Media ContactLisa Ramirez, Communications Director, lramirez@mylegalaid.org
In response to the Eighth Circuit decision to uphold Trump administration policy to deny bond to undocumented immigrants, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid offered the Star Tribune this take: “We hope that Minnesota judges will follow the lead of Texas judges who are granting bond hearings, despite a similar Fifth Circuit Court opinion, because that’s the due process right people have.”
In this episode of the amplifiED podcast, hosts Margaret Sullivan and Josh Crosson sit down with Jessica Heiser, attorney at the Minnesota Disability Law Center, to talk about what seclusion — the use of solitary confinement on children — actually looks like for Minnesota students.
Solitary Watch reports on the use of seclusion rooms in Minnesota schools, asserting that they constitute a form of solitary confinement. Images and testimony from the Minnesota Disability Law Center’s report show these rooms are often “concrete, closet-sized, and feature thick four-inch magnetic-locking doors, like a jail cell.”
Attorney Jessica Heiser from our Minnesota Disability Law Center spoke with Chad Hartman from WCCO Radio about the stark reality of seclusion rooms and why they shouldn’t be used in Minnesota schools. Thank you, WCCO Radio, for having us!
Mid‑Minnesota Legal Aid talks to Palo Alto High School newspaper, The Campanile.
Minnesota Disability Law Center Attorney Chad Wilson represented Tori Andres in her discrimination case against Lyft after drivers refused to
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.
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