[nfbmi-talk] 2012 national Resolutions (26 pages)
Fred Wurtzel
f.wurtzel at att.net
Thu Jul 12 19:16:12 UTC 2012
For your information.
Warmest Regards,
Fred
Resolution 2012-01
Regarding Support for the Fair Wages
for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2011
WHEREAS, since its founding in 1940, the National Federation
of the Blind has fought to repeal the unfair, discriminatory, and immoral
provision found in Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of
1938, which allows the secretary of labor to grant special wage certificates
to employers permitting them to pay their workers with disabilities less
than the minimum wage; and
WHEREAS, Section 14(c) of the FLSA is a statutory assertion
of the negative attitudes and erroneous stereotypes that perpetuate the
unemployment and exacerbate the under-employment of people with
disabilities, based on the fallacious argument that they cannot be
productive and therefore deserve to be paid less than nondisabled employees;
and
WHEREAS, Section 14(c) of the FLSA was to be used only "to
the extent necessary to prevent curtailment of opportunities" for employment
of people with disabilities, but has instead resulted in the creation of an
industry of over 3,000 exploitive work environments for over 300,000 workers
with disabilities being paid wages significantly lower than the federal
minimum wage; and
WHEREAS, data from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and
Hour Division show that over 90 percent of the special wage certificates are
held by nonprofit sheltered workshop employers; and
WHEREAS, these subminimum-wage employers, having a vested
financial interest in the continuation of the public and philanthropic
subsidies that prop up their subminimum-wage business model, are actively
lobbying against the repeal of Section 14(c); and
WHEREAS, to combat the efforts of those that would continue
to exploit people with disabilities as second class workers, the members of
the National Federation of the Blind will continue to raise public awareness
about this issue through boycotts, protests, and educational forums to speak
the truth about Section 14(c); and
WHEREAS, the truth is that segregated subminimum-wage work
environments are not transitional job-training service providers for workers
with disabilities, as shown by data from a U.S. Government Accountability
Office report that less than five percent of workers with disabilities
transition into mainstream employment; moreover, research conducted by Dr.
Robert Cimera of Kent State University shows that work habits learned in a
segregated work environment must be unlearned in order for workers with
disabilities to become competitively employed; and
WHEREAS, the truth is that the payment of subminimum wages
is not an incentive for mainstream employers to hire workers with
disabilities; mainstream employers want a productive workforce, and the
solution is to provide people with disabilities with the proper training and
support to be productive employees; and
WHEREAS, if people are too severely disabled to perform
competitive work, our society can still do better for them than condemning
them to drudgery day after day earning pennies an hour; and
WHEREAS, the members of the National Federation of the Blind
resolved in Convention assembled the seventh day of July, 2011, in the city
of Orlando, Florida, to call upon the United States Congress to introduce
and pass the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2011; and
WHEREAS, on October 4, 2011, Congressman Cliff Stearns of
Florida introduced H.R. 3086, the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities
Act of 2011, to phase out the use of special wage certificates over a
three-year period and eventually to repeal Section 14(c) of the FLSA; and
WHEREAS, the lead co-sponsor of H.R. 3086, Congressman Tim
Bishop of New York, has been joined by eighty additional cosponsors of this
landmark piece of disability rights legislation: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization commend Congressman Stearns, Congressman
Bishop, and all other cosponsors of H.R. 3086, the Fair Wages for Workers
with Disabilities Act, for having the courage, creativity, and belief in the
capacity of people with disabilities to advance the legislation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the
Education and Workforce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives to
conduct an immediate hearing on H.R. 3086 in order to separate myth from
reality and to learn the truth about the employment capacity of people with
disabilities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the
United States Congress to pass this legislation with all due speed,
repealing Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act and freeing workers
with disabilities from nearly seventy-five years of discriminatory wage
practices; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we condemn and deplore every
entity that continues to exploit people with disabilities through the
payment of subminimum wages.
----------
Resolution 2012-02
Regarding the United States Department of State
and Amazon Kindle Digital Learning Initiative
WHEREAS, the right to read is critical and fundamental to
full participation in society; and
WHEREAS, unlike print, the digital information in electronic
books is inherently accessible to the blind and becomes inaccessible only
because proprietary technology, such as dedicated inaccessible e-readers,
makes electronic books inaccessible; and
WHEREAS, as the increasingly rapid transition from
print-only media to digital information continues, it is critical that the
blind and others with print disabilities not be left behind and excluded
from accessing this information equally; and
WHEREAS, some mainstream commercial e-book reading devices
and platforms, such as Apple's iPad and the K-NFB Blio, are accessible to
the blind; and
WHEREAS, Amazon.com's Kindle e-readers are among the
dominant dedicated e-book reading devices in the marketplace; and
WHEREAS, despite years of attempts by the National
Federation of the Blind and other organizations to assist and educate
Amazon.com, it has failed to make its Kindle e-book readers fully accessible
to the blind; and
WHEREAS, the United States Department of State has announced
its intention to partner with Amazon.com to create a global e-reader program
known as the Kindle Mobile Learning Initiative, intended to create a global
e-reader program that introduces aspects of U.S. society and culture
directly to young people, students, and international audiences in new ways
and expands English-language-learning opportunities worldwide; and
WHEREAS, as part of this initiative the United States
Department of State is pursuing a contract with Amazon.com, Inc., for the
acquisition of 35,000 Kindle e-readers at an anticipated cost of 16.5
million dollars; and
WHEREAS, the State Department's proposal for this contract
contains no provisions to ensure that these e-book readers will be
accessible to the blind, in direct contravention of the Department's legal
obligations under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and of the right of
the world's blind to have equal access to information: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization demand that the United States Department of
State refuse to procure any e-reading technology that is inaccessible and
that the United States Department of State uphold its obligations under the
law as prescribed in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization condemn and
deplore Amazon.com's failure to make its Kindle e-book readers fully
accessible to the blind and insist that Amazon.com immediately make its
product line of Kindle e-book readers and all future e-book readers fully
accessible to the blind.
