(Editor's Note: This publication reflects only those resolutions which were adopted by the convention. ACB resolutions which were referred to other ACB entities for further consideration, tabled or withdrawn are not included in this document.)
- Resolution 2004-01 commends both the U.S. Mint and responsible officials within the government of the State of Alabama on their contributions to the design and issuance of the Alabama state quarter and commends the U.S. Mint on its efforts in seeking input from the blind and deaf-blind communities on the coin design depicting and honoring Helen Keller.
- Resolution 2004-02 rescinds the policy that requires ACB-L and ACB- Chat subscribers to provide identifying information over and above their names and e-mail addresses.
- Resolution 2004-03 instructs the American Council of the Blind's executive director to write to the Law School Admission Council expressing ACB's outrage regarding the unlawful treatment of Law School Admission Test examinees who are blind or visually impaired and provides that the officers, directors, and staff of this organization, in conjunction with its special- interest affiliate, the American Association of Visually Impaired Attorneys, make these concerns known to the monitoring authority, the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.
- Resolution 2004-05 urges the United States Postmaster General to release a proclamation commemorating the passage of the "free matter for the blind" statutes, as well as recognizing their function and proper use, and the benefits derived through exercising this privilege, and directs the ACB staff to work with the Postmaster General to accomplish the objectives set forth in this resolution.
- Resolution 2004-06 confirms and rededicates ACB's commitment to principles of non-discrimination and fair treatment on the milestone occasion of the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that have underpinned and guided ACB's disability rights and civil rights advocacy and coalition efforts and activities over many years; calls upon and strongly urges its state and special-interest affiliates to rededicate themselves and their memberships to the goals and objectives of more comprehensive disability rights and civil rights protections under state and federal law; and directs its officers, directors, and staff to convey the substance of this resolution to its numerous partners in the many and varied disability rights and civil rights coalitions to which this organization proudly belongs.
- Resolution 2004-08 expresses appreciation to volunteers who worked to assist this year's convention attendees.
- Resolution 2004-09 expresses thanks to the convention hotels.
- Resolution 2004-10 expresses thanks and commends the convention host committee and the Alabama Council of the Blind for their work and for helping to create the positive atmosphere that exemplified this year's convention.
- Resolution 2004-11 reiterates ACB's opposition to any delays in providing voting systems accessible to, and usable by, people who are blind or visually impaired, when such delays are based upon requirements for, or consideration of, the inclusion of a voter-verifiable paper ballot requirement for direct recording equipment voting systems, and directs its officers, directors, and staff, and urges its state and local affiliates to take all reasonable actions necessary to bring about the most expeditious implementation of federal requirements that guarantee the right of blind or visually impaired people to vote privately and independently.
- Resolution 2004-12 directs the ACB staff to inform the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) about the specialized requirements of United States citizenship test-takers with visual impairments for appropriate alternate formats, alternative test administration procedures, and test questions that relate appropriately to the non-visual experiences of this population, and provides that ACB collaborate with other blindness organizations, as well as the USCIS, to assure that the needs of the population of immigrants and refugees who are blind or visually impaired will be taken into consideration when the naturalization tests are revised and standardized, so that these individuals will have an equal opportunity to participate in the benefits of United States citizenship.
- Resolution 2004-14 instructs ACB officers, directors and staff to advocate for an increase in federal funding for the Title VII, Chapter 2 program, with the increased federal funding to be allocated based on the population of each state 55 years and over and indexed according to the cost of living, so long as no state's allocation is reduced below its current fiscal year level.
- Resolution 2004-15 expresses ACB's profound disappointment with the action taken regarding the Unified English Braille Code (UEBC) by the International Council on English Braille (ICEB) and the Braille Authority of North America (BANA), urges BANA and ICEB to conduct research addressing the problems outlined in this resolution, and strongly encourages BANA and ICEB to examine other codes before taking a final vote on this important matter.
- Resolution 2004-16 creates and establishes the Blindness Hall of Fame.
- Resolution 2004-17 calls upon Greyhound Lines, Inc., the federal government and other appropriate parties to work together to maintain over- the-road bus services to all communities currently served by that company and provides that copies of this resolution be sent to Greyhound, the Secretary of Transportation and the chairs of the House and Senate committees having jurisdiction over transportation legislation.
- Resolution 2004-18: ACB joins with other stakeholders in advocating for the expansion of safe, accessible, and affordable transportation for people who are blind or visually impaired.
