[nfb-talk] ACB weighs in

[John Heim]

>From http://www.aapd-dc.org/News/courtdecisions/061129acb.htm



AAPD-News: Court Decisions

Information provided by AAPD

Access to Paper Currency for the Blind


As some of you may know, in 2002 the American Council of the Blind filed 
suit against the Department of the Treasury (Civil Action No. 02-0864 (JR)) 
alleging
that the Department of Treasury violates section 504 of the Rehabilitation 
Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, by its repeated and continuing failures to design and
issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable to blind and visually 
impaired people.

Today, U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that "It can no longer be 
successfully argued that a blind person has 'meaningful access' to currency 
if
she cannot accurately identify paper money without assistance." Below are a 
few of the highlights.

Background -

Most people with low vision, and all blind people, are incapable of looking 
at American currency and distinguishing one denomination from another. In 
order
to know whether the bill in her hand is worth five dollars or fifty, a blind 
person must ask someone else for help or use a machine that can identify the
denomination and speak it out loud.

Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the United 
States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their 
denominations.
The Euro varies in size based on denomination: the greater the value of the 
note, the greater the length. The Swiss Franc contains intaglio digits and
a perforated numeral that can be identified by touch. In Japan, in a new 
design for the Yen, has incorporated a tactile feature in the ¥10,000, 
¥5,000
and ¥1,000 notes, different for each note, that has a rougher texture than 
the rest of the bill. The Canadian Dollar also contains tactile features 
according
to denomination. Australia's dollars differ in color and size. English Pound 
notes vary in color and size and contain tactile symbols. Chinese currency
differs in color and possesses a tactile symbol, as does the currency in 
Argentina and Israel. Saudi Arabia's currency varies in color and size.

Even Congress has expressed interest in changing U.S. currency to 
accommodate the visually impaired. In 1997, the House of Representatives 
"strongly encourage[d]
the Secretary of the Treasury and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to 
incorporate cost-effective, tactile features into the design changes, 
thereby
including the blind and visually impaired community in independent currency 
usage," to no avail.

>From Judge Robertson's Memorandum (November 28, 2006) -

There was a time when disabled people had no choice but to ask for help - to 
rely on the "kindness of strangers." It was thought to be their lot. Blind
people had to ask strangers to push elevator buttons for them. People in 
wheelchairs needed Boy Scouts to help them over curbs and up stairs. We have 
evolved,
however, and Congress has made our evolution official, by enacting the 
Rehabilitation Act, whose stated purpose is "to empower individuals with 
disabilities
to maximize employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, and 
inclusion and integration into society." 29 U.S.C. § 701(b)(emphasis added). 
It can
no longer be successfully argued that a blind person has "meaningful access" 
to currency if she cannot accurately identify paper money without 
assistance.


In response to the government's suggestion that any changes to the currency 
would "significantly complicate any effort to add a tactile feature to U.S.
currency," Judge Robertson wrote: "This suggestion is unsupported argument, 
and it is utterly unpersuasive. The government offers no reason to think 
that
the addition of a tactile feature would render U.S. currency more vulnerable 
to counterfeiting, and indeed the use of foil and raised print on the Euro
is considered a security feature, as is the micro-perforated number on a 
Swiss banknote."

And in response to the argument that any

"drastic or sudden" changes to the currency could undermine international 
recognition and acceptance of U.S. currency
"as a common medium of exchange throughout the world," he stated that the 
contention was not only "unsupported, but, on its face, is fairly absurd."

This is a wonderful victory not just for ACB, but for all blind and visually 
impaired people.

The order is available in an
accessible pdf format.

Day Al-Mohamed
Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs