[Nfbf-l] NFB comment gathering

[Merry Schoch]

Hello Federation Family,

 

Please see the message below.  This is a very important topic for us all.  Thank you, Merry C. Schoch, LCSW

 


Help Advocate for Accessible State and Local Government Websites - Your Stories are Needed by July 15



The need for access to public websites continues to be an area of critical importance to the NFB. Though the courts have increasingly identified that websites fall within the intent and scope of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and cannot be vehicles of discrimination and exclusion against blind citizens, the federal government has yet to confirm regulations that would require websites to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The NFB’s advocacy for such regulations cannot stop until websites are accessible.

In May, the U.S. Department of Justice published its Supplemental Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities (SANPRM) in the Federal Register. In response to the new SANPRM, the NFB is gathering comments and stories from members to highlight the importance of access to state and local government websites. We need your stories, both positive and negative, regarding the importance of accessible state and local government websites­ for voter registration, applying for a state or local government job, appealing a property tax assessment, renewing a library book, requesting food stamps, registering for a class at your local state or community college, or any other state or local government service. Visit www.nfb.org/TitleIISANPRM <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=5441&qid=1285491>  for steps on how you can help the NFB advocate for accessible websites, and/or contact Kyle Walls at 410-659-9314, extension 2223, or kwalls at nfb.org. We will be gathering member stories through July 15. 

 

Valerie Yingling

Paralegal

National Federation of the Blind

200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place

Baltimore, Maryland 21230

Telephone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2440

Fax: 410-659-5129

E-mail: Vyingling at nfb.org 

 

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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 have the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

 

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