----------
Resolution 2012-03
Regarding the Presumption of Braille Instruction
WHEREAS, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) states that, when developing an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
for a child who is blind, the IEP team shall "provide for instruction in
Braille and the use of Braille unless the IEP team determines, after an
evaluation of the child's reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate
reading and writing media (including an evaluation of the child's future
needs for the instruction of Braille or the use of Braille), that
instruction in Braille or the use of Braille is not appropriate for the
child"; and
WHEREAS, despite this clear legislative language in support
of Braille literacy, current regulation does not provide school districts
with adequate guidance in developing, reviewing, and revising the IEP; and
WHEREAS, parents and advocates who request Braille
instruction for their children with blindness or low vision far too often
meet resistance from members of their IEP teams; and
WHEREAS, such resistance causes students to be unable to
access grade-level curriculum because they lack proficiency in Braille; and
WHEREAS, while this achievement gap persists, student
ability to compete with sighted peers for postsecondary opportunities and
employment is significantly compromised; and
WHEREAS, this literacy gap is both unnecessary and
preventable; and
WHEREAS, recognizing that instruction in Braille closely
parallels instruction in print, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and John
Boozman (R-AR) circulated a Dear Colleague letter in the United States
Senate; and
WHEREAS, this Dear Colleague letter strongly urges the U.S.
Department of Education to engage stakeholder groups to develop new IDEA
regulations related to the development of an IEP for a student with
blindness or low vision; and
WHEREAS, new regulations should carry out the intent of
Congress that students with blindness or low vision must receive Braille
instruction; and
WHEREAS, this new regulation should place the burden on the
IEP team to deny Braille instruction based on an individual student
assessment, rather than on parents to prove that their child needs Braille:
Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization commend Senators Murray and Boozman for
circulating this Dear Colleague letter in support of Braille literacy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we thank the twenty-four
senators that joined as cosigners of this Dear Colleague letter; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the
Blind call upon Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to take swift action to
address the concerns stated in the Dear Colleague letter to ensure that
blind students are taught the skills of literacy.
----------
Resolution 2012-04
Regarding Dining in the Dark
WHEREAS, the real problem of blindness is not the loss of
eyesight but the widespread public misconception that the blind are not
equal to the sighted in society; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind categorically
rejects the myth that the blind are not equal to the sighted; and
WHEREAS, programs of the National Federation of the Blind
teach and promote a positive understanding of blindness, that the blind are
normal and equal members of society, and that blindness does not mean
inferiority; and
WHEREAS, an activity known as "dining in the dark" is being
promoted and used to raise funds by having sighted people experience
blindness by eating in the dark; and
WHEREAS, an article published in Time magazine entitled
"Dining in the Dark" assures would-be diners that the cook "works in a
well-lit kitchen"; and
WHEREAS, the Dining in the Dark
website--www.dininginthedark.org--states: "you will pick from a specially
prepared menu (designed by a sighted local 'star' chef)" and "In darkness
everyone becomes equal. Our opinions can't be molded by dress, mannerisms,
or makeup as none of it can be seen. You learn that without sight your
other senses become more acute"; and
WHEREAS, these statements lay bare the underlying philosophy
of dining in the dark, that sight means superior ability, and that, when
sight is removed in the dark, the blind and the sighted are equal: Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore the use of dining in the
dark in a manner that diminishes the innate normality and equal status of
the blind in society; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization pursue an
active policy of opposition to dining in the dark activities and events,
including use of media and public protests, whenever and wherever such
activities and events exploit blindness and blind people based on a
demeaning philosophy.
----------
Resolution 2012-05
Regarding Access to the Artificial Pancreas
WHEREAS, health for people with diabetes has improved
dramatically with the use of modern diabetes-management technologies; and
WHEREAS, the latest example of such a technology currently
under development is the artificial pancreas, which incorporates an insulin
pump, continuous glucose monitor, and smart controller to measure blood
sugar automatically, then determine and deliver the right amount of insulin
or glucose at the right time; and
WHEREAS, blind and low-vision diabetics are currently
deprived of the health benefits that these technologies offer because
manufacturers have not included nonvisual access features in insulin pumps
and continuous glucose monitors, even though some of these technologies have
been in existence for nearly thirty years; and
WHEREAS, government regulators and policy makers have failed
to protect blind and low-vision diabetics from such blatant discrimination
by not developing accessibility standards, by not tying research dollars to
the inclusion of accessibility, by not establishing nonvisual criteria as
part of the procurement process, and by not requiring accessibility for
payment by government programs such as Medicare; and
WHEREAS, diabetes and medical organizations, such as the
American Diabetes Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,
the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the American Medical
Association, do not use their influence to advocate for nonvisual access for
blind and low-vision diabetics, even though statistics clearly demonstrate
that diabetes is increasing to epidemic proportions, so more people are
experiencing vision loss; and
WHEREAS, since the artificial pancreas is currently
undergoing clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration now has the
perfect opportunity to rectify past mistakes and to eliminate health
inequities and barriers to independence for blind and low-vision diabetics:
Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization strongly urge the Food and Drug Administration
to approve an artificial pancreas only when it is fully accessible to blind
and low-vision diabetics; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that
government regulators and policy makers take immediate steps to require
nonvisual access in all diabetes technologies; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon
associations that promote quality health care for people with diabetes to
join with the National Federation of the Blind so that the promise of
advanced diabetes technology becomes a reality for all people with diabetes,
including those who are blind or have low vision.
