Tuesday, October 26, 2004 11:13 PM

Deaf student sues university system, alleges mandated services denied
By K.C. HOWARD
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Las Vegas, NV - The silence started for Lezlie Ann Button when she was less than a year
old, and ever since, she has kept her eyes on hands.

With written words, hands have been the 34-year-old deaf woman's best learning tool and link to the world around her.

As she worked toward a college degree recently in Las Vegas -- first at the Community College of Southern Nevada and then at UNLV -- Button could not take her eyes off the interpreter's hands to glance at notes, peers or the professor. Distraction would mean a missed word or sentence.

But as Button's education progressed and her classes got more difficult, she found the note takers assigned to her by the schools couldn't keep up or provide a thorough enough outline for her to succeed.

On several occasions they missed classes or quit in the middle of the semester, Button said. Those who did show up were often unable to grasp complex topics, causing her to fail some courses, she said.

Button has filed a lawsuit against Nevada's university system, alleging she was denied access to mandated services or provided with inadequate services during the three-and-a-half years she attended CCSN and UNLV.

Federal disability regulations require schools to provide reasonable services to ensure that students with disabilities can receive the same education as students who aren't impaired.

"I want the justice served and to get their disability services improved to allow these deaf students to have the better opportunity to excel at their education," Button said of her case filed in federal District Court.

Button, who now lives in Cortland, N.Y., was interviewed last week using an Internet-based text messaging system.

Her attorney, Lani Esteban-Trinidad, wants Button's low marks removed from her transcript.

University system attorneys declined to comment on the pending litigation. But in their response to Button's lawsuit, the system denied responsibility for her failing grades, humiliation and distress.

In interviews, CCSN and UNLV officials said they do their best to ensure each disabled student receives the appropriate services required by federal and state regulations.

They said interpreters and transcribers are expensive and difficult to find.

Following her boyfriend, who had found a job in the valley, Button arrived in Las Vegas in 2000 and began classes at the community college. She graduated from the school with an associate's degree in geographical information systems.

She began attending UNLV the past spring in hopes of getting her bachelor's degree. But she soon left after UNLV refused to provide her with a real-time captioning service in addition to an interpreter.

The captioning service would allow a student to read conversations and lectures verbatim on a screen as a typist transcribes them.

Button said she needed both services.

An American Sign Language interpreter would help her communicate with the class and professor. And the captioning service would provide a transcription, more extensive than a note taker could produce, for studying later.

"Deaf students like myself need to watch the interpreter all the time," she said. "I cannot take my eyes off from the interpreter or the information will be missed. That is where the ... note taking or transcription services come into play to record everything that would help me study efficiently."

Button soon got fed up with UNLV's disability services and returned to New York this summer. She plans to begin classes at Cortland State University in the spring.

Henry Villanueva, executive director of UNLV's first-year programs and transition services, said all interpreters come with university-provided note takers, who could take notes for Button while she watched the interpreter.

Officials added that costs play an important role in which services they are able to provide to disabled students.

CCSN officials said interpreters cost between $25 to $60 per hour. A captioning service cost $60 to $80 per hour.

The school has 42 students with hearing disabilities who typically require about 500 hours of interpreting services a week, said Ann Johnson, vice president of student services.

The institution always spends more than the $250,000-a-year budget for interpretive services, she said.

"The students want what they want, and all we can actually provide is what is a reasonable accommodation," she said. "We can't make life perfect for them."

Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 – 2004