\I live, breathe and eat this stuff," said Jeanne Kincaid, when asked about her 20-plus year career in disability law.
Kincaid has been an activist in disability law and education since her first position as a Legal Aid lawyer in Oregon.
One day, during her employment at Legal Aid, as she was walking to the bus, she heard a report on National Public Radio about a case involving an alcoholic high school student who was protected by civil rights. Later, a foster mother came to her with a similar situation, and Kincaid, searching for some legal statute that would support the foster mother's claim, stumbled on the 1977 Section 504 statute.
She filed a lawsuit against the school district, read everything she could that applied to children and their civil rights, and learned in the trenches.
She began representing children in conflicts over special education laws. After a few big court decisions and jury awards, she gained the name recognition that got her a position with the Oregon Department of Education as "house counsel."
In this role, she advised school districts of their legal obligations and parents of their legal rights. It was also her first step into the world of disability law as it applied to post-secondary institutions since the Oregon Dept. of Ed. also had jurisdiction over community colleges of Oregon.
After leaving Legal Aid, she spent some time consulting. Later, she took a position with the Office of Civil Rights in Seattle where she enforced Title 6, Title 9 and Section 504 legislation.
Many of the cases brought before the Office of Civil Rights involved discrimination based on disability in K-12 and higher education institutions.
Preventing such legal disputes became Kincaid's mission. "I wanted to help school districts and colleges understand their responsibilities and help parents and consumers understand their rights and responsibilities," she said. "My whole goal became keeping them out of litigation."
The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 led to increased awareness by disabled individuals of their rights and a concerted effort on the part of public and private enterprises to become accessible and accommodating.
Kincaid believes that some colleges were surprised by the requirements of the ADA, but explains that it really is not as sweeping as some might think. "It's the right thing to do, makes sense, and is not costly for colleges to comply with the ADA," Kincaid asserted.
Kincaid sees the relationship between students and colleges as more flexible and less adversarial than in K-12 education. "People like Marge (Chmielewski) and Sam (Goodin, U-M) are there to help students."
She also believes that students need to make use of the assistance that programs like OPHS provide. "To be successful, you have to come to terms with your disability," Kincaid said. She believes it is a preventable tragedy when students whose disability is not noticeable choose to go without support and fail.
Currently a consultant who sees herself as an "advocate of the law," Kincaid also presides as a hearing officer in special education disputes in New Hampshire and teaches a graduate level course in K-12 special education at the University of New Hampshire.