Future Reflections Winter/Spring
2006
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The
Blind Educate Congress
Some
of the problems that blindness presents can be solved by legislation. Social
Security benefits, employment opportunities, access to public facilities, access
to the World Wide Web, the right to Braille instruction, access to books and
instructional materials in Braille and other alternative formats--these are
some of the many issues that have come before Congress over the years. And always
in the forefront of bringing these issues to Congress is the National Federation
of the Blind. The goal of the Federation is to educate the public about blindness,
and the �public� includes Congress.
Annually, 400 or more blind people (members of the NFB) from
all over the country gather in Washington, D.C, to personally visit their state
delegates to discuss NFB priorities for that session. The event begins over
the weekend at the Holiday Inn Capitol with specialized workshops for groups
such as blind college students, blind lawyers, blind vendors, and others. This
year the event began the weekend of January 28 and 29. On the following Monday
evening, the delegates gathered to hear a mid-year update on activities of the
NFB, and to review the three legislative priorities with the schedule for the
week. On Tuesday, teams from each state headed off to the Hill for their appointments.
Many of the state teams--such as Ohio, New York, Louisiana, and New Jersey--included
parents of blind children and blind students, too. (The experience is a powerful
hands-on, real-life lesson in government, and schools are usually happy to release
students to come to this event.)
The priorities were summarized in four fact sheets which the
teams studied and handed out to every senator and state representative on the
Hill. Reprinted below are three of these fact sheets. The first is a summary
of all three priorities, and the other two go into details on the two issues
that are of particular interest to our readers because of their potential impact
on blind students. The fact sheets have been slightly edited to reflect the
most current status of the legislation as we go to press. Here is the first
fact sheet:
Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
Priorities for the 109th Congress, Second Session
Contact Information:
James McCarthy
Director of Governmental Affairs
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2240
For many years now, members of the National Federation of the
Blind have gathered together in Washington, D.C, at the start of the legislative
session to educate our nation�s lawmakers about the top legislative needs of
blind Americans.
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) was formed as the
"voice of the nation's blind" to present the collective views of blind
people in all aspects of society. All of our leaders and the vast majority of
our members are blind, but anyone is welcome to participate in our movement.
Every year 75,000 people will become blind, and there are an estimated 1.1 million
blind Americans. The social and economic consequences of blindness affect not
only the blind but also our families, friends, and coworkers.
Our priorities for the second session of the 109th Congress
reflect an urgent need for action in three areas of vital importance to blind
Americans. (For an explanation of these issues please see the attached fact
sheets.)
1. Congress should require publishers of textbooks used in higher
education to produce electronic editions for blind students in a standard, nonvisual
format by supporting the Higher Education Textbook Access Act. This proposal
would:
- establish a National Nonvisual Access Standard for higher
education textbooks;
- designate a National Higher Education Textbook Access Center
to receive files from publishers and provide them to qualified blind students
upon request; and
- require publishers to provide the National Higher Education
Textbook Access Center with an electronic copy of each edition of every textbook
prepared in accordance with the National Nonvisual Access Standard to assure
that printed instructional materials are accessible to blind students in higher
education.
2. Congress should expand targeted business and employment opportunities
for the blind by enacting the Blind Individuals' Business Development and Employment
Opportunities Act. This proposal would:
- establish a Federal agency within the U.S. Department of
Commerce to administer the Randolph-Sheppard Act and expand employment for
the blind through creation of Qualified Blind Business Enterprises (QBBEs)
and Qualified Blind Employment Enterprises (QBEEs) eligible for priority consideration
in the award of Federal procurement contracts;
- establish management, workforce, and pay criteria which
any for-profit or nonprofit corporation must meet to be certified as a QBBE
or a QBEE; and
- provide QBBEs and QBEEs with access to low interest loans
and loan guarantees, training, and technical assistance to support their creation
and growth.
3. Congress should enact H.R. 2872, The Louis Braille Commemorative
Coin Act and companion legislation in the Senate. This proposal would provide
funding for a national campaign to increase literacy among blind youth by teaching
them to read and write Braille.
Blind Americans seek your support to address these priorities
during the second session of the 109th Congress. If needed legislation is adopted,
the continued integration of the blind into society will be advanced. We urge
every member of Congress to help us achieve our objectives during this session
of Congress. Our success benefits not only the blind, but all of America as
well.
Editor�s Note: Here is the second fact sheet:
Toward Equal Opportunity:
Providing Blind Students With Accessible
Textbooks In Higher Education
Purpose: To require publishers of textbooks used in higher education
to produce electronic editions for blind students in an accessible, nonvisual
standard format.
Background: Regardless of modern advancements in publishing
technology, access to textbooks used in college courses remains a serious and
unsolved problem for the blind. Help to meet the need for accessible texts is
provided by on-campus disabled student service (DSS) offices, by libraries for
the blind in some states, and by service organizations such as RFB&D (formerly
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic) and Bookshare.org. These organizations
work hard to create audio and electronic editions of many textbooks in current
use, but publishers can do far more than they currently do to support these
efforts. Failure to provide equal access is a denial of equal opportunity.
Existing Law: The Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, clearly establish the policy that individuals with disabilities
are entitled to equal access to education. Successful implementation of this
policy cannot occur without clear, specific, and practical standards and procedures
designed to address accessibility needs. At present no specific law to support
ready access to higher education textbooks for blind students is in place.
