NFBI Committee Report

Resolutions Committee 2008

Chair: Ronza Othman

The 2008 Resolutions Committee was appointed about eight weeks before Convention. The members included Bill Reif, David Meyer, Debbie Pittman, Carmen Dennis, George Villa, Alyson Slaughter, mary Grunwald, Denise Avante, Annette Grove, and Ronza Othman.

The Resolutions Committee put out a call for Resolutions in late August with a due date of September 15. At that time however, only one resolution had been submitted, and the due date was extended to October 1. Requests for resolutions from the membership were sent out on a weekly basis via listserves. In addition, chapter presidents were asked to announce a call for resolutions.

The Committee received five resolutions for consideration. The Committee discussed the language and content of each resolution electronically through the designated google group. This streamlined the process during the formal meeting insofar as terminology and resolution structure were handled ahead of time.

The Committee met formally on October 17, 2008 in Bradley. Each resolution was introduced, and after vigorous discussion and some amendments, the Committee voted to recommend due pass on each.

The resolutions were presented to the Convention during General Session with the Committee’s recommendation of due pass. The Convention adopted all five resolutions.

The resolutions adopted by the Convention are attached.

NFBI Resolutions

Resolution 2008-01

Concerning Accessible Materials in Hospitals

WHEREAS, the blind and visually impaired community is a growing part of society as a whole; and

WHEREAS, the blind and visually impaired community require medical services as does every part of society; and

WHEREAS, the blind and visually impaired community make up part of the tax paying community; and

WHEREAS, the blind and visually impaired community are entitled to the same amenities provided to the rest of society: Now,

Therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in convention assembled this 19th day of October, 2008, in the City of Bradley, Illinois, that this organization strongly recommend that written materials be made available in all hospitals across the state in an accessible manner for visually impaired and blind patients.

Resolution 2008-02

Concerning Reclassifying the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired under the Department of Education rather than the Department of Health and Human Services

WHEREAS, The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired has enjoyed a long history of educating blind children, having served this state continuously since 1849; and

WHEREAS, Since that time, the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired has provided a comprehensive environment of educational experiences in academics, athletics, technology, vocational training and independent living for blind students; And

WHEREAS, in recent years, the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired has enjoyed a renewed reputation for commitment to education throughout the

blind community in the state of Illinois; But

WHEREAS, much of this heritage and new found reputation is now being threatened due to reduced financial support from the state; And

WHEREAS, This is happening at a time when other institutions of education on all levels are in receipt of additional funds, due to the classification of education

as a top priority in the state; and

Whereas, the Department of Education would have the authority to ensure quality educational standards for the school: Now,

Therefore,,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the blind of Illinois in convention assembled this 18th day of October, 2008 in the City of Bradley Illinois,

that this organization call upon the state legislature to reclassify the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired under the Department of Education, as

opposed to the Department of Human Services where it currently exists; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this organization call upon Governor Blogojovich and the state legislature to increase funding to the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired to the same extent that funds are increased to other districts in the state of Illinois.

Resolution 2008-03
Concerning establishment and implementation of standards to assure effective
K-12 Braille instruction and use

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind and its Illinois affiliate have, throughout their history, been vigorous advocates for effective K through 12 Braille instruction and use; and

WHEREAS, our concerted advocacy and legislative efforts in Illinois resulted in the 1992 passage of the Braille Literacy Act; and

WHEREAS, the Act requires that all "functionally blind" students be offered Braille instruction as part of their Individualized Education Plan, a requirement also mandated under the federal act known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; AND

WHEREAS, the Act further requires that Special Education teachers, in order to be certified to teach the blind, must demonstrate competence in the use and teaching of Braille according to standards and tests to be developed or approved by the Illinois Department of Education; but

Whereas, these standards are already set fourth by National Certification in Literary Braille offered by the National Blindness Professional Certification Board; and

WHEREAS, despite the statutory mandate that the Illinois Department of Education adopt standards as described above, the Department has, for several years, failed and refused to adopt said standards, and has thus intentionally left itself with no tools to evaluate a teacher's use of the most important component of a blind child's education; and

