[NFBOH-Cleveland] Policy Guidance on Virtual Meetings and National Federation of the Blind COVID-19 Policy Relating to Public Events - Extended.

Tue Apr 7 01:20:20 UTC 2020

Cleveland,

Please read this document through to its entirety.

We are under the authority of the National President and the Executive
Board; in that we will not gather in person prior to May 31, 2020.

Suzanne

_____________________________________________
From: Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Richard Payne
via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2020 6:56 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List' <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Richard Payne <rchpay7 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Ohio-Talk] Policy Guidance on Virtual Meetings and National
Federation of the Blind COVID-19 Policy Relating to Public Events -
Extended.

National Federation of the Blind
Policy Guidance on Virtual Meetings

This policy guidance is meant to provide structure to state affiliates,
local chapters, and national and state divisions of the organization. This
policy is intended to communicate how Federation leaders can best implement
practices consistent with the national constitution. This document was
established by the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors,
effective April 4, 2020.

Official Federation Business Meetings:
Business meetings of the National Federation of the Blind are meetings where
the membership can set policies and take actions to guide the organization.
Primary examples include affiliate conventions and local chapter meetings.
These meetings of Federation members should be clearly differentiated from
enrichment opportunities, such as training, fundraising, and social events,
where business will not be conducted. It is worth noting that business
meetings may include many of the elements of non-business meetings (e.g.,
fundraising and training). The majority of Federation meetings take place in
person in local communities, in statewide gatherings, or at the national
convention. However, meetings may also take place using technologies to
connect members at a distance. The principles for appropriate management of
Federation business meetings apply regardless of whether the meeting venue
is physical or virtual or a combination of the two. Federation meetings
should comply with the following principles.
*	In general, Federation meetings are open to all regardless of
membership status. Except for a limited set of circumstances where the
sensitive nature of content to be covered requires a closed-meeting status,
Federation meetings are open to all.
*	Regular meetings should happen at a consistent time and place
(physical or virtual), and changes to the regular pattern should be
carefully communicated to all members in advance. Special meetings require
extra care to ensure that all members receive notice. A variety of
communication methods will be necessary to ensure all members have notice
regarding meetings and changes to meetings. 
*	Meetings should be conducted consistent with the Federation's
constitution, code of conduct, and branding standards. Care should be taken
to ensure that all members of the organization can fully participate in the
gathering.
*	The president, or vice-president in the absence of the president,
should chair the meeting unless the president or vice-president has
designated another chairperson. 
*	Meetings should be managed by the chair such that one individual
speaks at a time. Federation practice is to invite people to call for the
floor using their own name and for the individual chairing the meeting to
recognize speakers by calling on them.
*	The meeting should include an organized agenda which may or may not
be distributed in advance. Elections should be held at a consistent time
annually and should be announced at least one meeting in advance. Required
announcements from the state or national organization must be included in
business meetings. All chapter and affiliate meetings should include the
Federation pledge.  
*	The secretary or designee should record significant happenings in
the meeting, especially motions considered and the result of votes taken.
These are informal notes until they are written and approved as meeting
minutes at a future gathering. If notes are distributed in advance of being
voted on, they should be clearly labeled as unapproved draft minutes.
*	Meetings should never be recorded without noting the recording at
the beginning of the meeting.
*	Members may make motions or second them. Nonmembers may not. Members
may speak on the floor as a matter of right. Nonmembers may be invited to
speak but do not have the same right for time to speak on the floor.
*	The meeting should allow adequate time for important items of
business to be considered, including allowing time for debate on items of
disagreement. 
*	Meetings shall be conducted in a manner that permits full and fair
expression of majority opinions as well as opinions of the minority.
Decisions shall be made by majority vote. (See Voting below.)
*	If a meeting includes both a physical venue where the meeting is
being conducted and a method of virtual participation, Federation leaders
should take care to establish clear practices to permit members at a
distance to participate adequately in the meeting, including affording
members who are virtual to speak on business matters.
*	Care should be taken to invite guests to the meeting to join the
organization and to understand the expectations and benefits of being a
member. Care should also be taken to explain organizational practices and
common terms on a regular basis to assist new members in understanding and
integrating into the movement.
*	Time should be allotted at every local meeting to welcome and vote
in new members.  