By contrast, publishers of elementary and secondary school textbooks
are required by law to produce electronic editions which must be prepared in
an accessible, nonvisual format, meeting a federally prescribed national standard.
This required procedure was enacted as part of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act, Public Law 108-446, signed by President Bush in December
2004. Under this new law the U.S. Department of Education must issue a National
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard. Publishers are required to prepare
electronic editions of textbooks sold to elementary and secondary schools in
accordance with the national standard. The publisher's responsibility is met
by placing a single electronic copy of each edition of a textbook in a national
access center designated by law as the American Printing House for the Blind.
This approach provides a model for similar procedures to be applied in higher
education as well.
Need for Legislation: Preparation of textbooks in an accessible,
nonvisual format has become an achievable and reasonable expectation due to
evolving methods in textbook publishing. In fact, although printed editions
are still essentially the norm, electronic editions are becoming far more common.
This trend toward using computers to access books will continue and expand in
the decades ahead. However, standards do not exist for books prepared in print
or electronic formats to be published for nonvisual use. Therefore, higher education
institutions and taxpayer-funded programs have assumed the burden of providing
blind students with assistance and support to achieve access.
With the appropriate technology now available, publishers can
produce textbooks in accordance with a national access standard but have no
incentive to do so. Recognizing this, eight states--Arkansas, California, Kentucky,
Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, and Washington state--have passed laws
requiring nonvisual access to college texts. These state laws are an important
first step, but, by imposing an array of conflicting and inconsistent obligations
on publishers, they emphasize the need for a uniform national standard.
Proposed Legislation: Congress should enact the Higher Education
Textbook Access Act. This will assure that blind college students have access
to instructional texts like that available to blind elementary and secondary
school students. This legislation would:
- Within six months of enactment require the Secretary of
Education to establish a National Nonvisual Access Standard for higher education
textbooks and supplemental reading materials. This standard would be based
on the national access standard used in elementary and secondary education,
with appropriate modifications made for use in higher education.
- Within one year of enactment designate a National Higher
Education Textbook Access Center to receive electronic text editions from
publishers and provide them to qualified blind students upon request. The
Center would determine student eligibility based on criteria and procedures
currently used by organizations such as RFB&D, Bookshare.org, and the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library
of Congress.
- Within two years of enactment require publishers to provide
the Center with at least one electronic copy of each edition of each textbook
prepared in accordance with the national access standard. This obligation
would apply to textbooks and supplemental reading materials intended for use
by students or faculty in a course of instruction in higher education and
would take effect at the time the textbook or supplemental reading material
is first sold.
Action Requested:
Please support blind Americans by working for passage of the Higher Education
Textbook Access Act, when introduced, to assure that printed instructional materials
are accessible to blind students in higher education.
Editor�s Note: Here is the third fact sheet:
Promoting Braille:
A Campaign To Increase Literacy For Blind Youth
Contact Information:
Jesse Hartle
Governmental Programs Specialist
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2233
Purpose: To promote Braille literacy for blind youth by enacting
the Louis Braille Commemorative Coin Act.
Background:
Louis Braille, born in Coupvray, France, in 1809, is recognized worldwide for
creating the system of raised dots--"Braille"--used by the blind to
read and write. Braille brings literacy, independence, and productivity to blind
people. By believing in the capacity of the blind to learn, Louis Braille demonstrated
an understanding of blindness that was extraordinarily enlightened and positive
for the times in which he lived.
Blind people today would be far less likely to achieve goals
of independence and productive living without the positive contributions Louis
Braille made throughout his life. His intelligence and recognition of the need
of blind people for a means of literacy continue to inspire us all as we approach
the 200th anniversary of his birth. Today blind people are teachers, doctors,
lawyers, scientists, mathematicians, and much, much more because of Braille.
Blind people working in these professions are living proof that literacy is
a pathway to success.
Effective use of Braille is one of the essential skills needed
by the blind to achieve success. It ranks with independent mobility; knowledge
and use of adaptive technology; and a core belief that equality, opportunity,
and security are truly possible for all blind people. This philosophy has steadily
evolved during more than six decades of work by the National Federation of the
Blind (NFB).
Today blind people strive to live productive lives as first-class
citizens. To do this we are making a sustained effort to improve public understanding
of blindness. However, lack of a solid commitment to teach Braille to blind
students is a serious problem in the education of the blind in our nation's
schools. This leads to the shocking and tragic fact that only about ten percent
of blind children are being taught to read and write Braille. By contrast, research
demonstrates that more than 90 percent of employed blind people use Braille.
Therefore increasing the Braille literacy rate is a key factor in helping the
blind to become employed and productive. Issuance of a commemorative coin to
recognize Louis Braille will support a nationwide campaign to promote Braille
literacy.
Current Status: [Editor�s Note: The following information reflects
the most current status as this issue goes to press.] During the first session
of the 109th Congress, Representatives Bob Ney and Ben Cardin introduced the
Louis Braille Commemorative Coin Act as H.R. 2872. Approximately 305 House members
have joined as cosponsors as of February 22, 2006. Senators Santorum and Dodd
introduced S. 2321 on February 17, and currently, there are 22 co-sponsors for
this bill. As Jessie Hartle wrote in a recent Legislative announcement, �Please
contact your senators and urge them to cosponsor S. 2321. Your state�s Republicans
will prefer contacting Senator Santorum while Democrats will prefer contacting
Senator Dodd. Either way, we must make sure that both offices receive several
calls from senators in support of Louis Braille Coin legislation so we can promptly
complete this campaign.�
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