WHEREAS, Although Braille literacy is such a necessary component in acquiring knowledge and developing job skills that 93% of the employed blind of this country read Braille, only 12% of college-age students have been taught Braille; and

WHEREAS, teachers who can't read Braille are in no position to evaluate their students' use of Braille; and

WHEREAS, experience has demonstrated that Teachers of the Visually Impaired called upon to teach Braille in which they are not proficient often attend Individualized Education Plan meetings as opponents of Braille inclusion, insisting on non-literacy substitutes such as the use of recorded materials or of human notetaking assistants: Now,

Therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention assembled this 19th day of October, 2008 in the City of Bradley, Illinois that this organization demand that the Illinois Department of Education, in accord with the directives expressed through the enactment of the Braille Literacy Act and incorporated into the Illinois School code, adopt effective nationally-proven standards and tests by which the proficiency of those seeking to obtain certification to teach blind or visually impaired students can be evaluated; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that the Department periodically re-assess the Braille proficiency of certified teachers, and otherwise evaluate teachers according to the degree to which they more broadly incorporate Braille into their students' studies.

Resolution 2008-04

Concerning Requiring a Minimum Sound Standard for Hybrid Vehicles

WHEREAS, blind people travel safely and independently, judging traffic patterns by listening to the sounds emitted by motor vehicles; and

WHEREAS, Sighted pedestrians, joggers, and cyclists also rely on sound to a large extent to enhance their awareness of vehicles in their surroundings; and

WHEREAS, efforts to reduce noise pollution have led the automotive industry to build vehicles whose engines run very quietly; and

WHEREAS, vehicles using new hybrid and electric technologies operate almost silently under battery power; and

WHEREAS, Blind and sighted pedestrians are at increased risk of accident as growing numbers of extremely quiet vehicles appear on our roads: Now,,

Therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in convention assembled this 19th day of October, 2008 in the City of Bradley, Illinois, that we call upon the state legislature to adopt legislation requiring vehicles bought and sold within this state to meet a minimum sound standard, and if necessary to add an inoffensive sound that will indicate their whereabouts to pedestrians.

Resolution 2008-05
Concerning the Bureau of the Blind rescission of a limited Braille instruction requirement for elderly-blind service providers
WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services Department of Rehabilitation
Services Bureau of the Blind (bbs) is responsible for setting requirements under which contractors receiving federal and state monies to provide
services that allow older blind persons who lose their vision to continue to live independently; and

WHEREAS, An important component of independent living and an enhanced quality of life is the ability to substitute the literacy skill of Braille for that of print, thus allowing an older blind person to independently read appliance controls, identify medications, make notes that can be read without sighted assistance, and read from a variety of available literature
such as recipes; and

WHEREAS, Experience has demonstrated that those blind persons who lose vision as senior citizens, who understand the benefits of Braille literacy, and who have no other medical condition precluding their use of Braille benefit in ways similar to that obtained by younger blind persons; and

WHEREAS, the BBS, in apparent recognition of these benefits, apprised contractors on August 28, 2008 that it would expect at least 5% of their customers to learn some Braille, stating in part: ""The EBG Contract
Provider will successfully complete Braille instruction with a minimum 5 percent of the total number of customers to be served by the contract.", further noting that this requirement has
existed for several categories of contractors for the past few years under their respective contracts; and

WHEREAS, The BBS, toward that end, intended to conduct a workshop to have been held at ICRE-Wood in Chicago on October 14, 15 and 16, 2008; but

WHEREAS, not withstanding the important role Braille can play in the independence of many blind seniors, the above service objective was abruptly rescinded without explanation, and contractors were notified via letter that the scheduled workshop had been canceled, as had any Braille-teaching obligation under their respective contracts and the upcoming Program Administration Manual: Now,

Therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in convention assembled this 19th day of October 2008 in the City of Bradley, Illinois, that this organization condemns and deplores this baseless
elimination of a service so important to those seniors with vision loss who would choose to benefit from Braille instruction; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization petition the Department of Human Services Department of Rehabilitation Services to reinstate the
Braille teaching requirement and to assist contractors in meeting this important objective.

Respectfully submitted

Ronza Othman