Hey, Fred.  Saw this elsewhere, and it's quite amusing.  Now, take 
all sighted folks, sit them down in front of their computers, turn 
off their monitors, and blindfold them.--Matt.

At 11:00 AM 4/2/2015, Fred Olver wrote:
>Sent from my iPhone
>
>Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: "Linda A.Coccovizzo via Nfbmo" <[log in to unmask]>
> > Date: April 2, 2015 at 9:28:44 AM CDT
> > To: "NFB of Missouri Mailing List ([log in to unmask])" <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject: [Nfbmo] Blink Act
> > Reply-To: "Linda A.Coccovizzo" <[log in to unmask]>, NFB of Missou=
>ri Mailing List <[log in to unmask]>
> >=20
> > This came out yesterday, and if you haven't already seen it, enjoy!
> >=20
> > BLINK Act on Fast Track for Congressional Action!
> > For further information, contact:
> >=20
> > Mark Richert, Esq.
> > Director, Public Policy, AFB
> > [log in to unmask]
> >=20
> > Rebecca Sheffield, Ph.D.
> > Senior Policy Researcher, AFB
> > [log in to unmask]
> > You can also read this story online at the following link: http://www.afb.=
>org/info/programs-and-services/public-policy-center/directconnect-newsletter=
>/historic-bill-breaks-down-braille-barriers/1235
> > 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 exclu=
>sively learn and use braille. The bill, entitled the Braille Literacy Is Nec=
>essary Knowledge (BLINK) Act, was only introduced late last evening in an at=
>tempt by the bill's champions to thwart mobilized opposition by proponents o=
>f vision dependency.
> > Under the BLINK Act, which somewhat radically makes trafficking in printed=
>  textbooks and inaccessible electronic instructional materials a federal cri=
>me punishable by public humiliation on national network television, all U.S.=
>  sighted school children will be guaranteed issuance of braille textbooks fo=
>r every course offered in our nation's public school districts. Braille inst=
>ruction for all sighted youngsters will be mandatory and begin in pre-K prog=
>rams, with total immersion emergency braille instruction also being required=
>  immediately for all sighted students in the later grades. Under 
> provisions o=
>f the BLINK Act that have even some of the staunchest opponents of vision de=
>pendency concerned, all high stakes test takers, whether blind or sighted, w=
>ill be required, beginning in 2016, to sit for such examinations administere=
>d 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 fla=
>t- screen televisions to make room for the additional shelving space needed f=
>or braille texts. A representative of the National Association of Put-Upon P=
>ublic School Facilities workers said, "Do these people in Congress know what=
>  they're doing? Here's yet another unfunded mandate that micro-manages our p=
>ublic schools, and it's going to be us over worked and underpaid facilities g=
>uys 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 e=
>xpected to issue sighted students with over-sized backpacks and roller bags t=
>o aid them in carrying their textbooks home and between classes. Lobbyists f=
>rom the luggage and hand truck industries are rumored to be behind the strik=
>ing bipartisanship that led to today's early morning accord.
> > "You know, these guys are so dumb, they think that braille has to be on pa=
>per," 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, thei=
>r eyes just rolled right up in their heads. Guess we gotta take our champion=
>s as we find 'em."
> > Students with Vision Dependence
> > What has not as yet been completely hammered out in today's agreement is h=
>ow 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' civi=
>l rights. What's more, our kids are just plain helpless unless they're visua=
>lly engaged. My son just goes to pieces when he's not transfixed by lots of g=
>raphics and moving pictures."
> > Still, proponents of the BLINK Act say that no sighted student will be lef=
>t behind. Under the bill, students whose reliance on vision cannot be correc=
>ted after extensive counseling or, in the most severe cases, light deprivati=
>on 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 sigh=
>t-dependent students to hone their tactile skills and to prepare for success=
>  in an auditory, tactile world. However, critics of this approach say that s=
>uch teacher prep programs have never been funded adequately in the past.
> > Additionally, school districts will employ TSSs and "printists," 
> who have b=
>een trained in the print alphabet and specialized rules for print production=
>. Using software expressly designed for sighted users, such as Microsoft's p=
>rint production tool, Word, the printists can hand-keyboard documents that m=
>ay be needed for sighted students on a one-on-one basis. (Of course, classro=
>om teachers will need to submit braille documents to the printists in advanc=
>e to give them time to transcribe the braille into print). The BLINK Act doe=
>s 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 docu=
>ments to be scanned and translated almost automatically into print, which ca=
>n 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 Richer=
>t, she asked "Shouldn't we be doing a full court press on this amazing bill a=
>nd call out the troops to contact Congress right away?" To which, Mark repli=
>ed, "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 i=
>rreverent take on the policy process today.
> > At AFB's public policy center in Washington, D.C., we are working with adv=
>ocates from the deaf/hard-of-hearing and deaf-blindness education fields on l=
>egislation called the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act. This is the=
>  most comprehensive special education legislation ever drafted for 
> children a=
>nd youth with vision or hearing loss. For students with vision loss, this Ac=
>t:
> > *              supports identification, location, and evaluation
> > *              requires states to ensure evaluation of students by qualifi=
>ed professionals using valid and reliable assessments
> > *              requires states to ensure they provide sufficient, qualifie=
>d personnel to support students
> > *              requires states to provide instruction that meets 
> students u=
>nique learning needs, including assistive technology, social skills, career s=
>kills, etc.
> > *              establishes a national Anne Sullivan Macy Center 
> on Visual D=
>isability and Educational Excellence to conduct/fund research, continuing ed=
>ucation, enrichment projects, and personnel preparation.
> > The Cogswell/Macy Act was introduced in the previous Congress but 
> has yet t=
>o be reintroduced this year. The bill's reintroduction will be an historic d=
>eclaration by the sensory disabilities community that America's current spec=
>ial education system must innovate dramatically to be truly worthy of the po=
>tential of all children and youth who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visu=
>ally impaired, or deaf-blind. Reach out to your two U.S. Senators and your H=
>ouse of Representatives Member and urge them to support the Cogswell/Macy Ac=
>t. Thank you!
> > _______________________________________________
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