[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6154029,"mediaKeyId","5488862-6c41a40812bdd572ea72fb93fdb2ec47","parentId",5488862,"title","HRC adopts advocacy rubric, advances communications push and briefs council-supported plat-amendment effort","audioSeconds",2037,"startMs",5016000,"endMs",7053000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5488862-6c41a40812bdd572ea72fb93fdb2ec47&start=5016&end=7053","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5488862-6c41a40812bdd572ea72fb93fdb2ec47/thumbnail_5016000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6154029/Oklahoma/HRC-adopts-advocacy-rubric-advances-communications-push-and-briefs-council-supported-plat-amendment-effort","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6154029-ff8df5f572279fcd6c01e0d47ef4e810/orig.mp4?Expires=1771140321&Signature=QUrMdzrCfqTH0kJclpvHhomH3AnbvcZilcNXN6rMjgoO2rBomOn5w6a3WWU9f9W~9uuilmeiQ2obom~0JycHStm2~Rv6gHzENHJqOtl70VH-teDKBJT1PpF9RBOYrhVrCdpuJGw~Vi22IbU9gBTpQS2fZS0~hT09sXNbR1aFs-EWj9Q7N5k3hyHQE1gnx6-XcgonWSIU~7retsHECqLEVHXfQIzfAnX5JSHEKaxJHvqlfSwk4Kz1eBnQy7DG7JvTWGyPH0XbmFzPjJoYC2rBCRIVJ13~EoLNrtnui-BOOez8MrffwLrLtxMHK-KTwxXhCQ-GKVX-e3YTVBkNxxM4jQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Oklahoma","date","2025-07-28T14:34:29Z","article","The Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission approved an advocacy rubric intended to standardize when and how the commission will take public positions and advanced two outreach efforts: a communications plan to expand the commission’s visibility through partner organizations and an operational update on a city-led plat amendment project to address racially restrictive language in historic plats.
Commissioners voted to approve the advocacy rubric as a decision tool for evaluating advocacy requests. Commissioner Dean Couch moved to approve the rubric; the motion was seconded by Commissioner Brian and the commission voted in favor. The rubric lists evaluation criteria such as alignment with the commission’s mission, commissioner capacity, urgency/impact, resident demand, and existence of partner organizations.
\"Part of this ongoing transparency effort is outlining the actual process of what we decide to do whenever we do advocate for certain things,\" Cindy Wynne, speaking for the ad hoc committee, said while introducing the rubric. Commissioners agreed the rubric should be accompanied by a documented process, and the commission assigned the ad hoc committee to return with an explicit process at the next meeting.
The communications committee presented a short, shareable outreach strategy aimed at expanding the HRC’s reach through local networks such as homeowners associations, churches, arts groups and nonprofit partners. The plan’s central message — summarized in the proposed graphic and talking points as \"Do you know?\" — is meant to prompt community members to think of acquaintances who might need HRC resources and to pass along the HRC website and complaint information. Commissioners discussed measuring outreach impact by tracking website hits and partner reports on distribution and agreed to test the approach in community presentations and tabling events.
In a separate, substantive policy effort, staff briefed commissioners on the city’s plat-amendment initiative to address discriminatory (racially restrictive) covenants recorded in historical plats. City staff estimate there are roughly 6,000 plats in the city records and a working estimate of about 2,200 plats created before 1968 that could contain discriminatory language. The city plans a pilot of three plats to refine procedures (notification to property owners, historic-preservation coordination where applicable, planning commission review, city council approval, and recording of amending documents with the county). Emma (compliance staff) also said the program is pursuing university student assistance for mapping and document review and that volunteers may be used to comb scanned plat PDFs for target language.
Why it matters: the rubric provides a transparent decision tool for HRC advocacy; the communications plan aims to increase resident awareness of the HRC’s complaint and referral services; and the plat-amendment project is an operational city effort to annotate or amend historical plat documents so discriminatory language is no longer operative as a property-record statement.
Actions and follow-up: the commission approved the rubric, accepted the communications committee materials for use while refining metrics, and asked staff to continue developing the plat amendment pilot procedures and volunteer mapping plan. Staff flagged that the plat amendment law allows municipalities to amend plats but does not \"erase history\" — a separate archival record would retain historical language while preventing the text from remaining an operative constraint on property use.
Commission logistics: commissioners discussed outreach staffing for an August 5 tenant \"know your rights\" event at the downtown library and identified volunteers to table; staff offered to provide printed complaint forms and outreach materials.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission - July 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission approved an advocacy rubric to guide requests for formal advocacy, accepted a communications plan to expand outreach through community groups, and heard an update on a city-led plat amendment process to address discriminatory language in historic plats.","taxTitle","Other Public Meetings, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma","taxId",69689,"location","Oklahoma","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6154034,"Parent presses HRC over lack of changing table and temporary accommodations at PACOM; urges immediate action",414,8026000,8440000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5488862-6c41a40812bdd572ea72fb93fdb2ec47&start=8026&end=8440","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5488862-6c41a40812bdd572ea72fb93fdb2ec47/thumbnail_8026000.jpg","/articles/6154034/Oklahoma/Parent-presses-HRC-over-lack-of-changing-table-and-temporary-accommodations-at-PACOM-urges-immediate-action","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6154034-8fa92c42f55575a05f0682bbae747919/orig.mp4?Expires=1771140321&Signature=Eq15aW~9TP8RKQFNyJehAEmHc1KnNEoBBUWbwExObYecmOutUIe8zzMDdt6BSaP3-wzB~TqbeM6WLN22~gwVW7Tw0kTqZ-yZa~ZD7KSS2UPEPg~yVOyC5PSCRrT~fS5FKM-9qNabKIcNT9JibBCnYRfX3yKP9hTKy9d-PsLxv5mqEPuJ380xhxs-ZsK5W0pppPQK49i1~hNnq9NcFQFBt6Tf0RqVHRwV~74s2FaJkG~medHQMUXz6~H2CcGH3cj7mO0a0rD6VJqAw~x0qrLjVDusyyF8s77e8a0uEO8Gb78LNCcmRp8f0bLie7lutBG3Xp46WEcNojqRF1HihYscjQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A mother and caregiver used the commission’s public-comment time to demand immediate action to secure temporary restroom and adult-sized changing-table accommodations at the PACOM facility in Oklahoma City.
\"It has been 6 years, and I want to see action tomorrow,\" said Audra Beasley during public comment, describing repeated grievances she said she filed both with the city and with the U.S. Department of Justice. Beasley said she had earlier filed ADA grievances about restroom access at several public venues, including the State Fairgrounds, and credited attorneys from the Oklahoma Disability Law Center for prior assistance at the State Capitol.
Beasley said the PACOM building still lacks temporary on-site accommodations and urged commissioners and city staff to provide a named contact who could confirm a safe, private location for her son at the meeting site. She told the commission she had emailed city staff and had not received transparent follow-up and said she expected a phone call and visible remedial steps.
Commission staff responded during the meeting by clarifying process and jurisdictional limits. The chair and staff noted the city has an ADA grievance procedure and that complaints tied to city-owned facilities must be processed through the city ADA coordinator. Scott Hodgdon, the city ADA coordinator who spoke earlier in the meeting, is the contact the city identified for such grievances and follow-up.
Why it matters: Beasley’s comment highlights a practical accessibility problem that affects caregiving families and people with significant mobility or toileting needs. Her remarks underscore the difference between (1) advisory or investigatory roles that the HRC may play and (2) operational responsibilities that rest with city departments and the ADA coordinator’s enforcement and remediation processes.
Discussion and next steps: Commissioners acknowledged the complaint and reiterated the city grievance route. The commission did not adopt a separate action during the meeting; instead staff and the ADA coordinator were identified as the operational contacts to investigate status and possible temporary accommodations. Beasley said she would file or continue her complaint with federal authorities if the city did not act more quickly.
