message in Spanish about legal help available to people in need.
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Attorney Jessica Webster says that the state is at a crossroads as lawmakers consider rolling back Minnesota’s K–3 seclusion ban, a move she says is being driven largely by one senator. Despite this push, she notes that school administrators privately acknowledge they want to end seclusion altogether, they just need the tools and training to do it.
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Housing Attorney Julia Zwak tells Bloomberg a surge in evictions is expected to surpass current filing numbers
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