Call to Order:
The September 29, 2021, conference call meeting of the Board of Directors of the American council of the Blind was called to order at 7:30 PM EDT by President Dan Spoone.
Roll Call and Introduction of Guests:
At the call of the roll, the following Board members were present: Dan Spoone, Deb Cook Lewis, Ray Campbell, Denise Colley, David Trott, Kim Charlson, Jeff Bishop, Chris Bell, Donna Brown, Doug Powell, Kenneth Semien, Pat Sheehan, Michael Talley and Jeff Thom. Board of Publications Member Penny Reeder was present representing that body.
Members absent: Jim Kracht and Koni Sims.
Staff present: Eric Bridges, ACB Executive Director, Clark Rachfal, ACB Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, Sharon Lovering, Editor, Braille Forum, Kelly Gasque, Multimedia Design Specialist and Nancy Marks-Becker, ACB Chief Financial Officer.
Contractors present: Rick Morin, ACB Media Technical Director.
Guests: Gabe Griffith, Mark Richert, Sheila Styron, Guillermo Robles, Ardis Bazyn, Mitch and Donna Pomerantz, Lori Scharf, Margie Donovan.
Review and Approval of Agenda:
Approval of Agenda - Dan Spoone, President
President Spoone reviewed the agenda. No items were added.
Trott moved and Brown seconded a motion to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried.
Review and Approval of July 16 (Preconvention) Minutes: Denise Colley
It was moved by Colley and seconded by
Charlson to approve the July 16, 2021 preconvention board meeting minutes. The motion carried.
Nomination and Appointment of Budget Committee Members:
President Spoone reported that four members of the Board had contacted him with interest in serving on the 2022 budget committee. They include Trott, Sheehan, Charlson and Cook Lewis. Since the Board is to select three members, Sheehan withdrew his name due to the fact that he will be going off the Board at the 2022 Conference and Convention. Therefore, Trott, Charlson and Cook Lewis were selected by the Board to serve on the budget committee.
Review and Approval Of 2021 ACB Resolutions Part 2
Resolution 2021-1: Mandatory Disability Awareness Training for Health Care Workers
A friendly amendment was proposed and accepted to add a last Resolve clause to say, “we further resolve that when a state affiliate works on this Resolution, it be urged to work with the ACB Get Up and Get Moving Campaign”.
The Resolution as amended passed with one no vote by Bell.
Resolution 2021-04: Resolution Addressing Allegations of Sexual Assault, Harassment and Abuse at Blindness Training Centers and Other Rehabilitation Programs
This resolution generated a lively discussion by Board members and the makers of the resolution. two amendments to the Whereas clauses were made but not accepted as friendly, and neither one passed.
The original resolution passed with one no vote by Lewis.
Resolution 2021-06: Website Access
A motion was made by Campbell and seconded by Lewis to amend the second Whereas Clause to read “Whereas, many websites are not accessible to the assistive technology, including screen reading and screen magnification software used by people who are blind or have low vision”. The motion to amend passed unanimously.
The Resolution as amended passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-7: Accessibility of Pill Packs for Individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired
Friendly amendments were made and accepted as follows:
- Insert the word sometimes in the first Whereas clause so it would read “Whereas, physicians sometimes prescribe medications to be taken at a particular time of day”.
- In the second Whereas clause, replace the word directed with prescribed for better consistency. The sentence would then read “Whereas, pharmacists are tasked with the responsibility of dispensing the medication as prescribed by the physician”.
- Change the wording in the last Whereas clause to read “Whereas, there are easy ways that pill packs could be marked tactilely to provide equal access to individuals who are blind or have low vision”.
The Resolution with amendments was passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-9: Website Overlays
The Resolution passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-10: Spanish Resolution
A friendly amendment was proposed and accepted to add the words “beginning in 2022” to the first Resolve clause, just before the list of initiatives and programs to be implemented.
A second friendly amendment was proposed and accepted to add the word braille to the lists of formats in the fifth Whereas clause. It would then read “Whereas, ACB presently does not make any of its information available in Spanish in either braille, print or audio format”.
