
<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Chapter members and friends,</div><div>Please see below for the priorities for the Richmond seminar. Also, don't forget the board meeting starting at 1 PM tomorrow Monday, January 17.</div><div><br></div><div><br><div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">Chris Vinson Walker</span><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">President, Winchester Chapter</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">National Federation of the Blind of Virginia</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">540.303.0080</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">chrisvinson1@gmail.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">www.nfb.org</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">www.nFBV.org</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">Find and like us on Facebook National Federation of the Blind of Virginia Winchester Chapter</span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17.33333396911621px;">Follow us on Twitter NFBV Winchester Chapter</span></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br>Begin forwarded message:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><b>From:</b> "tracy.soforenko--- via NFBV-Announce" <nfbv-announce@nfbnet.org><br><b>Date:</b> January 15, 2022 at 3:58:50 PM EST<br><b>To:</b> Sarah Patnaude via NFBV-Announce <nfbv-announce@nfbnet.org><br><b>Subject:</b> <b>[NFBV-Announce] Final Draft 2022 Legislative Priorities from the Blind of Virginia</b><br><b>Reply-To:</b> tracy.soforenko@gmail.com<br><br></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><span>Please find below and attached the near final draft of our 2022 Legislative</span><br><span>Priorities. On Monday, we will receive the bill number for our Priority 1</span><br><span>item. At that time, I will provide an updated version but we recognize</span><br><span>everyone wants to read about our exciting legislation.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>2022 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FROM THE BLIND OF VIRGINIA</span><br><span></span><br><span>Priority 1: Enable equal access to learning tools by students with</span><br><span>disabilities</span><br><span></span><br><span>Action: Co-Sponsor HB ___ (Patron Delegate Kathy Tran)</span><br><span></span><br><span>Issue: Students with disabilities use the same education technology as their</span><br><span>peers. While there is a robust market for education technology,</span><br><span>accessibility for students with disabilities is not a factor in the product</span><br><span>selection process by Virginia school boards, despite the existence of</span><br><span>widespread accessibility standards for over twenty years. As a result,</span><br><span>school boards are purchasing technology that cannot be used by students with</span><br><span>disabilities. Since much of a student's academic experience is tied to</span><br><span>technology deployed by schools (including classroom materials, testing,</span><br><span>portals for grades, and homework), it is critical for these products to be</span><br><span>accessible to students with disabilities. With the recent shift to virtual</span><br><span>learning during the pandemic, this access challenge for students with</span><br><span>disabilities has increased. Currently, teachers are forced to develop</span><br><span>one-off solutions to address systemic challenges with technology</span><br><span>acquisitions made at the district level. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Solution: HB xx shifts accountability to education technology vendors.</span><br><span>First, the bill will require local school boards to include accessibility</span><br><span>requirements in the procurement process. Second, the bill will require that</span><br><span>vendors indemnify the purchaser for costs arising from any lack of product</span><br><span>accessibility. Third, the bill will require school boards to prioritize the</span><br><span>purchase of education technology that best meets accessibility standards</span><br><span>while taking into consideration costs and lack of alternatives. Fourth, the</span><br><span>bill will require vendors to remediate inaccessibility issues within 180</span><br><span>days' notice. Finally, the bill will require that school boards and the</span><br><span>Department of Education track accessibility and remediation efforts and make</span><br><span>such information publicly available to all school boards. </span><br><span></span><br><span>Priority 2: Enable blind Virginians to become employed and live</span><br><span>independently </span><br><span></span><br><span>Action: Support the Governor's budget proposal for the Department for the</span><br><span>Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI). </span><br><span></span><br><span>Issue: DBVI provides vocational rehabilitation (VR) training, leading to</span><br><span>employment of Virginians who are blind, deaf/blind, and vision impaired.</span><br><span>DBVI does not have dedicated funding for the state's share of</span><br><span>Federal-matching VR services and state funding has not increased for 20</span><br><span>years. In FY2023, DBVI anticipates a wait list of 12 months to provide VR</span><br><span>services for approximately 200 adults and 400 potentially underserved</span><br><span>students. </span><br><span></span><br><span>Solution: In 2020, the General Assembly approved additional funds to support</span><br><span>DBVI VR and employment services, but these funds were unallotted due to</span><br><span>COVID-19. The Governor's budget request includes approximately $842,000 for</span><br><span>such services. This funding will help ensure the availability of sufficient</span><br><span>funds needed to serve blind Virginians who require VR services because it</span><br><span>will reduce the waiting list and assure a source of matching funds for the</span><br><span>federal VR grant.