[nfbwatlk] [Wcb-l] FW: historic braille literacy bill to pass

[Debby Phillips]

The first part of this is pretty funny, and even though this 
legislative mandate doesn't come from NFB, it might be worthy of 
our consideration.  But if nothing else, read the first part and 
have a laugh.    Debby

 ---- Original Message ------
From: "Sheri Richardson" <dsrichardson at mindspring.com
Subject: [Wcb-l] FW: historic braille literacy bill to pass
Date sent: Thu, 2 Apr 2015 09:15:53 -0700

This is a day late, but it's still fun and informative.



Sheri Richardson




Braille Literacy Is Necessary Knowledge (BLINK) Act


In a surprise move early this morning, key leaders in both the 
U.S.  Senate
and House of Representatives have reached bipartisan agreement on 
brand new
landmark legislation requiring all sighted students across 
America to
exclusively learn and use braille.  The bill, entitled the 
Braille Literacy
Is Necessary Knowledge (BLINK) Act, was only introduced late last 
evening in
an attempt by the bill's champions to thwart mobilized opposition 
by
proponents of vision dependency.

Under the BLINK Act, which somewhat radically makes trafficking 
in printed
textbooks and inaccessible electronic instructional materials a 
federal
crime punishable by public humiliation on national network 
television, all
U.S.  sighted school children will be guaranteed issuance of 
braille
textbooks for every course offered in our nation's public school 
districts.
Braille instruction for all sighted youngsters will be mandatory 
and begin
in pre-K programs, with total immersion emergency braille 
instruction also
being required immediately for all sighted students in the later 
grades.
Under provisions of the BLINK Act that have even some of the 
staunchest
opponents of vision dependency concerned, all high stakes test 
takers,
whether blind or sighted, will be required, beginning in 2016, to 
sit for
such examinations administered exclusively in braille.


BLINK Act Opposition


Even as the BLINK Act moves along its apparent fast track toward 
passage, a
variety of interest groups are already lining up to oppose it.  
Once enacted,
the BLINK Act will mandate that schools must trade in SMART 
boards and flat-
screen televisions to make room for the additional shelving space 
needed for
braille texts.  A representative of the National Association of 
Put-Upon
Public School Facilities workers said, "Do these people in 
Congress know
what they're doing? Here's yet another unfunded mandate that 
micro-manages
our public schools, and it's going to be us over worked and 
underpaid
facilities guys who'll be the ones slaving away evenings and 
weekends to put
up all this expensive new shelving for all those bumpy books."


Support from Unlikely Partners


But still other special interests see a silver lining.  Many 
districts are
expected to issue sighted students with over-sized backpacks and 
roller bags
to aid them in carrying their textbooks home and between classes.  
Lobbyists
from the luggage and hand truck industries are rumored to be 
behind the
striking bipartisanship that led to today's early morning accord.

"You know, these guys are so dumb, they think that braille has to 
be on
paper," said AFB's Director of Public Policy, Mark Richert.  "But 
hey, the
last time I tried describing to them what a refreshable braille 
display is,
their eyes just rolled right up in their heads.  Guess we gotta 
take our
champions as we find 'em."


Students with Vision Dependence


What has not as yet been completely hammered out in today's 
agreement is how
students whose print dependence is a bona fide disability will be 
treated.  A
spokesperson for one advocacy group, Vision Dependent and Proud, 
said,
"We're not sitting still for this blatent disregard of sighted 
students'
civil rights.  What's more, our kids are just plain helpless 
unless they're
visually engaged.  My son just goes to pieces when he's not 
transfixed by
lots of graphics and moving pictures."

Still, proponents of the BLINK Act say that no sighted student 
will be left
behind.  Under the bill, students whose reliance on vision cannot 
be
corrected after extensive counseling or, in the most severe 
cases, light
deprivation therapy, will have their unique learning needs met.


The Role of TSSs and Printists


Specially trained TSSs (Teachers of Students with Sight) will be 
certified
through state personnel preparation programs in order to prepare 
these
sight-dependent students to hone their tactile skills and to 
prepare for
success in an auditory, tactile world.  However, critics of this 
approach say
that such teacher prep programs have never been funded adequately 
in the
past.

Additionally, school districts will employ TSSs and "printists," 
who have
been trained in the print alphabet and specialized rules for 
print
production.  Using software expressly designed for sighted users, 
such as
Microsoft's print production tool, Word, the printists can 
hand-keyboard
documents that may be needed for sighted students on a one-on-one 
basis.  (Of
course, classroom teachers will need to submit braille documents 
to the
printists in advance to give them time to transcribe the braille 
into
print).  The BLINK Act does allow delivery of these makeshift 
printed
materials up to six months after the braille versions are 
provided.  Advances
in tactile scanning technology, including TCR (tactile character
recognition) will enable some braille documents to be scanned and 
translated
almost automatically into print, which can then be reproduced 
onto paper
using a machine called a printer (similar to a braille embosser 
but without
the pleasant sound).


Advocacy for the BLINK Act


Dr.  Rebecca Sheffield, AFB's Senior Policy Researcher, is eager 
to see the
BLINK Act implemented nationwide.  In a telephone interview with 
Mark
Richert, she asked "Shouldn't we be doing a full court press on 
this amazing
bill and call out the troops to contact Congress right away?" To 
which, Mark
replied, "April fools!!"


April Fools! But in all seriousness...


Of course, there is no BLINK Act, and we hope you got a smile out 
of our
irreverent take on the policy process today.

At AFB's public policy center in Washington, D.C., we are working 
with
advocates from the deaf/hard-of-hearing and deaf-blindness 
education fields
on legislation called the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy 
Act.  This is
the most comprehensive special education legislation ever drafted 
for
children and youth with vision or hearing loss.  For students 
with vision
loss, this Act:

*	supports identification, location, and evaluation
*	requires states to ensure evaluation of students by 
qualified
professionals using valid and reliable assessments
*	requires states to ensure they provide sufficient, qualified
personnel to support students
*	requires states to provide instruction that meets students 
unique
learning needs, including assistive technology, social skills, 
career
skills, etc.
*	establishes a national Anne Sullivan Macy Center on Visual
Disability and Educational Excellence to conduct/fund research, 
continuing
education, enrichment projects, and personnel preparation.

The Cogswell/Macy Act was introduced in the previous Congress but 
has yet to
be reintroduced this year.  The bill's reintroduction will be an 
historic
declaration by the sensory disabilities community that America's 
current
special education system must innovate dramatically to be truly 
worthy of
the potential of all children and youth who are deaf, hard of 
hearing,
blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.  Reach out to your two 
U.S.  Senators
and your House of Representatives Member and urge them to support 
the
Cogswell/Macy Act.  Thank you!