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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:22.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;color:inherit'><span style='font-size:39.0pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal'>National Federation of the Blind Applauds U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for New Accessibility Rule<o:p></o:p></span></h1><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Baltimore, Maryland (May 13, 2024):</span></strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'> The National Federation of the Blind, the transformative advocacy organization of blind Americans, applauds the United States Department of Health and Human Services for finalizing its accessibility rule for programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This new rule, published in the Federal Register on Thursday, May 9, 2024, will ensure that the blind and other Americans with disabilities have equal access to information, programs, and services provided by any Section 504 compliant program or activity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance as well as in programs and activities conducted by any Federal agency. The release of this final rule, which will go into effect on July 8, 2024, follows a notice of proposed rulemaking published last November, regarding which the National Federation of the Blind praised certain aspects of the rule while also announcing serious concerns about others. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Notably, the Federation appreciated that the proposed rule solidified the rights of parents with disabilities in programs such as child welfare and adoption agencies that receive federal assistance. The proposed rule also required that kiosks in facilities receiving federal funding be accessible. Both of these provisions have been maintained in the final rule. Additionally, the final rule eliminated three of the seven exceptions to web accessibility about which the Federation raised concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>“Blind Americans commend, congratulate, and thank the Department of Health and Human Services for finalizing this crucial rule," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "The dedicated staff at the Department of Health and Human Services clearly took some of our objections to the draft rule into account. The final rule addresses the worst of the problems with the original proposed rule, and it provides the improved kiosk accessibility and parental rights protections for which we have advocated for decades. While there are still exceptions with which we disagree, we expect that entities that receive federal financial assistance will find that incorporating accessibility as a regular practice is a much wiser course than relying on those exceptions. Robust and consistent accessibility breaks down artificial barriers and empowers blind Americans to benefit fully from community programs, rather than being relegated to the status of second-class citizens.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>###</span></strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>About the National Federation of the Blind</span></strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'><br>The National Federation of the Blind, headquartered in Baltimore, defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. Founded in 1940, the NFB is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans with affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at<a href="https://nfb.org/"><span style='color:#005AA3'> nfb.org</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>CONTACT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Chris Danielsen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Director of Public Relations<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>410-659-9314, extension 2330<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'><a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org"><span style='color:#005AA3'>cdanielsen@nfb.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:top'><a href="https://nfb.org/"><span style='color:#005AA3;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=800 height=291 style='width:8.3333in;height:3.0312in' id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.png@01DAAB6A.8706E4F0" alt="National Federation of the Blind. Click to return to Homepage."></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:18.75pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box;float:left'><strong><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>National Federation of the Blind</span></strong><br>200 East Wells Street <em><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>at Jernigan Place</span></em><br>Baltimore, Maryland 21230<o:p></o:p></p><p align=right style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:18.75pt;margin-left:0in;text-align:right;box-sizing: border-box;float:left'><strong><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Phone</span></strong> <a href="tel:+14106599314"><span style='color:#005AA3'>410-659-9314</span></a><br><strong><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Email</span></strong> <a href="mailto:nfb@nfb.org"><span style='color:#005AA3'>nfb@nfb.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:18.75pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box;float:left'> <a href="https://www.charitywatch.org/charities/national-federation-of-the-blind#ratings-and-metrics" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=65 height=50 style='width:.677in;height:.5208in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.png@01DAAB6A.8706E4F0" alt="Charity Watch logo; "Charity Watch; TOP-RATED.""></span></a><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>