----------
Resolution 2012-06
Regarding Accessible Reading Platforms
and Library Services
WHEREAS, blind people have historically been unable to
access information contained in public libraries because library collections
are primarily in print; and
WHEREAS, the only library that provides completely
accessible information for blind patrons is the National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress (NLS); and
WHEREAS, the NLS program is able to produce only 2,000 new
audio titles each year, a number that is less than one percent of the number
of new titles published each year in print; and
WHEREAS, a number of public libraries have started to lend
e-books and e-reading devices in an attempt to open their collections to a
broader range of patrons; and
WHEREAS, technology currently exists to make e-books and
e-reading devices fully accessible to blind patrons; and
WHEREAS, despite this technology's being available to public
libraries, many continue to procure and deploy inaccessible e-books and
e-reading devices; and
WHEREAS, many libraries started deploying these inaccessible
e-books and e-reading devices, even after the Department of Education
circulated a Dear Colleague letter and a frequently asked questions document
outlining their obligations as federally funded institutions to purchase
accessible e-books, e-reading devices, and other technology: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization call upon all public libraries to take
immediate action to provide e-books and e-reading devices that are fully
accessible to blind people in order to comply with federal law and to ensure
that blind patrons have the ability to use these devices and to access the
information that they provide.
----------
Resolution 2012-07
Regarding Accessibility of Local Government
Multichannel Contact Centers
WHEREAS, for many years businesses have been streamlining
their customer service operations by providing technologies that allow
customers to pay bills, purchase goods, ask questions, or register
complaints at any time at the customer's convenience; and
WHEREAS, county and municipal governments are following this
trend by using these technologies to create multichannel contact centers to
give citizens direct access by 311 direct telephone support through live
agents or by interactive voice-response systems or via the web; and
WHEREAS, many blind Americans are successfully employed as
customer service representatives or other highly skilled technicians in
multichannel contact centers; and
WHEREAS, Oracle's Siebel Contact Centers, an industry leader
in customer-relationship-management applications, includes nonvisual access
but allows the clients to customize the software, including the option to
omit all nonvisual access; and
WHEREAS, many local government clients will not implement
Siebel's nonvisual access, claiming that the implementation either is too
expensive or limits the call center's ability to respond to some citizen
inquiries; and
WHEREAS, nonvisual access, when properly designed, can be an
integral part of the entire software package, which covers all of the
features and is easy for clients to implement; and
WHEREAS, inadequate or nonexistent nonvisual access must not
serve as the excuse for separate-but-equal treatment of blind employees or
the denial of employment to qualified blind people; and
WHEREAS, the Public Technology Institute (PTI) is a
professional organization for technology executives in local government,
which according to its website "challenges local governments to achieve high
standards in citizen participation, seamless service delivery, and
democratic accountability by making access to government services and
information available through multiple channels: web, civic media,
interactive voice response, and 311 call centers"; and
WHEREAS, the PTI does not include nonvisual access anywhere
on its website and presented one of its 2011-2012 Technology Solution Awards
to Montgomery County, Maryland, despite that government's blatant refusal to
implement nonvisual access in its Oracle Siebel Contact Center: Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization demand that all software development companies
enhance employment opportunities for the blind by immediately discontinuing
the practice of designing nonvisual access as an optional feature; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that
every local government using a multichannel contact center stop
discriminating against blind employees and take advantage of the untapped
talents that they can offer by adopting available nonvisual access features;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization strongly
encourage the Public Technology Institute to adopt nonvisual access as one
of the requirements for its Solution Awards programs.
----------
Resolution 2012-08 did not pass.
----------
Resolution 2012-09
Regarding Proposed Section 503 Rule
WHEREAS, the Department of Labor's Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has issued a notice of proposed rule
making related to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act; and
WHEREAS, this proposed rule would revise the regulations
implementing the nondiscrimination and affirmative action provisions of
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act; and
WHEREAS, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits
discrimination by covered federal contractors and subcontractors against
individuals on the basis of disability and requires affirmative action on
behalf of qualified individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, despite the requirements of Section 503, 2010
statistics from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics show
that only 21.8 percent of working-age individuals with certain functional
disabilities were in the labor force compared to 70.1 percent of working-age
individuals without such disabilities; and
WHEREAS, strong actions must be taken to address this
staggering disparity; and
WHEREAS, the proposed rule would require each federal
contractor and subcontractor to "review its personnel processes on at least
an annual basis to ensure that its obligations are being met," "ensure that
its use of information and communication technology is accessible to
applicants and employees with disabilities," "enter into linkage agreements
and create relationships with the local vocational rehabilitation office"
near their establishments, and disseminate reasonable accommodation
procedures to all employees; and
WHEREAS, the proposed rule would also establish a
utilization goal for hiring individuals with disabilities to serve as a
benchmark that will help to identify which contractors are complying with
Section 503; and
WHEREAS, OFCCP is also considering adding a secondary
utilization for targeted disabilities to the proposed rule to ensure that
these groups are not left behind by federal contractors: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization call upon the Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs to take swift action to implement the new regulations
under Section 503; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge that in
the final rule OFCCP establish a secondary utilization goal for targeted
disabilities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no employee making below the
federal minimum wage be counted towards a contractor's quota to meet the
newly established utilization goal.
----------
Resolution 2012-10 did not pass.
