[NAGDU] NFB's comments on the DOT's ACAA Forms renewal

Sat Jan 13 00:03:13 UTC 2024

I am going to ask my Congressman to ask DOT why they stalled so long in asking stakeholders for comments.  He's always saying to contact his office if constituents have problems with a federal agency, so I will.  Perhaps others would wish to do the same.  It seems like an issue either party could back, being able to make comments to an agency about regulations.  Really, it's unacceptable that they gave us less than a week to post comments.
Tracy

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Heather via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2024 6:07 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: heather.l.bird at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] NFB's comments on the DOT's ACAA Forms renewal

These are fantastic. I was particularly impressed with these comments, the ones from CCI, sorry TSE, I still love you, but its true, and the ones from the psychiatric service dog organization, of which I verry apologetically have forgotten the name. These submissions were all well written, and also made very specific suggestions and points referencing precise portions of particular documents, policies, and laws. Yes, I am a little bit extra and have read all of the submissions, at least all of the ones that had come up by the last time that I checked a while ago. Had there been hundreds of submissions I would have not been able to go through all of them, but sadly the timing the DOT gave their stakeholders didn't allow for all that many submissions.

On a more general note, though, that I want to share with everyone, it is really a good feeling to read through the comments and to see people and organizations working together to try and manage this problematic situation. Seeing organizations posting that I am a part of, either as a member or in leadership roles, seeing organizations that I have friends or family that belong to or work for, or organizations that our organization has worked with really helps to strengthen a feeling of connection and optimism. In participating on a few Zoom meetings for issues related to accessible voting, Rasheta, our affiliate's first vice president and I have encountered many individuals representing a variety of organizations. Yesterday an individual from the Downstate ADAPT and another individual from the Greater New York ACB began to ask questions surrounding this issue, and a nice discussion resulted. Today I saw comments posted from the Downstate ADAPT, and I wouldn't think it an entirely erroneous assumption that that conversation mightn't have had something to do with that. Seeing another submission from the law firm that Al works with is also heartening. Not all comments are in perfect agreement, but the majority of the professionally written content does appear to be fairly in alignment. Watching this ripple effect of various individuals and organizations getting involved and encouraging or empowering others to join in really is an inspiring thing to watch, and you all know that I am not generally a fan of the "I" word.

Building upon that feeling, I did have a thought. I noticed that a fair number of the posts were from individuals, and I recognized a number of names of individuals involved with the NFB and or NAGDU, as well as other blind guide dog handlers from other organizations. I have seen comments here and elsewhere with individuals frustrated with the inaccessibility of the whole process for comments submission. Some complaints come from very tech savvy folks frustrated with accessibility issues related to adaptive software and others are from only moderately tech. savvy folks like me. I will admit with no shame that for expediency I sought and received the assistance of someone sighted to get comments posted quickly. What I wonder is if there is anything that NAGDU specifically, or the NFB more generally could do to help individuals, specifically blind individuals who are members of these organizations with the process of submitting comments if a similar situation arises in future. This could mean sponsoring some free AIRA minutes for this express purpose, pairing up very tech. savvy blind members with less tech. savvy members, in the case of degree of tech. skills, or pairing up even very competent blind tech. capable members with sighted members in the case of significant accessibility issues, and in the long term view, filing complaints, legal actions, feedback, whatever, to the relevant authorities when individuals seeking to engage with this process are thwarted by unlawful accessibility issues? This time around we really didn't have the time frame to put anything significant into effect, but had we been notified properly back in November, then some sort of system might have allowed a greater number of guide dog handlers, at least those associated with NFB and or NAGDU to post.

With love, hope, and determination
Heather Bird
President
National Federation of the Blind of New York State Inc.

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Al Elia via NAGDU
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2024, 10
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Al Elia <al.elia at aol.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] NFB's comments on the DOT's ACAA Forms renewal

The NFB submitted the comments below this morning.

January 12, 2024

The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
Secretary
United States Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC  20590

RE: Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0068

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

The National Federation of the Blind, the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans strongly opposes the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) renewal of the Service Animal Behavior and Health Attestation Form and the Service Animal Relief Attestation Form. We believe these forms are burdensome and unnecessary to blind passengers wishing to fly with service animals. Blind passengers, just as other passengers, are required to understand the law and their obligations, including keeping their dog under control and ensuring that there will be no relief incidents while on significantly long flights of eight hours or more. These forms are discriminatory towards passengers using service animals, implying they are unaware of their legal obligations to always keep their service animals under control.

