[Ohio-Talk] FW: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 05/18/2020

Mon May 25 14:30:25 UTC 2020

From: President, National Federation of the Blind 
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2020 11:23 AM
To: President, National Federation of the Blind <OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org <mailto:OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org> >
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 05/18/2020

President’s Notebook

National Federation of the Blind

Mark A. Riccobono

officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> 

410-659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

Today we are eight weeks from our national convention and it is reflected in the announcements you find below. Help share and amplify these announcements with the membership. In particular, I want to call out our current work with the College Board regarding advanced placement exams. It is truly critical that you help families get connected with us so we can understand the scope of the problem while we advocate on behalf of blind students.

Thank you again to those affiliates who have donated additional funds to support our national Braille enrichment efforts. Your outreach at the local level, as well as financial resources at the national level, are making connecting, engaging, and protecting blind students possible across the nation.

Critical Actions:

College Board AP Tests:

Last week, five blind high school students and the NFB filed a complaint against the College Board with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights and Department of Justice on behalf of themselves and all other blind and deafblind students who are registered to take the May 2020 advanced placement (AP) tests from the College Board. Read the press release and complaint at https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/rulings-filings-and-letters#highstakes. 

If you are a blind high school student or the parent of a blind high school student who is scheduled to take a College Board AP test this spring and requires accommodations, including but not limited to Braille and tactile graphics, please contact our legal coordinator, Valerie Yingling, as soon as possible at vyingling at nfb.org <mailto:vyingling at nfb.org> .

Please Help Us Spread the Word to Federal Employees:

The Office of Personnel Management has launched a special solicitation window for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). This campaign is in support of nonprofit organizations that are working overtime to fight the coronavirus pandemic and will run through June 30, 2020. Please help us spread the word to federal employees. If you are in a position to give as a federal employee, or know someone who can, please consider donating to the National Federation of the Blind by selecting Blind Federation of America, number 11162.

News:

Advocacy and Policy Update:

The staff of the Jernigan Institute has remained hard at work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Some recent activities include a letter I sent to the US secretary of education <https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/files-pdf/letter-to-secretary-of-education-regarding-rethink-k-12-grant-program.pdf>  regarding a grant program for local education agencies that would aid in their distance-learning pursuits during these quarantines and lockdowns. We urged Secretary DeVos to remember students with disabilities in the Department of Education’s review of the grant applications. I also wrote an open letter to school districts <https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/files-pdf/open-letter-to-school-districts-concerning-rethink-grant-applications.pdf>  that urged them to remember students with disabilities in their grant requests. 

In other news, the House and Senate are both expected to be back in Washington the week of June 1. There’s a good chance they will use that week to negotiate the provisions of the most recent COVID-19 relief bill, the HEROES Act. We need to make sure that all members of Congress know about the major priorities we want included in that legislation. One of those key priorities, the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA), currently has eighty-eight cosponsors in the House and twenty-two in the Senate. We believe that Congressional leaders will really take notice of this bill if we can reach one hundred cosponsors in the House. With that kind of support, our Congressional champions would have more leverage to argue for the bill’s inclusion in the larger piece of legislation. So please call or email your member of Congress and ask them to cosponsor the ATAA (H.R. 2086/S. 815). We are so close, but we’re going to need to work harder than ever to ensure this bill passes.

Elections:

As a number of states begin to relax the restrictions that were put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, many upcoming primary and local elections will remain all vote-by-mail elections. If your state and/or local jurisdiction does not provide an accessible way to mark a vote-by-mail ballot, the Accessible Vote-by-Mail Toolkit, developed by the National Federation of the Blind with grant funds from the US Department of Health and Human Services, will provide our members with the information they need to know to advocate for accessible vote-by-mail. Visit our Voting, Accessibility, and the Law <https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/center-excellence-nonvisual-access/national-center-nonvisual-election-3>  webpage to download a BRF or MS Word file of the toolkit. You will also find many other important voting-related resources on this webpage. If you have questions or need assistance in your advocacy efforts, please contact Lou Ann Blake, deputy executive director of Blindness Initiatives at lblake at nfb.org <mailto:lblake at nfb.org>  or 410-659-9314, extension 2221.