----------
Resolution 2012-11
Regarding Protection of the Right to Parent Children
WHEREAS, one of the greatest responsibilities that human
beings have is the parenting and care of children; and
WHEREAS, blind people are as capable of parenting and caring
for children as their sighted peers; and
WHEREAS, the myths and misconceptions about blindness held
by judges, child welfare officers, and social workers frequently cause them
to raise questions about the capabilities of blind parents, caregivers, and
guardians, even when there is no evidence of difficulty, danger, or neglect;
and
WHEREAS, hospital officials and other child welfare workers
have tried to remove infants from their homes simply because both parents
are blind; and
WHEREAS, blind people's capabilities are called into
question in many proceedings involving child placement, care, custody,
visitation, adoption, guardianship, child welfare, and related matters; and
WHEREAS, in divorce cases in which one spouse is sighted and
the other is blind, the sighted spouse frequently uses blindness as a weapon
to gain custody of the child, even when the blind spouse has been
successfully providing care for years, and judges and court investigators
accept this specious argument because of their own lack of knowledge about
blindness; and
WHEREAS, only five states have laws protecting the rights of
disabled parents, guardians, and caregivers to care for children; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind has an
excellent record of creating model civil rights legislation and conducting
public education campaigns to implement such legislation; and
WHEREAS, lawyers, judges, and child welfare professionals
are required to maintain their skills by taking continuing education
courses: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization strongly urge all state legislatures to adopt
legislation proposed by the National Federation of the Blind prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of blindness in proceedings involving childcare,
custody and visitation, adoption, guardianship, child welfare, and related
matters; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the
bar associations, the National Association of Social Workers, and other
child welfare organizations and their local chapters to develop educational
programs in consultation with the National Federation of the Blind to inform
personnel who make child placement and care decisions about the capabilities
of blind parents, caregivers, and guardians.
----------
Resolution 2012-12
Regarding the Section 508 Refresh
WHEREAS, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that
all electronic and information technology that is developed, procured,
maintained, or used by the federal government must be accessible to disabled
Americans; and
WHEREAS, Congress gave regulatory authority to the
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, also known as
the U.S. Access Board, to update the technical standards and accessibility
guidelines for electronic and information technology under Section 508
periodically so that they are current; and
WHEREAS, in March of 2010 the Access Board began a
much-needed update of the technical standards and accessibility guidelines
under Section 508 by issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(ANPRM) with proposed changes to the standards; and
WHEREAS, the March 2010 ANPRM outlined proposed changes that
were partly based on recommendations made by the Telecommunications and
Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee, a committee with
several members from the National Federation of the Blind, that reviewed the
standards and recommended changes to the Access Board in 2008; and
WHEREAS, on December 8, 2011, the Access Board issued a
second ANPRM, updating its proposed changes to reflect feedback received
from stakeholders after the first ANPRM and streamlining the structure of
the proposed changes so that they would be more succinct and easy for
stakeholders to read; and
WHEREAS, on January 11, 2012, the National Federation of the
Blind and other stakeholders testified at a hearing hosted by the Access
Board regarding the proposed changes in the second ANPRM, during which the
Access Board heard critical feedback from the disability community and
several exhortations to finish the rulemaking in a timely manner; and
WHEREAS, the current Section 508 standards are out of date,
exacerbating a systemic pattern of noncompliance among federal agencies that
already have conflicting priorities, limited resources, and no
accountability mechanisms to meet their obligations under this law; and
WHEREAS, the disability community, technology industry, and
federal government are generally united on the need for the Section 508
standards to be updated, and many of these stakeholders, particularly the
National Federation of the Blind, had a favorable reaction to the proposed
changes made in the 2011 ANPRM: Now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization strongly urge the Access Board to continue
working diligently to refresh the Section 508 standards and finish this
rulemaking swiftly so that the technical standards and accessibility
guidelines under the law reflect changes in technology; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge Section 508 coordinators
at each federal agency to move quickly to adopt best practices for complying
with the new standards in order to protect blind people's right of access
under the law.
----------
Resolution 2012-13
Regarding Braille Codes
WHEREAS, Braille has been the primary means of literacy for
blind people since its invention in the 1800s; and
WHEREAS, the potential for the integration of Braille into
education and everyday life is now greater than ever because of the
proliferation of computers and mobile devices that can generate Braille; and
WHEREAS, the ability of a Braille user to write in Braille
for instant communication and collaboration with non-Braille readers is
becoming ever more essential in our digital age; and
WHEREAS, although the accurate, automated conversion of
print to Braille (forward translation) and from Braille to print (back
translation) is possible, inconsistencies within the current Braille codes,
as well as changing print conventions not effectively addressed in the
current literary Braille code, serve as significant roadblocks to
translation; and
WHEREAS, these underlying difficulties may be exacerbated by
continuing efforts to tweak the current system; and
WHEREAS, the adoption of a more systematic symbol set
providing for greater flexibility and fewer exceptions to rules would
increase the accuracy of forward- and back-translation and would also enable
Braille transcribers to focus attention on issues of formatting and
representing graphics or other essential visual elements; and
WHEREAS, since 1992 the Braille Authority of North America
(BANA) and later the International Council on English Braille have been
engaged in the development of a single system called Unified English Braille
(UEB) to reduce conflicts and ambiguities by unifying some of the current
multiple Braille codes; and
WHEREAS, UEB has been developed with input from many people
with the intention of achieving an optimal balance among many factors,
including keeping our current general-purpose literary code as its basis,
enabling Braille to convey the same information as print, allowing for the
addition of new symbols not currently available in literary Braille,
providing flexibility to change as print changes, reducing the complexity of
rules, and allowing greater accuracy in back-translation; and
WHEREAS, the use of some dedicated Braille codes for
specific subjects, which permit the flexibility to represent those subjects
fully, continues to be necessary and desirable; and
WHEREAS, the current version of the Nemeth Braille Code for
Mathematics and Science Notation, implemented in the United States forty
years ago, has been widely recognized as an ingenious, powerful, and
efficient system for representing mathematics and scientific notation in
Braille; and
WHEREAS, the wholesale adoption of UEB would bring about
relatively few changes from current methods of representing literary
materials but would cause radical changes to Braille for technical
materials; and
WHEREAS, a solution involving the adoption of UEB along with
continued use of the current Nemeth Braille Code, while not fully unifying
all codes, would improve the utility of Braille in the digital age and
increase flexibility for both technical and non-technical uses: Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization call upon the Braille Authority of North
America to adopt the symbols and rules of Unified English Braille as the
standard for general-purpose, non-technical materials; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization express its
strong support for the continued use of the current Nemeth Braille Code as
the standard code for the teaching and production of materials that are
primarily mathematical in nature; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon BANA
to work with all stakeholders to develop a gradual implementation plan that
brings about a minimum of disruption to the education of blind children,
takes into account the needs of Braille users of all ages and in all walks
of life, and provides clear guidance to educators and Braille producers
about when to use which code.
