[MN-at-Large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 08/ 26/2019

Tue Aug 27 01:18:38 UTC 2019

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>President's Notebook
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>National Federation of the Blind
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>Mark A. Riccobono
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><mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org
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>410-659-9314
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>Dear Fellow Federationists,
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>As we lead up to Labor Day—and the perceivedd 
>final week of summer—I know that many affiliates 
>are ramping up foor a great fall schedule, 
>including many affiliate conventions. We should 
>be planning to ramp up our efforts with members 
>of Congress to gain support for our bills when 
>they come back into session. With the election 
>schedule next year, our time to make progress in 
>this Congress is limited. The fall is critical to making things happen.
>
>Please note that I recently have been making 
>some changes in our staff. Karen Anderson has 
>moved to a new assignment working on our 
>education programs. Our affiliates working on 
>Federation BELL Academies will have the 
>opportunity to work very closely with her in the 
>coming year. As other changes are made, I will 
>share them with you. Please be sure to promote 
>job opportunities on our national staff. 
>Openings are posted to our website at 
><https://nfb.org/about-us/career-opportunities>https://nfb.org/about-us/career-opportunities.
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>Critical Actions This Week:
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>Spread the Word:
>The NFB is in litigation with the Department of 
>Education Office for Civil Rights regarding its 
>March 2018 amended Case Processing Manual, which 
>mandated dismissal of new complaints by anyone 
>who had filed a complaint in the past (even 
>against a different entity or a different issue) 
>and eliminated the right to appeal a 
>dismissal.  In November 2018, the department 
>amended the Case Processing Manual again to stop 
>dismissing complaints on that basis and 
>reinstated the appeal right.  The department 
>also stated that it would reopen the complaints 
>previously dismissed as â€œdirected 
>investigations,â€ rather than complaint 
>investigations.  The NFB is seeking 
>information–by September 4–about membersârsâ€™ 
>experiences with Department of Education 
>complaints since March 2018. Please contact 
>Valerie Yingling at 
><mailto:vyingling at nfb.org>vyingling at nfb.org or 
>410-659-9314, extension 2440, if:
>Â·         you had any complaint dismissed 
>because you filed a complaint previously or 
>because you filed against multiple entities,
>Â·         you had any complaint reopened as a 
>â€œdirected investigation,â€ or
>Â·         you had an appeal dismissed or were 
>instructed that you were not allowed to appeal.
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>News:
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>Self-driving Car Bill:
>Recently, the House Committee on Energy and 
>Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
>Science, and Transportation agreed to work 
>together on a bipartisan and bicameral basis to 
>develop a self-driving car bill. As part of that 
>process, the committees sought feedback in a 
>variety of categories, one of which was 
>disability access. Of course, the National 
>Federation of the Blind was one of the 
>disability advocacy groups they contacted to 
>submit feedback in this area. Our 
><https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/files-pdf/av-comments-8-22-19.pdf>submitted 
>comments, along with our official statements on 
>a wide range of legislative topics, are posted 
>on the NFB website in the Policy Statements section of the Advocacy page.
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>Become a Beta Tester for NFB-NEWSLINEÂ® Mobile 3.0:
>By now you may have heard that the NFB-NEWSLINE 
>mobile app is getting an upgrade. An important 
>part of the app development process is user 
>feedback and thatâ€™s where you come in! If you 
>are interested in getting a sneak peak of the 
>new features that will be available and being a 
>beta tester, then join us on Thursday, August 
>29, 2019, at 8:00 p.m. eastern (7:00 p.m. 
>central, 6:00 p.m. mountain, 5:00 p.m. Pacific) to learn more.
>To participate in the training, please use one of the options listed below.
>Join Zoom Webinar on your computer or mobile 
>device by following this link: 
><https://zoom.us/j/506774545>https://zoom.us/j/506774545
>Or join by phone: 646-876-9923; webinar ID: 506774545
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>Los Angeles Community College District Ruling:
>In a case filed by the National Federation of 
>the Blind; the National Federation of the Blind 
>of California; and two blind students, Roy Payan 
>and Portia Mason, the Federal District Court for 
>the Central District of California Found that 
>Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) 
>violated the studentsâ€™ rights under Title II 
>of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 
>Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by 
>failing to provide them with accessible 
>documents and course materials, failing to 
>provide equal access to library resources, 
>procuring and using inaccessible educational 
>technology, and maintaining an inaccessible 
>website, among other things. More information 
>can be found in the 
><https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/federal-court-rules-favor-blind-students>NFB 
>press release.
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>Indiana Lawsuit:
>The National Federation of the Blind was joined 
>by Christopher and Sarah Meyer, blind siblings, 
>in a suit filed against the Indiana Family and 
>Social Services Administration (FSSA) and its 
>Division of Family Resources (DFR), claiming 
>communications sent out by the organization and 
>their contractors were inaccessible, forcing the 
>Meyers to not only rely on other people to 
>intercept and read their private information, 
>but causing them to lose their benefits. Please 
>see 
><https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/blind-hoosiers-file-lawsuit-against-indiana-division-family-resources>the 
>press release for more details.
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
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>    * February 10, 2020: Great Gathering-In; Washington Seminar begins
>    * March 26-27, 2020: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium, Baltimore, Maryland
>    * June 30-July 5, 2020: NFB National Convention, Houston, Texas
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>The National Federation of the Blind knows that 
>blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
>you or your future. Every day we raise the 
>expectations of blind people, because low 
>expectations create obstacles between blind 
>people and our dreams. You can live the life you 
>want; blindness is not what holds you back.
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>Mark A. Riccobono, President
>200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
>(410) 659-9314 | 
><mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org
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>
><https://nfb.org/>
>National Federation of the Blind
>
>
> 
><http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>
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>
>The National Federation of the Blind is a 
>community of members and friends who believe in 
>the hopes and dreams of the nationâ€™s blind. 
>Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
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