[Nfbmt] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 03/21/2016

Tue Mar 22 15:37:50 UTC 2016

Thanks for sharing,
I was hoping he could come to our convention.

Original message:

> President’s Notebook

> National Federation of the Blind

> Mark A. Riccobono

> officeofthepresident at nfb.org

> (410) 659-9314

> Dear Fellow Federationists,

> The continuity of leadership in our organization is a key component of 
> our success, and the individuals that serve in these roles reflect the 
> values that we work to promote. While the organization is bigger than 
> any one of us, it is always a blow to our collective spirit when we 
> lose one of our own. Rick Reed, our president in Wyoming, passed away 
> unexpectedly a week ago Sunday. Rick brought energy and enthusiasm to 
> the organization and he was working on building our local affiliate in 
> a new way. As we tackle our work this week, let's remember members of 
> our family like Rick who have made a great difference in our movement. 
> Thank you for your time, energy, and commitment.

> Critical Actions This Week:

> Beginning today, March 21, the Senate is in recess for the next two 
> weeks. This is a great opportunity to meet with your senators while 
> they are in their home states and ask them to cosponsor S. 2596, our 
> space available legislation in the Senate and to ask that its language 
> be included in the base National Defense Authorization Act. This is to 
> say that we don't want to rely on the amendment process later. We want 
> the language included in the base bill. The phone number for the 
> Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. You can also call them directly 
> in their state offices.

> News:

> Progress on Elimination of 14(c):
> The National Federation of the Blind continues to make progress in our 
> advocacy to phase out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities 
> and eliminate Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. On Friday, 
> March 18, the AbilityOne Commission issued a statement supporting the 
> payment of at least the minimum wage, and ultimately the prevailing 
> wage, to all workers with disabilities. In particular, the statement 
> reads "Our call to action is for all qualified nonprofit agencies 
> participating in the AbilityOne Program to commit to, and begin (if not 
> maintain), paying at least the federal minimum wage, or state minimum 
> wage if higher, to all employees who are blind or have significant 
> disabilities working on AbilityOne contracts. Our ultimate goal is to 
> foster the development and implementation of training and employment 
> best practices that allow employees with disabilities to be compensated 
> at the prevailing wage paid to all other employees working on 
> AbilityOne contracts."

> Spanish Version of the Presidential Release:
> The Spanish version of the March Presidential Release is available at 
> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/pr/spanish/pr448_spanish.mp3.

> NFB EQ (Embrace Your Engineering Quotient) Summer Program - Teacher Cohort:
> Attention teachers! Are you interested in learning more about how to 
> support your blind and low-vision students in STEM subjects? Join the 
> National Federation of the Blind for the 2016 NFB EQ Teacher Seminar: a 
> three-day, STEM-focused professional development opportunity for 
> teachers who work with blind and low-vision high school students in 
> STEM subjects. At this program you will learn about various tools and 
> techniques that blind and low-vision students can use in the STEM 
> classroom. Those invited to apply include teachers of the 
> blind/visually impaired, STEM teachers working with blind students, or 
> students enrolled in teacher preparation programs for teachers of the 
> blind/visually impaired. To learn more and to apply, please visit 
> http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-eq-teacher-seminar. Applications are 
> due June 7.

> Security Incident at Rosen Hotels:
> As you might have heard, there was a security breach recently at Rosen 
> Hotels that might have affected credit cards used at their properties 
> between September 2, 2014, and February 18, 2016. New security measures 
> have been implemented which, we believe, will ensure that those making 
> reservations for our upcoming 2016 NFB Convention at the Rosen Shingle 
> Creek will not be affected. If you have any questions about the 
> incident, additional information can be found on the Rosen Hotels & 
> Resorts website at www.rosenhotels.com/protectingourguests 
> <http://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4755&qid=1197387> 
> or by calling (855) 907-3214, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-8:00 
> p.m. eastern.

> PARCC and Smarter Balanced Survey:

> As students participate in PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessments this 
> spring, we ask that parents, students, and teachers take time to 
> complete the NFB’s Common Core assessment online survey 
> <http://nfb.org/CommonCoreAssessmentSurvey> . In particular, we want to 
> know when and where accessibility and accommodation failures happen so 
> that we can help ensure any problems are fixed. Please take time to 
> complete this important survey, or alternatively, contact Valerie 
> Yingling, paralegal, at vyingling at nfb.org or (410) 659-9314, extension 2440.

> Supreme Court Vacancy:
> Last week I wrote a blog addressing the need for President Obama to 
> appoint someone with a background and knowledge of disability rights to 
> the vacant position on the Supreme Court. The piece was posted on the 
> Huffington Post 
> <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-riccobono/appoint-a-justice-who-und_b_9457920.html> 
> .

> Dates to Keep in Mind:

> ·        March 31: NFB Scholarship Program application deadline, 
> https://nfb.org/scholarships

> ·        March 31-April 1: 2016 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law 
> Symposium <https://nfb.org/law-symposium> ; “Diversity in the 
> Disability Rights Movement: Working Together to Achieve the Right to 
> Live in the World”

> ·        April 15: Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program nomination deadline, 
> https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main

> ·        April 15: Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund 
> deadline, https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1603/bm160310.htm

> ·        April 25: NFB EQ student application deadline, 
> https://nfb.org/nfb-eq-form

> ·        May 1: Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award 
> application deadline

> ·        May 17-20: BLAST, Chicago

> ·        May 19-21: NFB STEM2U Minneapolis

> ·        May 21-26: International Council on English Braille 6th 
> General Assembly

> ·        June 19-25: NFB EQ (first iteration)

> ·        June 30-July 5: National Federation of the Blind Convention, 
> Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, Florida

> ·        July 31-August 6: NFB EQ (second iteration)

> ·        August 18-25: WBU and ICEVI General Assembly, Rosen Centre, 
> Orlando, Florida, www.wbu-icevi2016.org

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

> Mark A. Riccobono, President

> National Federation of the Blind

> 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place

> Baltimore, Maryland 21230

> Phone: (410) 659-9314

> Fax: (410) 659-5129

> Email: officeofthepresident at nfb.org

> Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice

> Web:  <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org
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