----------
Resolution 2012-14
Regarding the Inaccessibility of the Kindle Fire
WHEREAS, on September 28, 2011, Amazon.com released the
Kindle Fire, a touchscreen tablet designed to read electronic books, access
applications, and perform other functions; and
WHEREAS, the Kindle Fire is the sixth inaccessible model of
the Amazon.com Kindle; and
WHEREAS, an accessible touchscreen tablet is completely
achievable, as demonstrated by Apple with the inclusion of VoiceOver, its
text-to-speech function included in the company's iOS operating system on
all models of the iPad; and
WHEREAS, Amazon.com itself demonstrated that the Kindle
could be made accessible when very basic text-to-speech functions were added
to the Kindle 2 and 3, but a blind user had no way to access the
text-to-speech feature independently; and
WHEREAS, when the Authors Guild and the Association of
American Publishers objected to inclusion of text-to-speech on the Kindle 2,
Amazon.com specifically sought out and requested the help of the NFB to
advocate for text-to-speech, promising continued accessibility improvements
in the Kindle product line but then allowed authors and publishers to block
text-to-speech on their books and did not follow through with the promised
accessibility improvements; and
WHEREAS, Amazon.com has repeatedly assured the National
Federation of the Blind during the development of three different models of
the Kindle that the upcoming model would be accessible by the blind and then
released an inaccessible model, illustrating a lack of respect for the
elected representatives of blind Americans, an inconsistency in Amazon.com's
policies, and general lack of reliability, if not outright disingenuousness;
and
WHEREAS, Amazon.com's failure to include accessibility
features in the Kindle Fire and its previous choice to curtail the
text-to-speech functions on the Kindle 2 and 3 were clearly, not a lack of
innovation, but strategic and calculated decisions that flew in the face of
fair and equal access for all; and
WHEREAS, blind people deserve access to the same books at
the same time and at the same price as sighted users, the ability to read
and navigate these books, and the other features available on the Kindle
Fire: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore Amazon.com's repeated
discrimination against the blind because it knowingly and purposely
developed and launched models of the Kindle that are completely inaccessible
despite its awareness of accessibility solutions and its repeatedly stated
interest in meeting the needs of blind consumers.
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Resolution 2012-15
Regarding Cartoons in NLS Publications
WHEREAS, the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress (NLS) is a major source of
reading materials for the blind of America such as books and magazines; and
WHEREAS, magazines are a very important way for all
Americans to keep up to date with current events, politics, public opinion,
and ideas about the modern world; and
WHEREAS, cartoons are included in print magazines and books,
not merely to provide humor, entertainment, and satire, but also to provide
pointed opinions on the vital issues of the day to the print-reading public;
and
WHEREAS, NLS offers its readers such important
opinion-building publications as The Week, The Nation, The Atlantic Monthly,
National Review, and Rolling Stone in recorded or Braille formats; and
WHEREAS, books and magazines produced by or under the
direction of NLS omit citations to or descriptions of cartoons, depriving
the blind of valuable information; and
WHEREAS, National Braille Press successfully describes
cartoons and illustrations in its Braille publications, demonstrating that
such information can be provided to blind readers; and
WHEREAS, the American Printing House for the Blind, which
produces the recorded editions of Newsweek and Reader's Digest, routinely
includes audio description of the cartoons in these publications,
demonstrating not only that such content adds value, but that these audio
descriptions can be included without affecting the timeliness of
distribution: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization call upon the National Library Service for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress immediately to
modify its standards for Braille and audio production of books and magazines
to include portrayals or explanations of all cartoons, caricatures, and
drawings included in these publications, including reading all captions,
unless they are part of advertisements.
----------
Resolution 2012-16
Regarding Accessibility of Pearson Products
WHEREAS, Pearson is the largest publishing company in the
world of textbooks and courseware designed for use in institutions of higher
education; and
WHEREAS, MyLab and Mastering are Pearson programs offering
customized online solutions for learning, studying, and evaluation in
multiple subjects, and the overwhelming majority of the subject courseware
programs are inaccessible to blind students; and
WHEREAS, despite the inaccessibility of Pearson's
courseware, the MyLab and Mastering programs are being implemented in many
institutions of higher education and in lab-based, hybrid, fully
online/distance learning, and traditional educational environments across
the country; and
WHEREAS, MyMathLab is the only product with which Pearson
has made any progress on improving accessibility, yet the MyLab products for
science, engineering, computer science, humanities, social sciences, world
languages, careers, health sciences, nursing, economics, information
technology, and business disciplines all remain inaccessible to blind
students; and
WHEREAS, Pearson falsely claims to have incorporated
accessibility features into all textbooks and courseware, and the company
refuses to make public its accessibility statement, providing no way of
learning about the supposed accessibility of its products; and
WHEREAS, having access to instructional materials such as
textbooks and courseware is a civil right of blind students, and a company
as large as Pearson has not only the resources but the obligation to make
its products usable to the blind so that the company can truly claim that
its products provide solutions for all students: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization condemn Pearson and deplore its discrimination
against blind students and its lack of transparency in refusing to release
its accessibility statement and to educate the public on the purported
accessibility features of its products.
