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Home My WebLink About05-20-2014 Human Rights CommissionAGENDA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HELLING CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL May 20, 2014 6:00 P.M. 1. Call Meeting to Order/ Roll Call 2. Approval of Minutes from the April 29, 2014 Meeting 3. Public Comment of Items Not on the Agenda 4. Old Business: a. Event --Before You Know It (Film Screening June 17) b. Event--Juneteenth Celebration (June 14) i. Proclamation (June 3) c. Event-- Iowa City Pride Festival (June 21) d. Building Blocks to Employment Job Fair 5. Reports: a. Youth Awards b. International Students (Olmstead, Cohen, Retish, Townsend) c. Racial/Ethnic Equity Roundtable (Cohen, Townsend) d. Education (Retish, Olmstead, Coulter) i. Diversity Policy ii. Individualized Education Programs e. Building Communities (Townsend) i. Housing Choice Voucher Program £ University of Iowa Center for Human Rights (Ghoneim, Olmstead) 6. Reports of Commission 7. Reports of Staff 8. Set Next Regular Meeting 9. Adjourn The Human Rights Commission meetings follow the Iowa City Community School District closings for inclement weather except for early dismissals for heat. Minutes Human Rights Commission April 29, 2014 — 6 P.M. Helling Conference Room Preliminary Members Present: Harry Olmstead, Joe Coulter, Kim Hanrahan, Shams Ghoneim, Paul Retish, Andrea Cohen. Member Excused: Ali Ahmed, Orville Townsend. Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers. Recommendations to Council: No. Call to Order: Olmstead called the meeting to order at 18:02. Consideration of the Minutes from the March 18, 2014 Meeting: Motion: Moved by Coulter, seconded by Ghoneim. Motion passed 5-0. (Hanrahan not present). Meeting Business: Funding Request Senior Center This funding request is in the amount of $200. It is to offset the cost to show Before You Know It. This is a film about generational trailblazers who have surmounted prejudice and defied expectation to form communities of strength and represent the estimated 2.5 million lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans over the age of 55 in the United States. Coulter moved to contribute $100, seconded by Ghoneim. Cohen stressed the importance of the Commission following the policy enacted earlier in the year concerning funding request. Olmstead and Ghoneim both believe the film is in line with the mission of the Commission. Motion passed 5-0. (Hanrahan not present). Youth Awards 2014 Bowers asked for Commissioners to arrive no later than 5:30 for the ceremony. Seventy-six area youth will be recognized at the event this year. Coulter and Ahmed will be unable to attend this year because both will out of town. Bowers will send Cohen a link to view the ceremony from 2013. Subcommittee Reports: International Students No report. Racial/Ethnic Equity Roundtable No report. Education Retish reported that of the fourteen -hundred special education students identified within the District, the District had to reevaluate over seven -hundred students to assess their need for special education. After the evaluations, eighty-seven students were no longer eligible for special education. The District provided Retish with the racial demographics for the eighty-seven students. Hanrahan would like to know how selection is made to send some District students to Tate High School. Coulter thanked Retish for all of his hard work and energy on this matter pointing out that awareness can be very powerful. Building Communities (Housing) Bowers provided a copy of the updated language added to the Who We Are & What We Do brochure for the Housing Authority. Page eleven now reads: TERMINATION OFASSISTANCE DUE TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY (24 CFR 982.553 & 982.555): The ICHA may terminate assistance for criminal activity by a household member as authorized in HUD regulations if the ICHA determines, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that the household member has engaged in the activity, regardless of whether the household member has been charged, arrested or convicted for such activity. The ICFIA must give a participant family an opportunityfor an informal hearing to consider whether the termination decision due to criminal activity is in accordance with the law, HUD regulations and ICHA policies. Evidence may be considered without regard to admissibility under the rules of evidence applicable to judicial proceedings. The Iowa City Housing Authority Informal Hearingprocedures are in the HCVAdministrative Plan: Section 15.4 C. Hearing Procedures, Page 71. A copy of our Hearing Procedures is available upon request or viewed online at www.lcgov.orglicha. Select Housing Authority Documents. In future printings, Hanrahan