- Resolution 2004-19 requires that, when advocating for the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), ACB will only endorse legislation that upholds each of the following basic core principles: (1) a free, appropriate public education for every child with a disability; (2) appropriate evaluation leading to appropriate placement; (3) an individualized education program, including short-term and long-term goals derived from collaboration among educators, assessment specialists, family members, caregivers, and disabled children themselves; (4) the most appropriate setting to meet a child's needs at any given time; (5) parent and student participation in decision-making; (6) procedural safeguards, including due process, and (7) equal access to all instructional materials; requires the organization advocate strenuously against all House and Senate IDEA reauthorization provisions that would limit substantive and procedural safeguards for children with disabilities and their parents, and provides that ACB urge other organizations and groups to join in supporting the goals and principles of this resolution.
- Resolution 2004-20 applauds the Access Board upon its promulgation of the long-awaited and anticipated final rule revising, updating and harmonizing the accessibility provisions of both the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and the Minimum Government Requirements for Accessible Design (MGRAD) under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA); calls upon the four federal standard-setting agencies, the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Defense (DOD) and the United States Postal Service (USPS), to commence regulatory proceedings to revise the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) by incorporating into UFAS the revised and modernized accessibility provisions contained in the Access Board's ADAAG and ABA accessibility rule; calls upon the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to commence rulemaking proceedings to revise their respective ADA accessibility standards through adopting the newly promulgated Access Board's final ADAAG and ABA accessibility standards rule; and instructs its officers, directors and staff to promptly communicate the substance of this resolution to appropriate federal government officials who have responsibilities for accessibility standards.
- Resolution 2004-21 supports the International Association of Audio Information Services in its call for substantial improvement in audio fidelity over that of existing analog sub-carrier transmissions; supports and promotes the preservation of the ability for all radio reading services to operate within the provisions of the current copyright laws, the making of enhanced information access services increasingly available to people who are print-impaired, and the design and manufacture of fully accessible radios; and directs its officers, directors, and staff to collaborate with IAAIS and any other organization, manufacturer or consumer advocacy group, in order to ensure the future growth, accessibility, and availability of broadcast delivered information access services.
- Resolution 2004-22 directs the ACB staff to send a letter to trade associations of manufacturers of appliances and electronic devices, and to other appropriate organizations, educating them about the need to take into account the blind and visually impaired community in designing their products; provides that ACB, through its information access committee, is ready and willing to assist such associations and their members to facilitate universal design; and directs the committee to attempt to establish meetings with such associations and their members to implement the purposes of this resolution.
- Resolution 2004-23 directs officers, directors and staff to ensure that, when any convention hotel provides shuttle transportation for convention attendees, such transportation will be available to all convention attendees, including those who use wheelchairs, at the same cost; requires the convention coordinating committee to amend the ACB convention guidelines to include the substance of this resolution; and requires that future hotel convention contracts include provisions to fully implement the policy set forth in this resolution.
- Resolution 2004-24 requires the organization to collaborate with the Media Access Group at WGBH to actively promote the inclusion of audio- described movies in the fast-growing satellite radio broadcast media market, and directs the executive director to write a letter to the Media Access Group at WGBH to express both our appreciation for their efforts on this matter and to request specific actions that this organization can take to assist in the promotion of the broadcast of audio-described movies on satellite radio broadcast media.
- Resolution 2004-25 opposes any effort of the Social Security Administration or the Congress to seek changes to the definition of blindness as it is applied to eligibility for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits and commits itself to work proactively to educate and inform its members and the general public concerning the valid and legitimate reasons justifying and supporting Congress' enactment into law of the special provisions benefitting people who are blind contained in the Social Security Act.
- Resolution 2004-26 supports and endorses the expressed intent of Congress in the Randolph-Sheppard Act, and the implementing expression in regulations of the Department of Education and in the preamble to such regulations, regarding the independent status of each elected committee of blind vendors; urges the commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education, to adopt a policy, as follows: (1) in accordance with the Randolph-Sheppard Act, and implementing regulations, to the extent that any state law is in conflict with the act and regulations, and to the extent that a state offers an assertion regarding the status of committees of blind vendors in conflict with the clear meaning and intent of such act and regulations, such laws and expressions are null and void, and are pre- empted by federal law; (2) committees of blind vendors are entities not subject to the control of any state authority, and are established for the purpose of representing the interests of all licensed blind vendors in a state; and (3) members of committees of blind vendors are not state employees; and requires that a copy of this resolution be sent to the commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration.
- Resolution 2004-28 requests the board of directors to provide employed staff of the American Council of the Blind with an immediate cost of living adjustment of 3.1 percent retroactive to the beginning of the current fiscal year.
- Resolution 2004-30 reaffirms a commitment to the design and implementation of paper money that is identifiable by people who are blind and visually impaired and expresses support of the litigation currently being undertaken by ACB in hopes that the United States of America will join many other countries and design and produce currency that can be readily identified by people who are blind and visually impaired.