[Arizona-students] Legislative Alert Regarding Instructional Materials for Blind Students

[David Andrews]

>Federationists and all who want to advance opportunities for the blind,
>----- Original Message -----
>From: McCarthy, James
>Subject: Legislative Alert Regarding Instructional Materials for Blind 
>Students
>
>
>Federationists and all who want to advance opportunities for the blind:
>
>
>
>You are called to immediate and sustained action.  We have the opportunity 
>to accomplish one of the most important developments of law ever to occur 
>regarding the education of blind students-every textbook on time, every 
>time.  With the unflagging efforts of each one of us, we can finally 
>achieve passage of all the essential provisions of the Instructional 
>Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA).  Doing so will not be easy, but great 
>achievements seldom are!
>
>
>
>Both the House and the Senate have now appointed conferees to reconcile 
>differences between their bills for the reauthorization of the Individuals 
>with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Although this session of Congress 
>is nearly over, there will be a short "lame duck" session after the 
>elections, during the week of November 15.  Given that conferees are 
>appointed and that there is still some time left, it appears quite 
>possible that IDEA could be reauthorized before the session ends.  This is 
>noteworthy because IMAA is a part of the IDEA reauthorization legislation.
>
>
>
>While the bills of both houses require adoption of a mandatory National 
>Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, the IMAA provisions of the 
>Senate bill are clearly preferable to those in the House legislation.  The 
>critical difference is that the Senate bill includes the establishment and 
>the funding of the "National Instructional Materials Access Center" for 
>collection and distribution of electronic files provided by publishers 
>that comply with the mandatory electronic file format standard.  Through 
>this national center, these files would be easily available to schools and 
>other authorized entities for conversion to formats usable by blind 
>students.  This ensures the critical goal that blind students receive 
>their books at the same time as their sighted peers.
>
>
>
>So what is needed?  We have a limited number of congressional members who 
>need our urgent attention.  Send emails or faxes to the members listed 
>below expressing why the IMAA provisions in the Senate bill are so 
>critical to the education of blind students.  Every one of the conferees 
>must hear from us, especially the Republicans in the House and Senate.  If 
>you live in a conferee's district, make contact!  The members are in their 
>districts campaigning now, so we must see them at their public 
>events.  While at these forums, ask about the IMAA provisions!  If there 
>are no conferees in your state, write Republican conferees explaining the 
>critical role they can play in the education of all blind students by 
>supporting the IMAA provisions.  Please send me a copy of any 
>correspondence you send to these members.
>
>
>
>To Contact the Conferees listed below you can contact the Capitol 
>Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121.
>
>
>
>Senate Conferees: (Conferees are listed in alphabetical order by state.)
>
>Sessions (R-AL)
>
>Dodd (D-CT)
>
>Harkin (D-IA)
>
>Roberts (R-KS)
>
>Kennedy (D-MA)
>
>Mikulski (D-MD)
>
>Bond (R-MO)
>
>Edwards (D-NC)
>
>Gregg (R-NH)
>
>Bingaman (D-NM)
>
>Clinton (D-NY)
>
>DeWine (R-OH)
>
>Reed (D-RI)
>
>Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
>
>Alexander (R-TN)
>
>Frist (R-TN)
>
>Warner (R-VA)
>
>Murray (D-WA)
>
>Enzi (R-WY)
>
>
>
>House conferees:
>
>Miller, George (D-CA)
>
>Woolsey (D-CA)
>
>Castle (R-DE)
>
>Keller (R-FL)
>
>Bilirakis (R-FL)
>
>Conyers (D-MI)
>
>Dingell (D-MI)
>
>Ehlers (R-MI)
>
>Owens (D-NY)
>
>Boehner (R-OH)
>
>Wilson (R-SC)
>
>Smith (R-TX)
>
>Barton (R-TX)
>
>Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
>
>
>
>Best regards,
>
>James McCarthy
>
>Director of Governmental Affairs
>
>NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
>
>1800 Johnson Street
>
>Baltimore, MD 20794
>
>(410) 659-9314, ext. 2240
>
>jmccarthy at nfb.org
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Nfbmo mailing list
>Nfbmo at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmo
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