TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Mar 10, 2025

A new legal settlement will ensure that all deaf incarcerated individuals in Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) custody have access to videophones, sign language interpreters and other accommodations that allow them to participate in programming and services behind bars, WPLN News reports. The settlement marks the conclusion of a lawsuit filed in 2020 by Disability Rights Tennessee and three deaf incarcerated men, who alleged TDOC was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act by failing to provide communication access for deaf inmates. Under the terms of the settlement, TDOC said it would provide interpreters for interactions such as intake and orientation, medical appointments, educational programming and disciplinary proceedings. The department also will provide videophones at every facility housing deaf prisoners, as well as at intake facilities, to allow those individuals to communicate via sign language.