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Resolution 2012-17
Regarding Tablets Used in Urgent Care Medical Facilities
WHEREAS, once considered an "emerging technology," tablet
computers are becoming more popular with both private users and businesses;
and
WHEREAS, the tablet market is expanding rapidly, with
T-Mobile, Sony, Toshiba, Motorola, Dell, and other manufacturers developing
or releasing tablets to compete with the Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle Fire, and
Samsung Galaxy, among other popular devices; and
WHEREAS, CareFirst, Patient First, and other urgent care
medical facilities are implementing a touchscreen-based patient check-in
system to replace the traditional receptionist/pen-and-paper check-in
system, requiring patients to input their personal information and medical
history using a tablet; and
WHEREAS, while the traditional system was inaccessible to
blind patients, requiring them to share their personal information and
medical history with a sighted person who came with them or with a virtual
stranger, the use of tablets provides an opportunity for blind people to
check into urgent care and other medical facilities independently and
privately if the tablets have proper accessibility features; and
WHEREAS, a fully accessible tablet, the Apple iPad, is
available, and, if businesses procuring and deploying tablet technology make
accessibility for the blind a priority, their investment will provide an
incentive for other tablet manufacturers to make their products accessible:
Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization urge CareFirst, Patient First, and other
medical facilities to procure and deploy only accessible tablets, taking
advantage of the opportunity to provide their blind patients with a private,
independent method of checking in like that afforded other patients, and to
provide an incentive for tablet manufacturers to make their products
accessible or develop innovative new ways to meet the needs of blind users.
----------
Resolution 2012-18
Regarding Inaccessible Adobe Products
WHEREAS, the Adobe suite of products includes Flash, a
product for watching videos, animation, and rich Internet content; InDesign,
a package for digital publishing; Dreamweaver, a product for creating
websites; and Contribute, Premier, Photoshop, Acrobat, and other products
used for creating, editing, accessing, and publishing content; and
WHEREAS, the interfaces of most products in the Adobe suite
are inaccessible to blind users, and some products have actually lost basic
accessibility that had once been built into the interface; and
WHEREAS, the products used for content creation such as
Flash, Dreamweaver, Acrobat, and InDesign have rich accessibility features,
not in their interfaces, but for application to the content being created,
such as good alt-tag support, good style sheets, and navigational style
support; but Adobe does not advertise or provide training for those features
and has no accessibility checkers to make it easy for content creators to
make sure the content they have created is accessible; and
WHEREAS, the Adobe Flash plugin is widely used by blind
computer users for consuming video, audio, and other rich content, despite
an inaccessible installer for the plugin, which Adobe has left inaccessible
for more than two years; and
WHEREAS, despite an outcry by blind Americans and repeated
efforts by the National Federation of the Blind to educate Adobe about the
importance of accessibility, the company continues to ignore the needs of
blind users; and
WHEREAS, as the popularity of Adobe products grows, the
amount of unnecessarily inaccessible content being created grows as well:
Now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore Adobe's complete and utter
lack of commitment to accessibility.
----------
Resolution 2012-19
Regarding Autonomous Vehicles
WHEREAS, the Blind Driver ChallengeT of the National
Federation of the Blind is an innovative research project of the NFB
Jernigan Institute to create nonvisual interfaces that will allow a blind
person to drive a car safely and independently; and
WHEREAS, driving does not and will never define a blind
person's independence, but the ability to operate an automobile
independently and safely will provide a greater degree of independent
travel, affording us opportunities that do not currently exist; and
WHEREAS, mainstream automobile manufacturers are working to
develop driverless vehicles, and many of them have already integrated
autonomous components like automatic parallel parking, adaptive cruise
control, etc.; and
WHEREAS, all autonomous vehicles currently require human
operation, and regardless of the degree to which vehicles become automated,
some degree of human intervention will always be required; and
WHEREAS, the convergence of nonvisual interface technology
with autonomous vehicle technology promises to result in a vehicle that a
blind person can operate safely and independently; and
WHEREAS, in order for the development of autonomous vehicle
technology to progress, autonomous vehicle developers must be allowed to
test drive the vehicles legally in a variety of real-world driving
situations; and
WHEREAS, the states of Nevada and Florida have already
enacted legislation making it legal for driverless vehicles to operate on
their roads: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization commend those states that are forward-thinking
enough to enact legislation that legalizes the operation of autonomous
vehicles on their roads, and that we call upon other states to enact similar
legislation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that
autonomous vehicle manufacturers include nonvisual interfaces that will
allow a blind person to operate the vehicle independently; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon automobile
manufacturers to work with the National Federation of the Blind to develop
nonvisual driver interfaces further.
----------
Resolution 2012-20
Regarding the Barnes and Noble Nook
WHEREAS, educational institutions and public libraries are
deploying digital readers to students and patrons as technology transforms
the way people access books and other content; and
WHEREAS, one of the most popular e-readers being deployed by
these entities is the Barnes and Noble Nook, which along with its online
digital bookstore is inaccessible to the blind; and
WHEREAS, technology exists that would make the Nook
accessible, as demonstrated by Apple's implementation of VoiceOver, the
text-to-speech function included in the company's iOS operating system on
all models of the iPad; and
WHEREAS, when educational institutions deploy inaccessible
technology such as the Nook, they directly violate the federal rights of
blind students under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; and
WHEREAS, blind patrons of public libraries should not be
consigned to separate and unequal access to books when libraries have the
option to deploy an accessible e-reader, providing blind and other
print-disabled patrons with equal, free, and easy access to all of the books
available to other patrons; and
WHEREAS, libraries and educational institutions have no
excuse for such violations, since they have been duly advised of their
obligations in a frequently asked questions document issued on May 26, 2011,
by the U.S. Department of Education, which provides specific guidelines
regarding the evaluation, procurement, and deployment of emerging
educational technologies to ensure that they are accessible to the blind and
other students with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, mainstream access to books for blind readers will
occur only when it is demanded by educational institutions and libraries,
since the purchasing power of those entities will provide incentive for
Barnes and Noble to make the Nook accessible; and
WHEREAS, Barnes and Noble has expressed an intent to make
the Nook accessible to blind users and is currently working on the
accessibility of the next model: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization urge Barnes and Noble to continue to work
assiduously in providing a product line that is accessible to blind users,
including an accessible online bookstore; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge
institutions of higher education and libraries not to purchase Barnes and
Noble digital products, including the Nook, until these digital products
provide access for students and patrons who are blind or have print
disabilities.
