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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks Jana for sharing!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>All, you may have read the attached book. If not, I believe it is a necessary read for every person with a disability, as it describes exactly what our NFB President was describing yesterday in the audio that you shared in our meeting and how the only way persons with disabilities were able to get Section 504 implemented was by protesting and occupying relevant government buildings for days! <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fingers crossed!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Best, Bassam <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#AB0C2F'> </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#AB0C2F'>Bassam Farah PhD Bus, PhD Psy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#AB0C2F'>(he/him/his)</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#666666'>Associate Professor of Strategy & International Business<br><a href="http://"><span style='color:#666666'>Department of Management</span></a></span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#666666'>College of Business Administration</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://www.lmu.edu/"><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#AB0C2F;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=191 height=77 style='width:1.9895in;height:.802in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DCEA00.4292F8A0" alt="LMU logo"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span 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</o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> NFBC-At-Large <nfbc-at-large-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Jana Littrell via NFBC-At-Large<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, May 22, 2026 12:24 PM<br><b>To:</b> At Large Chapter <nfbc-at-large@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> janadlittrell@gmail.com<br><b>Subject:</b> [NFBC-At-Large] FW: National Federation of the Blind Sues Trump-Vance Administration Over Delays to Critical Website Accessibility Protections - Democracy Forward<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Article below link.<br><a href="https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/national-federation-of-the-blind-sues-trump-vance-administration-over-delays-to-critical-website-accessibility-protections/">https://democracyforward.org/news/press-releases/national-federation-of-the-blind-sues-trump-vance-administration-over-delays-to-critical-website-accessibility-protections/</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div id=article><div><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:6.0pt;margin-left:0in;mso-line-height-alt:14.55pt'><span style='font-size:28.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>National Federation of the Blind Sues Trump-Vance Administration Over Delays to Critical Website Accessibility Protections<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p style='margin:0in;line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>\u200b<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>\u200b<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>Baltimore</span></b><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'> \u2013 The National Federation of the Blind, represented by Democracy Forward and Brown, Goldstein & Levy, filed a lawsuit today challenging the administration\u2019s abrupt delay of critical website accessibility features designed to ensure blind people and people with other disabilities can access essential government and healthcare services online.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>The lawsuit challenges actions by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that postponed long-anticipated compliance deadlines under federal disability rights laws without public notice or input. Regulations finalized by DOJ and HHS in April and May 2024, after years of public engagement and rulemaking, required state and local governments and those who receive federal funding from HHS to make their websites and mobile applications accessible to people with disabilities, including those who are blind and rely on screen readers and other assistive technology. However, on <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/20/2026-07663/extension-of-compliance-dates-for-nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web"><span style='color:#416ED2'>April 20, 2026,</span></a> and <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/11/2026-09266/extension-of-compliance-dates-for-nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web"><span style='color:#416ED2'>May 11, 2026</span></a>, respectively, DOJ and HHS issued interim final rules delaying the compliance deadlines by a year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>The delays threaten access to critical services that millions of people depend on every day, including voter registration, healthcare portals, telehealth appointments, unemployment benefits, educational materials, public records, licensing applications, and emergency information. The complaint explains that inaccessible websites and apps create significant barriers for blind people and can undermine equal participation in civic life, education, healthcare, and employment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>\u201cFor over fifty years, our laws\u2014specifically Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act\u2014 have promised blind Americans and other Americans with disabilities equal access to all areas of life, including digital spaces and services. Yet today this promise remains unfulfilled, and now our government is compounding the outrage by asking us to wait even longer,\u201d said <b>Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind</b>. \u201cWe will not wait. We will fight to ensure that the promise of America\u2019s laws, and indeed its founding documents, finally becomes reality for blind and disabled Americans.\u201d<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>\u201cFor years, people with disabilities have fought for equal access to the digital services that increasingly shape everyday life \u2014 from healthcare and education to voting and public benefits,\u201d said <b>Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward.</b> \u201cThe Trump-Vance administration\u2019s decision to abruptly delay these protections at the last minute is harmful, unlawful, and deeply disruptive for people who have already waited far too long for equal access. Disability rights are civil rights, and government agencies cannot simply ignore years of work, public input, and legal obligations. We are proud to represent the National Federation of the Blind to defend equal access and ensure that people with disabilities are not shut out of essential services and opportunities.\u201d<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>\u201cWe are proud to support the National Federation of the Blind\u2019s important challenge to the Trump-Vance administration\u2019s illegal roll-back of duly considered and important regulations. If regulations can be either adopted or discarded without notice and an opportunity for the public to comment, the people lose their voice in government, and their lives will be subject to the whims of politicians,\u201d said <b>Eve Hill of Brown Goldstein & Levy.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>The lawsuit argues that the administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act by issuing the delays without required notice-and-comment procedures and without adequately considering the significant harms to people with disabilities. The National Federation of the Blind is asking the court to block the delays and restore the original accessibility compliance deadlines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:18.0pt;max-width:100%'><span style='font-size:14.5pt;font-family:-apple-system-font'>The case is <i>National Federation of the Blind v. DOJ et al.</i>, and the legal team at Democracy Forward includes Laura Bakst, Paul Wolfson, and Robin Thurston. The legal team at Brown Goldstein & Levy includes Eve Hill and Michael Abrams.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>