suggested that "regardless of age" be added. Ul Center for Human Rights The Center has established a fundraising committee and is working on creating a program committee. Olmstead is the chair of the program committee and Ghoneim is a program committee member. Ghoneim would like to see future Center programming on the human rights of persons with mental disabilities. Commissioners Ghoneim reports that she recently did a presentation for the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights on the ongoing human rights violations in Egypt. Retish reports that he is a member of Livable Communities for Johnson County. This group may have some concerns with area housing that would be pertinent to the Commission or even possibly overlap. Retish has asked for further information on the housing concerns. With the information provided being presented to the Commission at a future meeting date or for him to report to the Commission at a future meeting date. Hanrahan mentions the recent State of Equity Report published by the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission, which segued into Coulter's report. Coulter and Bowers both attended the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission's Building An Inclusive Community, One Neighborhood At A Time. Coulter was a presenter on Understanding Health Disparities Is Assimilation Good for People of Color and Immigrants. Bowers will send a pdf of Coulter's presentation out to each Commissioner via email. Coulter stated that the State of Equity Report should serve as a model for Iowa City. Cohen reports on a recent trip to New York, while in New York Cohen met with the Executive Director of the New York Commission on Human Rights —Pat Gatling. Cohen spoke on how the NYC Commission on Human Rights educates and does outreach on discrimination. The NYC Commission on Human Rights currently has over six hundred complaints pending. Cohen also reports on the Advocacy Lab. The Advocacy Lab's mission is to empower youth to take action for human rights. It partners with teachers in the New York City high schools. The Advocacy Lab provides in -class human rights education and advocacy skills training at least once a week over the course of the school year. Olmstead reports that Len Sandler will be presenting a Workshop on Navigating the Process of Changing your State and Federal Identity Documents to Match Your Gender Identity. In addition, Olmstead mentions a report on how the City of Tuscan (Arizona) funds improvement of its sidewalks to make the sidewalks compliant with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Olmstead has delivered copies of the report to City staff for their review. staff Bowers reminded Commissioners to visit the human rights webpage. The webpage offers a lot of information on harassment and unlawful discrimination and PowerPoint presentations on fair housing and harassment. Brochures and flyers are available in English and Spanish. Brochures and some flyers will be available (by mid -May) in Arabic (Saudi Arabia) and Chinese (Simplified). Motion to Adjourn: Coulter moved to adjourn, Ghoneim seconds. Motion passed 6- 0. Adjournment: 19:16 Next Regular Meeting - May 20, 2014 at 6 pm. Human Rights Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2013/2014 (Meetino Datel NAME TERM EXP. 4/16 /13 5/21 /13 6/18/ 13 7/16/ 13 8/20/ 13 9/17/ 13 10/15/ 13 11/19/ 13 12/17/ 13 1/21/ 14 2/18/ 14 3/18/ 14 4/29/ 14 Diane Finnerty 1/1/14 O/E X X X X X O/E X X - - - - Ali Ahmed 1/1/17 - - - - - _ _ _ _ X X O/E O/E Orville Townsend, Sr. 1/1/17 X X X X X X X X X X X X O/E Paul Relish 1/1/17 - - _ _ _ _ X X X X X O/E X Dan Tallon 1/l/14 X X X O/E R R R R R R R R R Kim Hanrahan 111115 O/E X X X X X X O/E X X X X X Shams Ghoneim 111115 X O/E X O/E X X X X X O/E X X X Jessie Harper 1/1/15 R R R R R R R R R R R R R Jewell Amos 1/1/15 - - _ X X X X O/E X X X O/E R Katie Anthony 1/1/16 X R R R R R R R R R R R R Joe D.Coulter l/l/16 X X X O/E X X X X X X X X X Harry Olmstead 1/1/16 X X X X X X X X X X X X X Andrea Cohen 1/1/16 - - - - O/E X X X X X X O/E X Connie Goeb 1/1/13 - Howard Cowen 1/1/13 - David B. Brown 1/1/14 R R R R R R R R R R R R R Henri Harper 1/1/14 R R R R R R R R R R R R R KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting -• = No longer a member R = Resignation Correspondence Efl� ICO 0 cm Em OR W CL dH E,O 4�Ez 0 V) • �t vio E C4 O� cc ;� O .. cc H T_ b O =mg Om= M � ■ ■ N N N W00 J 0 � O• z m H cr _ o _ no > cg H m C $ r _ Pd � er� > EE C w m d E N i cD 2 E, t! C o V 0 « Wan d m ,r R: £ d J O• E V .E '� m : J � U. > � � a C e Cam_ y_ r a W Safe Summer Kick -Off Fun; food; and prI s games or the Thursday. May 29th Wetherby Park 3-GPM Sponsored 11,00at whole family! NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS ofJohnsonCwnty