----------
Resolution 2012-21
Resolution Regarding Fairness in Premiums
and Penalties in the Medicare Program
WHEREAS, recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance
qualify for Medicare coverage after two years as a recipient of benefits;
and
WHEREAS, a recipient has the option to sign up for specific
coverage offered by the Medicare program when he or she is determined
eligible, with premiums deducted for the coverage chosen; and
WHEREAS, Medicare coverage is divided into four parts, each
identified by letter; and
WHEREAS, Part B of the Medicare program covers office
visits, outpatient procedures, and laboratory tests; and
WHEREAS, a recipient wishing coverage under Part B who has
previously opted out is assessed a monthly penalty in addition to the
premium for this service, unless the recipient can show coverage by an
employer-based group health plan for the time in which he or she was
eligible for Part B coverage; and
WHEREAS, the requirement to show coverage by an
employer-based group health plan means that a recipient is penalized for
periods in which he or she may have been covered by insurance comparable to
Part B coverage directly paid for by the recipient or someone other than an
employer; and
WHEREAS, the penalty that can be charged to a recipient is
not capped and can result in hundreds of dollars per month in penalties:
Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization call upon Congress to amend the Social
Security Act by removing the requirement to show proof of coverage by an
employer-based group health plan and replacing it with a requirement to show
insurance comparable to Medicare Part B coverage; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon Congress to amend
the Act further by placing a cap on the penalty for failure to participate
in the Part B program so the total amount paid does not exceed double the
original monthly premium.
----------
Resolution 2012-22
Regarding Implementation of Recommendations
from the Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials
in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities
WHEREAS, access to quality educational opportunities is
essential for success in a society that values knowledge; and
WHEREAS, institutions of higher education are implementing a
wide array of technologies to facilitate instruction, deliver educational
content, encourage collaboration among students, provide access to libraries
and other data sources, manage student records, and provide other services
to students and faculty; and
WHEREAS, blind students in higher education increasingly
encounter technologies that cannot be effectively used with screen readers
and Braille displays, resulting in a significantly inferior educational
experience; and
WHEREAS, these technologies cannot be effectively used by
blind faculty members, thus diminishing their access to the tools required
to perform their teaching and research responsibilities and limiting their
chances for tenure and advancement; and
WHEREAS, the United States Congress recognized the urgency
of addressing and seeking remedies for the challenges encountered by
students and faculty with disabilities by authorizing the establishment of
the Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary
Education for Students with Disabilities (the AIM Commission) under the
Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA); and
WHEREAS, the Department of Education established the AIM
Commission in the fall of 2010, and the Commission released its report on
December 6, 2011; and
WHEREAS, the report provides details of the challenges faced
by students with disabilities and clearly states that "barriers that would
deny students with disabilities their rights to full and complete access to
their educational experience are unacceptable in a society that values
achievement through education"; and
WHEREAS, the report, signed by all nineteen stakeholder
representatives of the Commission, provides specific recommendations for
action by Congress and federal agencies: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization call upon the members of the United States
Congress to act upon the report of the AIM Commission by immediately
authorizing the United States Access Board to establish guidelines for
accessible instructional materials that will be used by government, in the
private sector, and in postsecondary academic institutions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge Congress to ask the
secretary of education to address the Department's plans to implement
recommendations made by the Commission and that a timeline be established
for reviewing progress; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we insist that the Department of
Education take steps to implement Commission recommendations, including
reestablishing an intra-agency working group on postsecondary students with
disabilities, creating a cross-agency working group to provide a more
unified and consistent approach to federal initiatives to provide accessible
instructional materials at postsecondary institutions, and establishing
demonstration projects that promote sharing best practices to provide such
materials; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we demand that the Department of
Education move swiftly to address the concerns and recommendations of the
Commission in areas in which the general market is expected to fail in
delivering accessible instructional materials in the near future, including
hard copy Braille; tactile graphics; and materials in science, technology,
engineering, and math.
----------
Resolution 2012-23
Regarding the Inaccessibility of Xbox 360
WHEREAS, the Xbox 360 is the second video game console
developed by and produced for Microsoft; and
WHEREAS, unlike its predecessor, which was exclusively a
gaming console, the Xbox 360 is used for streaming a variety of content to a
television, including trailers, shows, music, and movies; and hosting
Microsoft's Windows Media Center multimedia capabilities and gaming; and
WHEREAS, the Xbox 360 is Microsoft's main channel for
reaching individual consumers, meaning that blind users cannot use
information that Microsoft distributes over the console; and
WHEREAS, when other entities, such as cable service
providers and satellite companies, choose to partner with Microsoft to
disseminate their content over the Xbox 360 console, they are discriminating
against their blind customers, who will not be able to access that content;
and
WHEREAS, the 2010 passage of the 21st Century Communications
and Video Accessibility Act demonstrates that Congress believes access to
home entertainment systems and television set-top boxes by the blind is a
civil right and that the nation's telecommunications must be accessible to
people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, Apple has produced a similar, fully accessible
streaming console used for entertainment in the home, demonstrating that
completely accessible media control is achievable; and
WHEREAS, during every meeting between the National
Federation of the Blind and Microsoft, the inaccessibility of the Xbox 360
has been addressed, but the company has taken no action to remedy this
problem: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore Microsoft's failure to
update the Xbox 360 console so that it is accessible to blind users.
