[nfbmi-talk] Teach Act

Tue Jun 10 15:29:33 UTC 2014

Thanks Elizabeth,

Will send out a letter later today.

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Mohnke via nfbmi-talk" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "'Larry Posont'" <president.nfb.mi at gmail.com>; "'NFB of Michigan 
Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 11:24 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Teach Act

> Hello All,
>
> Has anyone sent any emails to the Republican Members of Congress from
> Michigan yet? Based on our meetings during Washington Seminar, Congressman
> Kerry Bentivolio gave us a verbal commitment to co-sponsor H.R. 3505.
> However, according to the co-sponsor list, it appears as though he has yet
> to sign on as a co-sponsor of this bill.
>
> If you only have the time to send out one email this week, I would 
> encourage
> you to send it to the office of Congressman Kerry Bentivolio. The contact
> person for his office is Shelby Emmett, and the email address is
> shelby.emmett at mail.house.gov.
>
> if you would like the names and contacts for other Republican Members of
> congress from Michigan, please contact Mary Ann Robinson. Her email 
> address
> is brightsmile1953 at comcast.net. She has the list of all the Republican
> contacts, and would be more than willing to share this information with 
> you.
>
> If we all take the time to work together, we can definitely change what it
> means to be blind.
>
> Warm regards,
> Elizabeth
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Larry
> Posont via nfbmi-talk
> Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2014 6:24 PM
> To: nfbmi-talk
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Teach Act
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
> 7189 Connors Rd.
> Munising, MI 49862
>
> June 6, 2014
>
> Dear Michigan Federationists:
>
>     I am sending a message from Lauren McLaarney concerning a Republican
> blitz to be held for the Teach Act this next Monday through Friday. Please
> participate in this as extensively as you can.
>
> Sincerely,
> Larry Posont
> President
> National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
> (906) 387-3546
> Email: president.nfb.mi at gmail.com
> Web page: www.nfbmi.org
>
> Munising home of the beautiful Pictured Rocks.
> Hi Friends,
>
> Next week, we need everyone to mobilize for the TEACH Act! From Monday
> through Friday, we will run a Republican Blitz, where everybody contacts 
> the
> Republican members of Congress from their state delegation and urges them 
> to
> cosponsor the TEACH Act, H.R. 3505 and S.
> 2060. The goal is to get a huge influx of cosponsors.
>
> This is a pivotal time. The TEACH Act is non-controversial, but the 
> upcoming
> elections will limit our opportunities to pass the bill this Congress. We
> truly believe this bill has a chance, so we are going to take a real shot 
> at
> trying to get this done. Consequently, we're planning an important meeting
> with a higher education association to bring the schools on board, and 
> then
> plan to meet with the Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee to
> explore about our options. We want to go into that meeting with the most
> cosponsors as possible, particularly from the majority party. Currently,
> H.R. 3505 has forty-two, with fifteen Republicans, twenty-seven Democrats.
> If we can get thirteen more Republicans we will be at fifty-five 
> cosponsors
> and have an almost-even twenty-eight/twenty-seven breakdown. S. 2060 just
> got two new cosponsors, Senators Bennet and Ayotte. We are at an even two
> and two (for a total of four) and even though the Democrats are the 
> majority
> party in the Senate, we already have a few waiting in the wings. We want 
> to
> keep it even and won't send them on until we secure a few more 
> Republicans.
> Let's build on this momentum!
>
> A few things to note:
> 1)      This is a BLITZ. That means we need lots of people to send
> lots of emails, not just one or two people. Even if it's not your member 
> of
> Congress, if they are a Republican in your state delegation, email them!
> Let's make it a digital version of the Washington Seminar, but just 
> limited
> to the Republican offices.
> 2)      Send your correspondence to the education staffer. If you
> don't know who the education staffer is, just call the office and ask, or
> shoot me an email.
> 3)      Know your audience. Some things are universal to advocacy,
> like telling your personal story and explaining what the bill does, but 
> the
> points you emphasize to a Democrat might not be the best points to 
> emphasize
> to a Republican. For the TEACH Act, it's best to emphasize how the
> guidelines are voluntary, that we are trying to help schools better comply
> with the law and avoid litigation, which in turn helps blind students, and
> that the industry supports the bill.
> 4)      Personalize your letters. Offices know a block/form letter
> when they see one. I've provided a sample letter below, but please make
> edits before sending. If you're from a state where a particular school has
> faced a lawsuit related to this, add it in. If another Republican from 
> your
> state has cosponsored, mention it.
> 5)      Feel free to tweet or call, but in addition to emails rather
> than as a substitute. Some sample tweets: "Blind students need access to
> materials, help spur the market! Cosponsor the #TEACHAct" or "Blind 
> students
> are being left behind and schools are being sued. The #TEACHAct is an easy
> fix. Will you cosponsor?" or "When blind students get to college, we need
> books. Publishers support the #TEACHAct, do you?" or "Congressman X and
> Congressman X have cosponsored the #TEACHAct. Join your delegation!" or 
> even
> "Support Mr. Petri before he retires by cosponsoring #TEACHAct, a bill 
> that
> improves access for the blind in higher ed!"
>
> I'll be sending out reminders periodically next week. I hope everyone can
> help us reach our goal and we can increase the chances of passing the 
> TEACH
> Act. Let's face it, not only is the bill non-controversial, but blind
> students cannot afford to wait. Thanks guys!
>
> Cheers,
> Lauren
>
> Sample letter:
>
> Hello [Education Staffer's first name],
>
> I am writing on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of [your
> affiliate]. We last met with your office in January to discuss our
> legislative agenda, and one of those bills was the Technology, Education 
> and
> Accessibility in College and Higher Education (TEACH) Act, H.R. 
> 3505/S.2060.
> It has been a few months so I wanted to circle back and ask that
> Congressman/Congresswoman [Name] will come on as a cosponsor. The bill is
> non-controversial and bipartisan - can we count on [his/her] support?
>
> A quick reminder: Inaccessible educational technology is creating profound
> barriers to education for students with disabilities. The TEACH Act
> authorizes the creation of voluntary accessibility guidelines for
> instructional material so that those materials are usable by students with
> print disabilities, and then incentivizes schools to use technology that
> conforms to the guidelines with a safe harbor from litigation. The goal of
> the guidelines is to facilitate the equal access mandates that require
> schools to use accessible materials by stimulating the creation of a 
> viable
> digital marketplace.
> By facilitating the national mandate and the national market, we can 
> provide
> equal access for blind students without infringing on states'
> rights. This bill is appealing to those on both sides of the aisle, is
> endorsed by a major industry group, and is supported by data from a
> Congressionally-authorized study. The TEACH Act does not create any new
> liability for schools or create any mandates on technology companies, and
> reduces costs and litigation while still making systemic change for blind
> students. [H.R. 3505/S. 2060] is sponsored by [Tom Petri in the House/our
> Republican leader is Orrin Hatch] - will your boss join them as a 
> cosponsor?
>
> Over 160,000 people, many from our state, have signed this petition on
> Change.org,
> http://www.change.org/petitions/pass-teach-act-equal-access-to-educational-m
> aterials-for-students-with-disabilities
> , showing widespread support for this modest approach to a disgraceful
> problem. Blind students can't afford to wait, so please let me know if 
> there
> are questions. For more information, please visit https://nfb.org/TEACH .
> Thanks, hope to hear from you!
>
> Sincerely,
> [Your name]
>
>
> Lauren McLarney
> Government Affairs Specialist
> National Federation of the Blind
> 200 East Wells Street
> Baltimore, MD 21230
> 410.659.9314 ext. 2207
> LMcLarney at nfb.org
>
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