The amended Resolution was passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-14: Emotional Support Animals
After much discussion it was felt that the Resolution in its current form was not ready for adoption. It was moved by Charlson and seconded by Lewis that the Resolution be referred back to GDUI and the ACB Advocacy Committee to rework a resolution that doesn’t necessarily put the ownness on the medical profession, but tackles the concerns around the need for the development of standards that guarantee that when an emotional support animal is in public or living in an apartment with an individual, that animal demonstrates appropriate behavior and is not causing harm or is a public risk to others.
The motion to refer passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-16: Accessible Programs at the VA
This Resolution was brought back to the ACB Board after some further reworking. The revised Resolution has addressed the intent and concerns expressed by both the maker of the original Resolution and by Board member Pat Sheehan who is employed at the Veterans Administration. Some concern was expressed by Bell that, with all the references to assistive technology in the second Whereas clause, there is nowhere in the Resolution that addresses the issue that a VA employee who is blind or has low vision is entitled to such assistive technology under the Rehabilitation Act’s Reasonable Accommodation mandate. It was recommended that a Whereas clause be added to state that “federal employees are entitled to receive assistive technology that allows them to do their work as required by the terms of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended”. This addition was accepted as a friendly amendment.
The Resolution as amended was passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-18: Medicaid Home and Community-based Services
A friendly amendment was made by Bell to move the list of examples of Home and Community-Based Services to the beginning of the Whereas clauses to allow for a better description and understanding of what they are in this context. This was considered a friendly amendment.
The Resolution as amended passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-21: Voter Suppression of People with Disabilities
The Resolution passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-26: Inclusive Language in Communications
The Resolution passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-28: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Campbell offered an amendment to include the word “equity” to the first sentence of the third Whereas clause to make the terminology consistent throughout the Resolution. The amendment was considered friendly.
The Resolution as amended passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-29: Free Matter for the Blind
Charlson proposed amending the two Resolved clauses to remove any reference to the Postmaster General and replace those references with “identified Federal Post Office personnel with expertise in Free Matter delivery”. This amendment was considered friendly.
A second amendment was proposed by Charlson to remove the words “for many decades” in the first Whereas clause and replace it with “Whereas, since 1904 (117 years), people who are blind or have low vision have depended on the Free Matter for the Blind mailing option to receive valuable materials”. This amendment was also considered friendly.
The Resolution as amended passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-30: Website and App Access
The Resolution passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-31: TVI Registry Resolution
Much concern was expressed by Board members related to the passage of this Resolution in its current form. The two biggest concerns centered around ACB’s working partnership with ACVREP, a subsidiary of which is Success Beyond Sight, the creator of the identified Registry, and the fact that the ACB Board was just learning about this issue and all of the details surrounding it. It was felt the Board did not have enough information to make an informed decision about passing this Resolution.
It was moved by Charlson and seconded by Campbell to refer the Resolution to the Board to work in collaboration with the Special Education Task Force and the Advocacy Steering Committee to reach out and have a meeting with the key players to figure out what is happening and what kinds of changes can be made, and how we can correct the situation and move forward. A friendly amendment was proposed by Thom to say “how and if it can be salvaged” since we don’t know right now that it can’t. This was accepted as friendly. A second amendment to the motion was made by Sheehan to add that the outcome of findings be brought back to the Board and reported out no later than at the DC Leadership Conference Board meeting in March. This, too, was considered friendly.
The motion as amended was passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-34: Promotion of Mental and Emotional Health and Wellbeing as an Organizational Priority
The Resolution passed unanimously.
Resolution 2021-36: Appointments to State Rehabilitation Councils
The Resolution passed unanimously.
Adjourn:
There being no further business it was moved by Campbell and seconded by Powell that the meeting be adjourned, and the meeting was ended at 12:08 AM EDT.
Denise Colley
Secretary
Date submitted: September 29, 2021