----------
Resolution 2012-24
Regarding At-Home Medical Equipment
WHEREAS, medical equipment designed for use in the home is a
cost-effective means of self-diagnosis and allows caregivers and those with
chronic illness to manage medical conditions independently and in their own
homes; and
WHEREAS, infants considered at risk for heart problems or
apnea are often sent home from the hospital on monitors, equipment that is
not generally accessible nonvisually; and
WHEREAS, electronic thermometers, for example, have replaced
traditional mercury-based thermometers as effective, easy tools for
diagnosing a fever; and
WHEREAS, despite the availability of access technology that
allows electronic and digital at-home medical equipment to provide audio
output to users, infant apnea monitors, home dialysis equipment, electronic
thermometers, and many other forms of at-home medical equipment remain
largely or completely inaccessible to the blind; and
WHEREAS, the development of accessible glucose monitoring
equipment in 2008 demonstrates that at-home medical devices can indeed be
made accessible for blind users; and
WHEREAS, incidents, such as blind parents' having to arrange
for ongoing sighted assistance in order to take a child home from the
hospital when the child requires a monitor, illustrate the consequences of
denying the blind access to at-home medical equipment; and
WHEREAS, Section 510 of the Rehabilitation Act, amplified by
Section 4203 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March of
2010, requires that medical diagnostic equipment, such as a mobile health
unit or trailer, examination tables and chairs, mammography equipment, x-ray
machines, radiological equipment, and weight scales, be accessible and
usable by individuals with disabilities, demonstrating that Congress
believes that access to medical equipment is a civil right; and
WHEREAS, when the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, also known as the U.S. Access Board, began a rulemaking to
establish standards for the medical diagnostic equipment covered under the
new Section 510 of the Rehabilitation Act, the advanced notice of proposed
rulemaking specifically stated that "the statute does not cover medical
devices used for monitoring or treating medical conditions such as
glucometers and infusion pumps": Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization demand that manufacturers of at-home medical
equipment make their products accessible to blind users so that the civil
right of access to this equipment is preserved.
----------
Resolution 2012-25
Regarding Accommodations for
the Law School Admission Test
WHEREAS, before acceptance of a candidate, virtually every
law school in the United States requires applicants to take the Law School
Admission Test (LSAT), which is administered by the Law School Admissions
Council (LSAC); and
WHEREAS, LSAC has a long history of denying accommodations
to applicants with disabilities, such as denying blind applicants permission
to use their primary reading method, including screen-reading software,
Braille, and/or a human reader of the applicant's choice; and
WHEREAS, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
and other laws require that LSAC grant accommodations to applicants with
disabilities; and
WHEREAS, LSAC almost always makes it exceedingly difficult
to obtain necessary accommodations for the examination, and, even if a
candidate is able to comply with all of the LSAC's often unreasonable
requests, the accommodation is frequently ultimately denied; and
WHEREAS, the process of requesting and obtaining
accommodations often forces applicants with disabilities to do battle with
LSAC until the eleventh hour before the administration of the LSAT to
discover whether the accommodation has been granted, to hire lawyers and/or
to pay doctors and experts thousands of dollars to document the disability
repeatedly, and otherwise to waste time and money to receive accommodations,
even in cases where the requested accommodations had been routinely granted
when the applicant acquired his or her undergraduate degree; and
WHEREAS, LSAC also engages in the practice of "flagging"
test scores for any examination that is administered to an applicant using
any accommodation; and
WHEREAS, LSAC sends a letter to each law school to which the
applicant with a disability has applied, stating that he or she took the
examination under "nonstandard conditions" and that there is no way to
assess whether the score obtained by the applicant means anything; and
WHEREAS, this flagging practice is LSAC's way of saying that
accommodations and disability skew the results of the examination and that
scores obtained by applicants with disabilities are therefore meaningless
and should be ignored; and
WHEREAS, the American Bar Association (ABA) is the largest
voluntary professional organization in the world, with over 400,000 lawyer
members; and
WHEREAS, the ABA is regarded as the leading voice in the
nation calling for change in the legal system; and
WHEREAS, the ABA House of Delegates is the ABA's supreme
authority and the body which sets policy for the organization; and
WHEREAS, at the 2012 ABA Midyear meeting held in New
Orleans, Louisiana, the House of Delegates passed ABA Resolution 2012-111,
which calls upon the LSAC to stop its practice of denying accommodations and
making it exceedingly difficult to obtain those accommodations for the LSAT,
and further calls upon LSAC to cease its discriminatory practice of flagging
test scores: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization applaud and commend the American Bar
Association for sending a strong and clear message to the Law School
Admissions Council that it must stop its discrimination against test
applicants with disabilities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we join the ABA in demanding
that LSAC grant accommodations for the LSAT quickly and efficiently to all
blind applicants and other applicants with disabilities and that LSAC cease
immediately the discriminatory practice of flagging LSAT scores.
----------
Resolution 2012-26
Regarding Entrepreneurial Opportunities
for People with Disabilities
WHEREAS, the United States Congress has enacted provisions
to provide entrepreneurial opportunities for businesses owned by groups that
are considered to be socially and economically disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS, these provisions do not include businesses owned by
individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, Congress enacted the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act to
increase job opportunities for people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, many disabled workers never advance to management
positions in Javits-Wagner-O'Day-affiliated businesses because the
nondisabled employers have low expectations for their disabled workers; and
WHEREAS, Congress has not reauthorized the
Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act since programs were created under the Small Business
Act to provide entrepreneurial opportunities for other socially and
economically disadvantaged groups; and
WHEREAS, the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act should include
provisions for people with disabilities to take part in all aspects of
business, including owning a business and executing contracts awarded under
the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fourth day of July, 2012, in the city of Dallas,
Texas, that this organization urge the United States Congress to amend the
Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act to include provisions to increase entrepreneurial
opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
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