The forms also go beyond the scope of the Paperwork Reduction Act’s allowance for the collection of information “by or for an agency,” because, by the Department of Transportation’s own admission in its applications for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Numbers, the forms “would be submitted directly to the airlines from passengers and not the Department.” The Department would only “review these forms if airlines assert that passengers have fraudulently completed the forms to determine if the matter should be referred to the Department’s Office of Inspector General [or] if it receives complaints from passengers alleging airlines’ documentation requirements for travel with a service animal was not consistent with these forms.” According to a conversation with Department representatives in May 2023, no such assertion has been made by any airline. The burden of these forms on passengers with disabilities is thus unwarranted and inconsistent with the law.

While the National Federation of the Blind maintains that these forms are an unwarranted and unlawful burden on guide dog users, it would support an airline-funded, Department-managed Known Traveler Number program for passengers with service animals similar to the TSA Pre-Check program. Such a program should allow passengers with service animals to register for, obtain, and renew a Known Traveler Number at no cost, and allow airlines to confirm its validity. Through this program, passengers could attest to the same information included in the forms one time without having to re-attest for each flight. Passengers should be able to enter that number either in their frequent-traveler airline program profile or provide it when booking flights. Such a number could be renewed upon renewal of vaccinations (typically every three years).

The Department should also implement a dedicated accessibility phone number to provide accommodations for passengers who so require due to their disability. This phone service should provide accommodations to assist in applying for and renewing a service-animal known traveler number. In the interim, the phone service should provide accommodations to assist in completing the health and behavior form and the relief form.

Should the Department continue with forms, they should not be expanded as the Department asks. Rather than increase the burden of the health and behavior form to include additional fields regarding training, the form should be reduced to have only a checkbox to be checked if the passenger requires the use of a service animal due to a disability, and a text field for what task the service animal is trained to perform. All of the other information is superfluous and can be summarized without identifying information. The passenger can attest and agree to all of that summarized information with their signature.

If the health and behavior form is renewed largely in its current or modified form, we suggest that it must contain a non-mandatory release of privacy claims to allow a recipient of the form to verify the information with the persons identified on the form. No version of the form has had any such release or any indication that recipients were permitted to verify information, despite DOT’s assurance in seeking OMB approval for the form that information would be kept confidential and its admission in the same application that information about a passenger’s service animal is sensitive in nature. The Department’s renewal application seems to contemplate this, as it provides that the updated form “puts passengers on notice that an airline or its contractor may independently verify the training-related information submitted by the passenger on the form,” but no such notice appears on the updated form published in the federal register.

We also suggest that the form include language to the effect that it shall be considered completed on the vaccine-expiration date entered on the form. This would further reduce the burden of the forms on passengers with service animals because they could store a current electronic or physical copy of the form, instead of having to fill out the form for each and every flight with exactly the same information save for the date of signature due to the requirement, per 14 C.F.R. § 382.75(a), that forms be "completed on or after the date the passenger purchased his or her airline ticket.”

Finally, the Department stated in its application for renewal that “the form makes clear that passengers can seek assistance from the airline to complete the form if needed.” No such clarifying language appears on the updated form. This clarifying language is crucial, not just for passengers, but to put the airlines on notice that they must assist passengers in completing this form, even if that means providing assistance by phone should the airline require the advance submission of the form permitted under 14 C.F.R. § 382.75(g)(1). Without such assistance, passengers with disabilities who cannot independently complete the form due to their disability will continue to suffer discriminatory denials of their right to fly accompanied by their service animals.

We appreciate the Department allowing comments regarding this topic. We hope you will take our concerns into account and eliminate the health and behavior and relief attestation forms, possibly substituting a Pre-Check-like Known Traveler program for service animal users. Should the Department continue using those forms, we hope you will make the modifications we recommend to lessen the burden on passengers with service animals and to conform with all legal requirements and obligations to protect the rights of blind passengers.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Riccobono, President
National Federation of the Blind.

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