PROCEEDINGS OF CDR STATE COUNCIL MEETING IN LAX Airport Hilton August 7-8, 1999
Susan Barnhill, CDR President
The August 7-8 State Council meeting, held at the LAX Airport Hilton, was a little different this time since we had decided to hold two days of meetings, like in the old CAPH days.
On Saturday there were meetings of the finance committee, the membership committee, an update from Michael Dunne, our Advocate on the Advocacy Assistance Project (AAP), and an informal reception held in my suite with the help of Alisa & Brian Shuman from San Diego. Jane Small and Hugh Hallenberg also had a get together at their home and several of us made it over there via accessible taxis and Access (the local Paratransit). We had some delicious food and got to meet with a few chapter 50 members.
Michael, with the help of Ralph Black and Elena Negrete, has been preparing to launch the Advocacy Assistance Project. He will take calls from members via our 800 number and attempt to help people find resources to solve their problems. For non-members he will do a limited amount of help and urge that person to join CDR for more extensive help. We are also going to ask our members for their expertise so that we can tap into them and even pay them a stipend for helping! Another aspect is to offer workshops on various topics, Transportation, IHSS, Title 24of the Building Code, etc. Michael plans to start in Sacramento and then go out to give trainings in areas where members are interested. Perhaps we can have some trainings in conjunction with a State Council meeting.
On Sunday morning we heard the legislative committee report. Our flagship bill, AB 422, is close to being through all committees and both houses, after that it goes to the Governor to sign. The legislative committee is beginning to work on ideas for next session so if you have some issues you want CDR to take up in the Legislature, please let Chris Elms, Legislative Chair, know.
We also discussed the placard issue because of all the publicity about UCLA football players illegally using placards with bogus disabilities and non-existent doctors. Apparently it had been going on for at least six years. A lot of anger has been expressed by the disability community, and of course, what an embarrassment for UCLA. One player had claimed he had "Bell's Palsy" which is a facial paralysis! My e-mail box overflowed with comments on this item. There is an article on the subject elsewhere in this issue.
Ralph Black reported on the four training workshops on refueling service for driversd with disabilities. There were not nearly the number of participants from the service station business that we had anticipated, but the consumer attendance was very gratifying. The workshops were supported in part by a grant from the Department of Rehabilitation.
Each chapter with a delegate present was given a copy of the "Frequently Asked Questions" booklet which was used in the workshops along with a laminated "Refueling Service Available" sign which can be given or sold to local service stations. It is larger than the one commonly seen and is compliant in both language and size. Also included was a master photocopy of the sign to be used make others for distribution. The entire packet is available from the CDR office for $10. A new task force is being assembled by the Dept. of Rehab to settle on a final sign and iron out other signage issues.
The membership committee's plan to reduce the number of membership deliquencies was approved to begin September 1.
Jane asked for CDR's co-sponsorship of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) conference she is coordinating in November 10th.
We also voted to send a letter of support for Bill Jordan, longtime CAPH/CDR member, who is seeking an appointment to The Access Board, otherwise known as the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, a Federal body. Bill wishes to serve on the newly constituted Public Right-of-Way Access Advisory Committee which will make recommendations to the Access Board for making pedestrian facilities more accessible under ADA.
We also voted to send a letter to the US Department of Justice asking for an investigation on access and accommodations in state, county, and municipal courts.
The Council also put in place a nominations process to select the next State Council officers. A slate will be offered at the next meeting and we will elect the new officers who will take over in January, 2000. Can you believe it's almost a new century? Let us work together to keep the disability movement strong and moving forward, erasing people's prejudices against people with disabilities.
CDR-SPONSORED LEGISLATION
BECOMES LAW
Provides National Model for Disabled Students' Access
to Print
Governor Gray Davis has signed legislation, AB 422 by Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). Sponsored by Californians for Disability Rights, Inc. (CDR), this new law requires publishers of textbooks and other instructional materials to provide the University of California, the California State University or the California Community Colleges with an electronic version of any printed material requested for use by a student with a disability. The legislation becomes effective January 1, 2000.
This bill resolves a long-standing national problem between the schools and publishers that had prevented the schools from making full use of computer technology to translate textbooks from electronic text directly to Braille. The resolution worked out by CDR with the publishers will also make it possible for visually impaired and other print impaired students to use electronic versions of textbooks through a computer voice synthesizer which reads (and can also index and search) the material on the screen. This will help both students and schools by making print materials available to students more quickly and with less expense than is currently possible.
Although AB 422 applies to California only, it will provide a model that can be established in every state. Several states are already moving forward with similar legislation.
The specific provisions of the bill are as follows:
1) Requires publishers of instruction materials for students attending one of the California public higher education systems ( i.e. the University of California, the California State University, or California Community Colleges) to provide to the school, for use by students, at no additional cost and in a timely manner, any printed instructional material in unencrypted electronic form, upon the receipt of a written request meeting certain conditions.
2) Requires that the computer files or electronic versions of printed instructional material maintain their structural integrity, including the main text and also such things as sidebars, table of contents, footnotes, and indexes. "Structural integrity" does not include nontextual elements such as pictures, illustrations, graphs, or charts until technology is available to translate these. The computer file or electronic version must also be compatible with commonly used Braille translation and speech synthesis software, and include corrections and revisions as may be necessary.
3) Authorizes each higher education system to establish one or more regional centers within their respective system to process requests for electronic versions of instructional materials, as prescribed.
4) Requires that in addition to printed materials, computer files or other electronic versions of non-printed materials also be provided, subject to the same conditions, when technology is available.
5) "Instructional material or materials" is defined to mean textbooks and other materials written and published primarily for use by students in postsecondary instruction that are required or essential to a student's success in a course of study in which a student with a disability is enrolled. "Instructional material or materials" does not include nontextual mathematics and science materials until technology becomes commercially available that permits the conversion of existing electronic files of the materials into a format that is compatible with Braille translation software or alternative media for students with disabilities.
6) The governing boards of the three systems of higher education shall each adopt guidelines consistent with this section for its implementation and administration.
7) Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall be a violation of Section 54.1 of the Civil Code.
AB 422 was sponsored by Californians for Disability Rights, Inc. (CDR), and was successful thanks to major effort by members of CDR and through coordination by CDR of other organizations representing blind and disabled students and educators of students with disabilities.
CDR is a statewide, grass roots organization of persons with disabilities. Organized into chapters representing all geographical areas of California, CDR has as its goal the full inclusion of persons with disabilities into every aspect of community life. The organization is committed to having a strong presence with the California Legislature in Sacramento.
If you would like to keep informed of the implementation of AB 422, or if you would like to become involved in future legislation to benefit persons with disabilities, please see the attached CDR membership form. You may also contact the office at 1722 J Street, Suite 2, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 447-2237, or contact our web site on the internet at www.disabilityrights-cdr.org. The full text of AB 422 can be found at the web site. For further information, contact President Susan Barnhill or Legislative Coordinator Pat McPartland at the above address, or contact Pat McPartland by e-mail at patnjud@inreach.com.