Voting:
*	Only dues-paying members who have previously been accepted as
members of the chapter or affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind
hosting the meeting are eligible to vote on Federation business.
*	The relevant board of directors for the local chapter, division, or
affiliate is responsible for maintaining accurate membership records for who
is eligible to vote at any particular meeting. In general, the board
secretary will maintain the membership list with support from the treasurer
who collects the dues and in collaboration with the president. Membership
records are to be updated with the national organization at least annually.
*	Votes on motions and election of leadership positions should be
handled professionally and given enough time for all members to understand
the matter being considered.
*	In many cases, voice voting will be sufficient to determine the will
of the majority. When a voice vote is not sufficient to make a
determination, care should be taken to ensure that each eligible member
present gets one vote. One way to ensure this is to read the roll of
eligible voting members and record their votes. Nonmembers can observe votes
but may never vote.
*	Proxy voting is never permitted anywhere in the Federation per the
national constitution.

National Federation of the Blind COVID-19 Policy Relating to Public Events -
Extended

This document updates previous policy issued by the National Federation of
the Blind Board of Directors on March 13, 2020. Effective April 4, 2020, the
organization has extended its request that all in-person meetings, events,
and public gatherings of Federation affiliates, chapters, and divisions are
to be canceled or postponed until May 31, 2020 or until local, state, and
federal governments permit, whichever is later.
The National Federation of the Blind is closely following the rapidly
evolving situation with respect to the novel coronavirus and its associated
illness known as COVID-19. Since we issued our initial guidance on this
situation on March 11, public officials across the nation have escalated
their response to the virus and issued new and more aggressive directives.
Generally, while specific directives as to the size of permitted public
gatherings vary across states and local jurisdictions, public health
officials agree that it is advisable to engage in "social distancing" in
order to prevent or mitigate the spread of the virus, and people are being
directed to minimize proximity and/or physical contact with others outside
the home as much as possible. As a result, the National Federation of the
Blind Board of Directors has continued to monitor and revise the below
policy directive related to public meetings of the organization.

The National Federation of the Blind is the oldest and largest nationwide
organization of blind people, with affiliates in all fifty states, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; hundreds of local chapters; as well
as statewide and national special-interest divisions. Together these are
comprised of some fifty thousand members and countless volunteers and
supporters who conduct various public meetings and events. The health and
safety of our members and friends is our top priority, and we are also
mindful of our obligation to follow public health directives and to engage
responsibly with the general public. We also recognize the need for
consistent guidance across our organization as our affiliates, chapters, and
divisions consider or plan meetings and public events.
To that end, the President and board of directors of the National Federation
of the Blind hereby direct that all meetings, events, or public gatherings
of Federation affiliates, chapters, and divisions are to be canceled or
postponed consistent with the date listed above. This includes, but is not
limited to, statewide conventions or meetings, local chapter meetings, and
statewide or local division meetings. Of course, where practicable, meetings
to conduct the ongoing business of the Federation may be held via phone call
or videoconference. Furthermore, the outreach and advocacy priorities of the
organized blind movement can and should continue despite the disruption to
public meetings, including monitoring unique barriers that blind individuals
encounter due to the extreme circumstances. However, no official business of
the organization should be conducted via in-person gatherings during this
period. The national leadership will re-evaluate the situation on or shortly
after May 31, 2020, and issue additional guidance if needed.
We are issuing this directive to align with the best available public health
advice as well as with multiple state and local directives, and to carry out
our general obligation to protect the health and safety of everyone in our
Federation family. We wish everyone the best as together we meet the
challenges and make the sacrifices required by this public health emergency.

Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com <mailto:Rchpay7 at gmail.com> 
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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfboh-cleveland_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200406/083407c8/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed...
Name: Untitled attachment 02017.txt
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfboh-cleveland_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200406/083407c8/attachment.txt>