National Telecommuting Institute:

We would like to speak with anyone who has either worked for National Telecommuting Institute (NTI) or who applied to work for NTI. Additionally, we would be interested in speaking with anyone who is actively looking for customer service work who wishes to work from home. Please contact Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org <mailto:vyingling at nfb.org>  or 410-659-9314, extension 2440. 

The Give $20 Campaign—A Donation Drawing:

Each year, Federation members purchase tickets to drawings or make donations during national convention to various funds that support blind people. In 2020, your generosity is still needed to fund our great programs. Give $20 or more between May 15 and July 18 at noon eastern to one of the specified funds, and be entered into the Kenneth Jernigan convention drawing to win BIG! Learn more about the Give $20 Campaign <https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/give-20-campaign> .

Presidential Release—Behind the Scenes and More:

Go behind the scenes of the presidential release live in the newest episode of the Nation’s Blind Podcast. Join this conversation with President Riccobono on the history of the presidential release and the recent new direction. Check out the  <https://www.nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/nations-blind-podcast> Nation’s Blind Podcast now.

Save-the-Date: 

The next live presidential release will be held June 4, 2020, at 8:00 p.m. eastern with the opportunity for questions and answers again. Send your questions in advance to cdanielsen at nfb.org <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>  and put PR495 in the subject line, or call 410-659-9314, extension 2473.

New Contest—Share Your First Convention Experience:

Attending the NFB National Convention is a memorable experience. And the first one is life changing for so many. Share a video or audio message about a special memory of your first convention in less than sixty seconds to be entered to win a cash prize and have your story shared at this year’s convention. Learn more about the contest rules and prizes for the Convention Memory Minute Contest <https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/convention-memory-minute-contest> .

Upcoming Accessibility Boutiques:

We host accessibility boutiques that are workshops or introductions to best practices and latest trends in access tech. Take advantage of these free, upcoming boutiques:

*         Don’t Make Us Do This! Tricks We Shouldn’t Have to Use to Get through a Website on May 19 at 2:00 p.m. eastern

*         The COVID-19 Response: Keeping Employees and Students Connected from Home on May 21 at 2:00 p.m. eastern

*         Textbook-Provider Showdown on May 26 at 8:30 a.m. eastern

*         Comparison of Cloud Storage Solutions on June 2 at 2:00 p.m. eastern

Learn more about accessibility boutiques and register today <https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/center-excellence-nonvisual-access/trainings/accessibility-boutiques> .

Blind Parents—Attend Discussion this Week:

Join the national dialog regarding blind parents this Thursday, May 21, at 3:00 p.m. eastern. Chat with some of our nation's leaders in the blind parenting community on what’s keeping you sane during this time, distance learning and children in school, social distancing, and more. Share your experiences, ask questions, and let us know what topics you would like to have us discuss on future calls. Register today for the national dialog regarding blind parents <https://www.nfb.org/our-community/blind-parents> .

Graduates: Participate in NABS Graduation Celebration:

It’s graduation season! Many graduations are being put on hold or going virtual. This year, the National Association of Blind Students, a division of the National Federation of the Blind, wishes to celebrate the class of 2020 through a virtual ceremony on June 6 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. eastern via Zoom (Zoom meeting ID: 467 883 3687). The celebration is open for anyone to join and blind students who are graduating are asked to submit the graduate celebration form <https://forms.gle/bVarvstZg344syYb9>  by June 1 if they wish to be recognized during this virtual celebration. 

Virtual Choir for Convention:

This year, the Performing Arts Division will be putting together a virtual choir project for national convention. It will be a great time to unite with one another and make music together. Rehearsals will be held over Zoom every Friday from June 5 until June 26 at 8:00 p.m. eastern, and music will be made available online. Members will submit recordings of themselves singing their parts to be put together into a virtual choir recording to be played during convention. We will be sending out more details as they become available, but if you would like to participate, please email nfbpad at gmail.com <mailto:nfbpad at gmail.com>  with your name, contact information, and voice type. 

Dates to Keep in Mind:

*	June 1-12: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition 
*	June 4: Presidential Release Live
*	June 10: Membership Open House
*	June 14: National Leadership Call during #COVID19
*	June 22-July 3: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition
*	July 27-August 7: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition

*	July 14-18: NFB National Convention <https://www.nfb.org/convention> , Everywhere

*	February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In

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

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>  

 <https://nfb.org/> 

                          <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>      <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>      <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind> 

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want. 