[blindkid] TEACH Act Petition on Change.org

Wed Feb 25 13:11:46 UTC 2015

Heidi,

We're still working on the TEACH Act. As someone else mentioned, this was one of our 3 legislative priorities at this year's Washington Seminar. Currently we have a fair amount of interest in Congress, but we don't have a bill formally introduced in either house yet. Please feel free to continue contacting your member(s) of Congress and encouraging them to support the TEACH Act. Stay tuned—I'm sure the advocacy and policy folks at our national office will post updates to the listservs as they become available.

Chris Nusbaum

> On Feb 24, 2015, at 2:39 PM, hpscheffer--- via blindkid <blindkid at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Does anyone know what happened with this petition? It has been about a year since it was out and saw it reached a lot more signatures then what was needed. Any headways? 
> 
> 
> Thank you
> 
> 
> Heidi
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: McLarney, Lauren <LMcLarney at nfb.org>
> To: nfbnet-members-list <nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Mon, Feb 3, 2014 6:12 pm
> Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Petition on Change.org
> 
> 
> Federation family,
> 
> Less than a week after a fun and successful Washington Seminar, I alreadyhave good news to report.  The National Association of BlindStudents has initiated a petition on Change.org in support of the TEACHAct, something I’m sure many of you have already heard about and signed,and it already has over 49,000 signatures!  According to our contactat Change.org, it is one of the biggest legislative petitions on thesite.  So please help us reach 50,000 by circulating thisURL:  https://www.change.org/petitions/pass-teach-act-equal-access-to-educational-materials-for-students-with-disabilities, urging your family, friends and associates to sign the petition, or youcan forward Jamie Principado’s letter (found below), which will alsodirect people to the site.  How many times have we talked about theproblem of inaccessible instructional materials, or any problem facingblind people, and heard someone say “I wish there was something I coulddo!”? Well this is something tangible and effective that they can do, andit takes little to no time.  When anyone signs this petition, itsends a letter to the House of Representatives urging them to support thebill – which means every signature makes a big difference.  So don’tbe afraid to send this to contacts outside of the Federation!  Ihope to send an update again soon with more good news as the number ofsignatures goes up, so stay tuned!   
> 
> Jamie’s letter for circulation:
> 
> As a blind high schooler, I couldn't just apply to my top colleges -- Ihad
> to make sure that classes were going to be made accessible for me, and Iwas
> excited to attend Florida State University because they had a greatprogram
> for training teachers of the blind.
> 
> But when I started classes at FSU, I quickly found out that theschool
> didn't have the accessible tools I needed to learn and complete all mywork.
> My online classes weren't compatible with my screen reader and Icouldn't
> access materials in any of my math or biology classes. I struggled forthree
> years, and eventually decided to change schools.
> 
> I sued FSU for failing to meet state and federal disability laws, butI
> don't want other blind students like me to experience what I had togo
> through. I started a petition on Change.org asking Congress to passthe
> TEACH Act to make sure that all students with disabilities have equalaccess
> to learning. Click here to sign my petition.
> 
> https://www.change.org/petitions/pass-teach-act-equal-access-to-educational-materials-for-students-with-disabilities?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=47365&alert_id=RkCCbPkptw_FLqojRRJbb 
> 
> When I approached the administration at FSU about the inaccessible
> materials, they suggested I try an “easier” major instead of trying tohelp
> me and other students with disabilities. I felt like the school was
> punishing me instead of trying to help me learn.
> 
> That's why I believe in the TEACH Act. While federal laws requirecolleges
> to only deploy accessible materials, they were written beforetechnology
> became part of the classroom, so schools like FSU have no direction forhow
> the laws apply to students like me. The TEACH Act createsmuch-needed
> guidelines illustrating how schools can provide instructionaltechnology
> that is usable for students with disabilities.
> 
> I believe that public support of the TEACH Act through my petition willshow
> members of Congress that constituents around the country believe there isan
> urgent need for this. But they won't do it without you.
> 
> Sign my petition demanding that Congress pass the TEACH Act,creating
> guidelines for schools to protect equal access in the classroom forblind
> students.
> 
> https://www.change.org/petitions/pass-teach-act-equal-access-to-educational-materials-for-students-with-disabilities?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=47365&alert_id=RkCCbPkptw_FLqojRRJbb 
> 
> Thank you for your support.
> 
> Jamie Principado
> 
> Lauren McLarney
> Government Affairs Specialist
> NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
> 200 East Wells St.
> Baltimore, MD 21230
> (410) 659 9314 ext. 2207
> lmclarney at nfb.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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