The commission did not vote on remedial measures at the meeting; staff indicated they would document the complaint and advised use of the city's grievance procedure for official investigation and written determination.","At the meeting’s public-comment period a parent, Audra Beasley, repeatedly urged the commission and city officials to secure temporary restroom and changing-table accommodations at the PACOM building, saying she has raised the issue for six years and filed grievances with the city and with the U.S. Department of Justice.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6154039,"Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission holds ADA education session; city coordinator details accessibility program",4459,77000,4536000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5488862-6c41a40812bdd572ea72fb93fdb2ec47&start=77&end=4536","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5488862-6c41a40812bdd572ea72fb93fdb2ec47/thumbnail_77000.jpg","/articles/6154039/Oklahoma/Oklahoma-City-Human-Rights-Commission-holds-ADA-education-session-city-coordinator-details-accessibility-program","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6154039-6332ca7fdbf3a0599cc9946be2036a59/orig.mp4?Expires=1771140321&Signature=hZn6IFf6ZB9Jrc6F2X7-Ka5nD2CAy~xZITk9FLg4KpNPlV3dqAxthzp7KkPRc77KG3giwcrTFJglSNDf9aJD2ZhaWf5Wf-NGey9EzsuF3-7T7-SWYJH2caXFu0Sei4OoOs2aSyZa0LFrxVsunUip~UbVTPHmNiHb~-svkb-SsMRtGmQLcYQGFtTWK2DLBIHxpE14N8Sg1UAu~sUpwxbsyLM6cwU~kZBaqVFIgFhDZ0ClGjuW8yYITibWHTsLAGLSY4BXpiB8N~P9D6eMfANVXRbRP2mZcjpSaDge~dF490eUXNUaeXf6eh54ajk68PTzmmHwvCLSS7qSjqWeu1V3IQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","ADA education and municipal compliance dominated the Human Rights Commission's program session as attorneys from the Oklahoma Disability Law Center explained federal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Scott Hodgdon, the city’s newly appointed ADA coordinator, described Oklahoma City’s accessibility planning and grievance procedure.
The educational program brought the legal basics forward first. \"The ADA is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities,\" said Brian Wilkerson, legal director at the Oklahoma Disability Law Center. Wilkerson and Joy Turner, director of investigation and monitoring at the center, walked commissioners through the ADA's basic structure (Titles I–V), the statutory definition of disability and the tests for who is a \"qualified individual.\"
The presenters emphasized three eligibility prongs under the ADA — a current substantial impairment, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having an impairment — and noted the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 broadened coverage. \"You should view disability in a lens that most things people are claiming are going to be included,\" Wilkerson said when describing how courts and agencies now interpret the law.
Presenters reviewed how Titles II and III operate differently: Title II governs state and local governments and requires public entities to provide equal access to programs, services and activities (including effective communication and architectural access), while Title III covers private places of public accommodation. Joy Turner described typical remedies and defenses, including reasonable modifications, undue-burden defenses and the \"direct threat\" exception for circumstances that would endanger others.
Turner cited key legal touchstones named in the session: Olmstead (integration requirements for public services), the 2006 Department of Transportation standards for transportation facilities, the 2010 Department of Justice Standards for Accessible Design, PROWAG (Public Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines) for sidewalks and crosswalks, and the Supreme Court’s Tennessee v. Lane (2004) decision allowing compensatory damages under Title II in some cases.
Hodgdon, the city’s ADA coordinator and a right-of-way specialist in Public Works, described day-to-day city work: plan reviews for private development and public infrastructure, field audits of ramps and crosswalks, staff training and a published grievance procedure. He highlighted the use of PROWAG on street projects, recent downtown streetscape work and contractor certification steps the city now requires. He asked residents to use the city’s grievance procedure — complaints must be written, include the complainant’s name and address and be filed within 30 days; an ADA coordinator investigation should provide a written determination within 60 days, with reconsideration to the city manager available within 10 days.
Hodgdon also noted recent federal guidance on website and mobile-app accessibility and said state and local governments have a compliance timeline that extends into 2026. He provided his office contact information and said the city had recently updated the accessibility pages on okc.gov to reflect the new ADA coordinator and grievance links.
Why it matters: the session combined legal context with practical local enforcement steps. Commissioners were briefed on how to respond when residents raise ADA problems — whether those are architectural barriers in sidewalks and park facilities, requests for auxiliary aids such as ASL interpreters, or inaccessible web content.
During questions, presenters repeated that the individual with the disability should be given primary consideration for communication preferences and that governments and businesses must provide the next-best effective alternative if a requested accommodation is demonstrably an \"undue burden.\" The session closed with an invitation to use the city grievance system and to contact the Oklahoma Disability Law Center for further legal guidance.
The commission scheduled follow-ups and public outreach: staff said they will continue plan audits, promote the grievance form on the city website and offer public information on where to file complaints and how the city evaluates requests for modification or auxiliary aids.","The Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission hosted attorneys from the Oklahoma Disability Law Center for an Americans with Disabilities Act overview and heard from newly appointed city ADA coordinator Scott Hodgdon about the city's accessibility work, grievance procedure and web-accessibility timeline.","actionData","errors"]

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HRC adopts advocacy rubric, advances communications push and briefs council-supported plat-amendment effort

Parent presses HRC over lack of changing table and temporary accommodations at PACOM; urges immediate action

Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission holds ADA education session; city coordinator details accessibility program