</span><br><span></span><br><span>Priority 3: Support disability employment by adding Virginians with</span><br><span>disabilities to the existing local jurisdiction Veterans Preference </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Action: Co-Sponsor HB 710 (Patron Delegate Mark Keam) </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Issue: 10% of Virginians have a disability as defined by the Americans with</span><br><span>Disabilities Act. Employment enables people with disabilities to use their</span><br><span>talents and become taxpaying citizens; however, people with disabilities</span><br><span>continue to be underrepresented in the workforce. According to the Bureau of</span><br><span>Labor Statistics, 18% of people with a disability nationwide were employed</span><br><span>in 2020 compared to 62% of people without a disability. In many cases,</span><br><span>otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities are passed over for jobs</span><br><span>due to a commonly held misconception that people with disabilities cannot</span><br><span>perform a job as well as someone who does not have a disability. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Solution: HB 710 will add hiring of people with disabilities who are</span><br><span>otherwise qualified for the job as a priority for local governments to the</span><br><span>existing program for prioritizing the hiring of Veterans and Veterans with</span><br><span>disabilities. This bill will give people with disabilities who are otherwise</span><br><span>qualified for a job an opportunity to overcome the misconception that they</span><br><span>cannot perform jobs at a high level. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Priority 4: Promote competitive, integrated employment for workers with</span><br><span>disabilities</span><br><span></span><br><span>Action: Co-Sponsor HB 676 (Patron Delegate Patrick Hope) </span><br><span></span><br><span>Issue: Section 14(c) of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act allows certain</span><br><span>employers in the United States to pay workers with disabilities wages that</span><br><span>are lower than the minimum wage (subminimum wages). These employers, which</span><br><span>generally are non-profit organizations, often do not teach skills necessary</span><br><span>for their employees with disabilities to transition to competitive,</span><br><span>integrated employment, thus trapping otherwise capable people with</span><br><span>disabilities in jobs paying as little as twenty-two cents an hour. A growing</span><br><span>number of 14(c) employers have already stopped relying on Section 14(c) and</span><br><span>have voluntarily withdrawn their certificates, resulting in their employees</span><br><span>with disabilities receiving the minimum wage or higher. Ten states have also</span><br><span>passed legislation limiting or barring the payment of subminimum wages for</span><br><span>people with disabilities and both Republican and Democratic parties'</span><br><span>national platforms have included elimination of the 14(c) subminimum wage</span><br><span>exemption for people with disabilities. </span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Solution: HB 676 will eliminate the reference to Section 14(c) in the</span><br><span>Virginia minimum wage law, which will require Virginia employers with a</span><br><span>federal 14(c) certificate to pay workers with a disability at least the</span><br><span>Virginia minimum wage unless another exception under Virginia law applies</span><br><span>such as the "tipped employee" exception.</span><br><span></span><br><span>ABOUT THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND</span><br><span></span><br><span>The National Federation of the Blind is America's largest and most active</span><br><span>organization of blind people. With tens of thousands of members nationwide,</span><br><span>we are not an "agency" claiming to speak for the blind; we are blind people</span><br><span>speaking for ourselves. In Virginia, we are organized into fourteen local</span><br><span>chapters throughout the Commonwealth, and into various special interest</span><br><span>divisions.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span>Tracy Soforenko</span><br><span></span><br><span>President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia</span><br><span></span><br><span>202 285-4595</span><br><span></span><br><span> <mailto:Tracy.soforenko@gmail.com> Tracy.soforenko@gmail.com</span><br><span></span><br><span> <http://www.nfb.org> www.nfb.org</span><br><span></span><br><span> <http://www.nfbv.org> www.nfbv.org</span><br><span></span><br><span>National Federation of the Blind. Live the Life You Want</span><br><span></span><br><span>The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends</span><br><span>who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work</span><br><span>together to help blind people live the lives they want.</span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br><span></span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>