[Nfbmt] 2014 Resolutions... corrected

[Sheila Leigland]

thank you for posting the resolutions. I wondered about them and exactly 
what they said.
On 10/13/2014 10:48 AM, Bruce&Joy Breslauer via Nfbmt wrote:
> Resolution 2014-01 Regarding the Inaccessibility of AlcoholEdu
>
> WHEREAS
> The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the
> Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended), and the Joint Dear Colleague Letter
> issued on June 29, 2010 by the Departments of Justice and Education, all
> require that institutions of higher education in the United States provide
> blind and other students with print disabilities equal access to education,
> including electronic educational media and learning management systems; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> State of Montana rules such as the 1993 Executive Order by Governor Racicot
> calling for Montana to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act,
> HB239 passed in 2001 requiring nonvisual access to information technology,
> and the Montana Human Rights Act, all require that Montana University System
> components only procure and provide electronic media and learning management
> systems which are accessible to blind and other students with print
> disabilities; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> On March 7, 2014, The University of Montana, a component of the Montana
> University System, entered into a compliance agreement with the U.S.
> Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, regarding the University's
> failure to make such electronic educational media and learning management
> systems accessible to blind and other students with print disabilities; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> The Montana University System has justly ramped up its efforts to educate
> incoming students about the potential dangers of alcohol abuse and sexual
> violence; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> The Commissioner of Higher Education, Clayton Christian, subsequently
> approved the purchase of AlcoholEdu, an online alcohol abuse and sexual
> violence prevention program, to be implemented as the education module on
> this topic for the entire Montana University System; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> The completion of AlcoholEdu is mandatory for all incoming first-year and
> transfer students under the age of 21 in all sixteen components of the
> Montana University System, but the failure to complete AlcoholEdu results in
> the freezing of a student's ability to register for future classes; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> Blind and other students with print disabilities have at least as great a
> need for education regarding alcohol abuse and sexual violence as their
> nondisabled peers; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> Since AlcoholEdu has proven to be inaccessible to screen readers, an
> assistive technology used by blind and other students with print
> disabilities in the Montana University System, the only means by which a
> screen reader using student can complete this mandatory requirement is to
> have someone else read the questions aloud to the student and submit the
> student's responses to AlcoholEdu; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> Since AlcoholEdu promises complete confidentiality to all students with
> respect to the information they provide, this process violates both the
> civil rights and the rights to confidentiality of blind and other students
> with print disabilities; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> Although Commissioner Christian was made aware of this, he nevertheless
> forced the implementation of AlcoholEdu in all sixteen components of the
> Montana University System: NOW
>
> THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana
> in convention assembled this Eleventh Day of October, 2014, in the city of
> Helena, Montana, that we condemn and deplore Commissioner Clayton
> Christian's willful and informed action, resulting in the violation of the
> civil and confidentiality rights of blind and other students with print
> disabilities of the Montana University System, and his utter disregard for
> the law and the health and safety of all students with print disabilities;
> and
>
> BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon Commissioner Christian and the
> Montana University System to immediately take whatever steps are necessary
> to make AlcoholEdu accessible to blind and other students with print
> disabilities.
>
> Resolution 2014-02 Applauds BRBS for funding NFB Newsline
>
> WHEREAS
> Access to national and local newspapers and other printed information is
> critical to achieving full participation in employment and other aspects of
> society; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> NFB Newsline is a fast and flexible information content delivery system with
> five Montana dailies, as well as more than three hundred other newspapers,
> magazines, and publications; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> Montana's Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind Services has now assumed
> sponsorship of NFB Newsline as an important employability factor for
> Montanans with print disabilities:  NOW THEREFORE,
>
> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
> convention assembled this Eleventh Day of October, 2014, in the city of
> Helena, Montana, that we applaud VRBS for sponsoring NFB Newsline for the
> benefit of all Montanans with print disabilities.
>
> Resolution 2014-03 Regarding Funding for the Teaching of Fundamental Skill
> Development for Montana Students with Blindness and Low Vision Disabilities
>
> WHEREAS
> Montana students with blindness and low vision disabilities are in need of
> fundamental skill development for independent travel, information
> management, and other compensatory disability-related skills; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> The Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind community-based service
> consultants do not provide direct services such as orientation and mobility
> instruction to Montana students with blindness and low vision disabilities;
> and,
>
> WHEREAS
> Blind and Low Vision Services orientation and mobility service strategy
> involves age and employment-related eligibility requirements; and,
>
> WHEREAS
> It is a necessity for Montana students with blindness and low vision
> disabilities to have fundamental skills to benefit from public education and
> live the lives they want: NOW, THEREFORE
>
> BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in
> convention assembled this Eleventh Day of October, 2014, in the city of
> Helena, Montana, that we recommend that The Honorable Governor Steve Bullock
> in the Executive Budget Planning (EBPP), and/or through the Montana 2015
> legislature, appropriate funds to the Montana Independent Living Project
> (MILP) for the purposes of supporting, encouraging, and stabilizing
> orientation and mobility gains for Montana students with blindness  and low
> vision disabilities for the upcoming biennium.
>
>
>
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