<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.25in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Greetings: <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Please see the below announcement regarding the reduction in force in the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the office of Civil Rights. Russ Davis, Legislative Director and I took an urgent trip to Baltimore at the beginning of November to visit the offices of Senator Moody and Scott to request help in rescinding this reduction in force. We are pleased at the positive outcome from this trip. 12 states participated in this trip from across the Federation. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='line-height:115%'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Department of Education OSERS and OCR Update:</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Since the announcement of reduction in force (RIF) notices in the Department of Education, specifically in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), on October 10, the members of the National Federation of the Blind have been engaging with our members in Congress to let them know just how big of an impact this action will have on us. We asked you to call or email your senators and representatives, and you did. Then we asked some of you to come to Washington, DC, in person to meet with your senators on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and you did. I am happy to report that in the most recent Continuing Resolution to fund the government, Congress agreed that the RIF notices would be rescinded. However, that does not mean that this battle is won. We need to keep advocating to ensure that the government knows just how important the programs that are administered by OSERS and OCR are to us. If you didn’t get to meet with your members in Congress, please still try to get those meetings so that we can make sure our message is heard from one corner of the Capitol to the other. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='line-height:115%'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> Camille Tate, president<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>National Federation of the Blind of Florida <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Board of Directors <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><a href="http://www.nfbflorida.org/"><span style='color:blue'>www.nfbflorida.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Tel: 321.372.4899<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>With love, hope and determination, we transform dreams into reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>