[nabs-l] Write About Your Experiences of Inaccessibility in College for Washington Seminar by Weds, Jan. 22!

[justin williams]

When do you need it by?

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Bennett
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 8:20 PM
To: National Asociation of Blind Students
Subject: [nabs-l] Write About Your Experiences of Inaccessibility in College
for Washington Seminar by Weds, Jan. 22!

Dear Members,

My name is Cindy Bennett. I am an NFB member and the secretary of the
National Association of Blind Students (NABS).

NABS is excited to help with the recently introduced Technology, Education,
and Accessibility in College and Higher Education (TEACH) act. I am
currently working with Lauren McLarney, a Government Affairs Specialist for
the National Federation of the Blind, to collect stories about blind
student's experiences with higher education. We are contacting you because
we want stories from constituents living in every congressional district in
the U.S., and we can only do this with your help! Along with the ways you
can help listed below, submitting your story by Wednesday, January 22 will
insure that your story will make an appearance at the Washington Seminar
appointment with your district!

In summary, the TEACH Act will create accessibility guidelines for
electronic instructional materials and related information technologies used
by institutions of higher education. The TEACH Act will provide guidelines
for manufacturers of educational technology and clarity for institutions of
higher education to ensure that materials are usable by all students.
Earlier this year, Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI) introduced the TEACH Act
(H.R. 3505). Click here to learn more about the TEACH Act.
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/word/2013%20teach%20fact%20sheet.doc.

Now that the bill has been introduced, we need to get it passed! And that's
where you come in!

We need stories from current and recent students who are and have been
affected by the lack of accessibility in the classroom, whether it be
through inaccessible software, lack of materials, or late or inadequate
accessible materials. Be sure to include a sentence of how accessibility
guidelines would/would have helped you.

Compose your paragraph-long story and send it to me at clb5590 at gmail.com.
Please include the school you attend/attended, and any congressional
districts that you live in. for example, if your permanent address is in a
different congressional district from the district in which you go to
school, list both. If you do not know this information, you can look it up
here.
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
There is a simple edit field where you can enter your zip code. On the next
page, your zip code and the number district in which you reside are listed
like this.

Zip code: 98121
is located in the 7th Congressional district of Washington.

The second way you can help is by reinforcing the appointments Lauren and
other NFB members have with congress. If someone has an appointment with
your congressperson, I will contact you with the date of the appointment,
and you can call your congressperson's office and tell your story. This will
show your congressperson that one of their constituents is directly affected
by inadequate accessibility and needs the TEACH Act. This part is very
important as members of congress work for their constituents!

Of course, you do not have to wait for someone to have an appointment with
your representative or senators; we encourage you to go ahead and contact
them on your own!

Please pass this announcement on to all of the blind current and recent
students that you know!

Finally, please feel free to contact me or Lauren McLarney with any
questions. you can reach me at clb5590 at gmail.com, and Lauren at
LMcLarney at nfb.org.

We look forward to receiving your stories!

Cindy Bennett and Lauren McLarney


--
Cindy Bennett
Secretary: National Association of Blind Students

B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
clb5590 at gmail.com

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