[Pibe-division] Attention: Teachers, Transcribers, Braille Readers regarding UEB ...

[Hertz, Jana]

Good afternoon,

The following message is being shared with you on behalf of the National Braille Association (NBA), and the California Transcribers and Educators of the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI). I urge you all to consider taking part and asking BANA for a postponement of the vote on UEB until more research can be done. Please consider using the attached letter to write your own message and get it sent before the vote in November! Please do not just forward the message!

 

If you have questions, you may contact National Braille Association at nbaoffice at nationalbraille.org or Dorothy Worthington, President, National Braille Association at dworthing at comcast.net or Patty Biasca, President, California Transcribers and Educators of the Blind and Visually Impaired at patbiasca at aol.com .

 

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In the United States and Canada, a privately run organization, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA), has appointed itself as the authority to make decisions regarding changes to the complex codes governing the process by which print is converted to braille.

 

In August of 2012, BANA issued a press release announcing that it would be voting in November of 2012 to adopt a new braille code for use in the United States called Unified English Braille (UEB). This decision is very controversial, especially relating to STEM materials (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

 

Since 1965, transcribers of technical material in the United States have followed the rules of the Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, a code specifically designed to efficiently present those technical materials to the braille reader.  If BANA approves this new braille code we would be adding considerably more braille cells to the transcription making the reading process cumbersome and awkward for the reader. This is a step backward, not forward.

 

WHO WOULD BE AFFECTED? * Blind students * Teachers of the Blind and Visually Impaired *State agencies that provide materials for blind students * Braille transcribers * The Library of Congress, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. 

 

WHERE IS THE FUNDING? With state budget cuts in education across the nation, this is an inauspicious time to implement such far-reaching changes with no financial plan of action.

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Our position is that, until a code is devised that will provide adequately for both recreational and technical materials the vote should be deferred.  

Ø  Contact the Chair of the Braille Authority of North America requesting that the vote be delayed until further research can be implemented.

Ø  Contact the United States Department of Education and Rehabilitative Services garnering their support in this urgent matter.

Ø  Share this message with others who have an interest and request that they also contact these organizations.

 

Our ultimate goal is to promote a system that allows individuals who are blind to have a fair chance to compete with their sighted peers in the classroom, in the workplace, and in their personal lives.  Too many questions remain unanswered regarding the adoption of a new code at this time, and we cannot rightfully support a decision that may negatively impact our ultimate goal of helping blind readers. 

 

If you have any questions for the National Braille Association, we can be reached at nbaoffice at nationalbraille.org or at my personal email address, dworthing at comcast.net.

 

Dorothy Worthington, President, National Braille Association

 

Chair of the Braille Authority of North America:    literacy2 at mindspring.com 

BANA's press release regarding the upcoming vote:

http://www.brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pr-2012august.html

 

 

Jana Hertz

Certified Braille Transcriber/Alternate Media Specialist 

JanaBrailles at aol.com

 

 


CAPISTRANO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT DISCLAIMER:

This communication and any documents, files, or previous e-mail messages attached to it constitute an electronic communication within the scope of the Electronic Communication Privacy Act, 18 USCA 2510. This communication may contain non-public, confidential, or legally privileged information intended for the sole use of the designated recipient(s). The unlawful interception, use, or disclosure of such information is strictly prohibited under 18 USCA 2511 and applicable laws.

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