[Wasagdu] Sunset the CA Guide Dog Board
Becky Frankeberger
b.butterfly at comcast.net
Tue Apr 25 13:39:49 UTC 2017
April 21, 2017
Dear Assembly Member -
Guide Dogs for the Blind, the largest guide school in North America and
correspondingly the largest guide school in California, urges you to vote
"NO" on
AB 1705, which would extend the term of the California State Board of Guide
Dogs
for
the Blind for another four years. The California State Board of Guide Dogs
for the
Blind
is a regulatory body created by the Legislature in 1947. It was established
at a
time
when guidance and regulation of guide dog school programs in the State of
California
was deemed necessary. The stated purpose of the Board is the public
protection of
guide dog users in California.
Our clients and other guide dog consumers in the State of California, many
of whom
have contacted you directly, are clear that they do not want or feel they
need the
State
Board.
In addition, the State Board places an undue burden on the guide dog
schools
in
California. With the passing of SB 1331, schools from outside of California
can operate
within the State unregulated. The justification for this is that the
schools
are
certified
through the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF), globally considered
the highest
standard any guide dog program can attain. All three guide dog schools in
California
are certified through IGDF, thereby meeting the requirements for safe and
appropriate
instruction and protection put forth to all consumers through SB1331.
Guide dog schools within California are required to pay substantial fees to
the Board
as
a requirement of operation within the State. However, SB 1331 has exempted
schools
outside the State that are IGDF certified from paying fees or having to
qualify in
order to
operate within the State. We believe that this is an undue burden on
California schools
and penalizes us relative to our out-of-state counterparts.
Guide Dogs for the Blind pays approximately 80% of all of the fees paid to
the Board.
Last year we were required to pay $124,000, not including individual
licensing fees
or
renewals. This is a significant amount of money for a non-profit to pay,
particularly
because we also pay fees to be IGDF certified and are being held to a
higher
standard
through IGDF than that of the State Guide Dogs for the Blind Board.
SB1331 clearly states that the Board does not represent all guide dog users
in
California, but only those who have graduated from a California guide dog
school.
This
distinction places responsibility on the consumer to pick a California
school if
they want
the protection of the Board - this limits options for the consumer as well
as further
diluting the mission of the Board because the State Board protects only a
subset
of
guide dog users within California.
In conclusion, we believe that the California State Guide Dogs for the
Blind
Board
is
redundant and should be sunsetted. The quality of the guide dog industry is
determined
and enforced through the IGDF, not through the California State Guide Dog
Board.
The
IGDF has a much broader reach within California because they oversee and
protect
every guide dog handler within the State who has chosen to receive services
from
an
IGDF accredited school. The State Board only protects those consumers from
California-based schools. No other state has a board, and we are unaware of
any
evidence that non-California, IGDF-certified guide dogs schools perform
significantly
worse with respect to their instruction than IGDF-certified California
schools.
We, therefore, urge you to vote "NO" on AB 1705.
Sincerely,
Christine Benninger
President and CEO
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Becky Frankeberger
Butterfly Knitting
- Ponchos
- Afghans
- Shawls
- Custom Knitting
360-426-8389
becky at butterflyKnitting.com
www.butterflyknitting.com
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