The official policy statements of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey are established every year with annual resolutions adopted at the state convention.

The resolutions committee meets early during the convention. Each proposed resolution is read, spoken for by the authoring member, considered, and then ultimately withdrawn or recommended for passage or disapproval by the Convention.

At times, resolutions may also be presented and adopted during an affiliate board meeting when timely action is needed between conventions. These resolutions hold the same official weight and reflect the affiliate’s ongoing commitment to addressing current issues affecting blind New Jerseyans.

RESOLUTION 2025-01: Regarding our APPRECIATION FOR ADAM SZCZEPANIAK, JR.

WHEREAS, Adam Szczepaniak, Jr. serves as Deputy State Librarian and Director of the New Jersey State Library Talking Book & Braille Center (TBBC), a statewide library of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS); and

WHEREAS, under his leadership, TBBC was selected as the 2023 Regional Library of the Year by NLS, recognizing excellence in service, outreach, and innovation across New Jersey’s network of patrons and deposit libraries; and

WHEREAS, TBBC, under his administration, serves approximately 14,000 patrons statewide and operates NFB NEWSLINE for over 3,300 New Jersey subscribers, expanding accessible news and library service in the state; and

WHEREAS, Adam Szczepaniak, Jr. was elected President of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) for 2018–2019, reflecting his national leadership in library services for special populations; and

WHEREAS, his tenure has included advocacy for assistive technology, training programs, partnerships with public and academic libraries, and expansion of network services for print disabled individuals; and

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey acknowledges that the strengths and achievements of TBBC during his directorship have advanced the cause of accessible literacy, equality of opportunity, and full inclusion for blind and print disabled New Jerseyans: Now, Therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, in Convention assembled this twenty-fourth day of October, 2025 in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that we express our deepest gratitude and respect to Adam Szczepaniak, Jr. for his outstanding leadership and dedicated service as Director of TBBC and in his role as Deputy State Librarian; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we congratulate him on his retirement, and that we celebrate the enduring legacy he leaves in the state’s library and blind access communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we commend all TBBC staff and partners for continuing the level of service, innovation, and commitment established under his tenure.

Resolution 2025-02: Regarding Implementation of NaviLens by New Jersey Transit

WHEREAS, blind and low-vision individuals must have the ability to navigate public transportation systems independently and access all transit information, such as schedules, routes, and service alerts, as readily as sighted individuals; and

WHEREAS, NEW JERSEY Transit’s nearly exclusive reliance on visual signage and displays makes it difficult or impossible for blind riders to obtain this information without assistance; and

WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and New Jersey Law mandate equal access to public services and require that communications with individuals with disabilities, including those who are blind, be “as effective as communications with others”, obligating public transit providers like NJ Transit to offer information in accessible formats so that these passengers can enjoy equal opportunity to use transit services; and

WHEREAS, NaviLens, a state-of-the-art navigation technology now exists to fulfill this need by translating visual signage into nonvisual formats via a system of brightly colored QR-style tags and complementary smartphone applications that can detect these tags from up to sixty feet away and provide audio information such as real-time bus arrivals, service status, directions, and other transit updates to the user; and

WHEREAS, the NaviLens solution has already been implemented with great success by transit agencies across the United States and around the world, demonstrating its effectiveness and feasibility; and

WHEREAS, the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority is actively rolling out NaviLens codes across all subway stations and select bus routes as part of an initiative supported by the US Department of Transportation, while the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter rail system has piloted NaviLens to help blind riders independently find platforms and receive live train information via audio prompts on their smartphones; and

WHEREAS, NaviLens is being used on all metro and bus routes in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain; and has been endorsed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the United Kingdom; and

WHEREAS, NJ Transit itself has recognized the value of this technology by launching a limited NaviLens pilot program in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where 51 NJ Transit bus stops have been outfitted with NaviLens codes so that riders who are blind or have low vision can use their phones to receive digital announcements of upcoming bus arrivals, service alerts, and wayfinding guidance at those stops; and

WHEREAS, NJ Transit has stated that once this pilot PROGRAM concludes, it will “evaluate the results and explore integrating NaviLens features into the NJ Transit mobile app and expanding the program to more of NJ Transit’s 16,000 bus stops,” thereby acknowledging the potential of NaviLens to improve accessibility across its network; and

WHEREAS, deploying NaviLens on a permanent, system-wide basis would dramatically enhance the independence and safety of blind travelers by allowing them to utilize NaviLens' full functionality, thereby providing full integration into New Jersey’s public transit system: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, in Convention assembled this twenty-fourth day of October, 2025, in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization demand that New Jersey Transit implement the NaviLens accessible wayfinding system across its bus, rail, and light rail services as an official accommodation for blind and low-vision riders – providing an accessible format for obtaining transit information and navigation cues – in order to ensure that blind passengers can travel on NJ Transit with the same level of independence, confidence, and convenience as sighted passengers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization strongly urge NJ Transit to work in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and any other relevant state agencies or funding sources to secure the resources and expertise needed to expedite the system-wide deployment of NaviLens technology.

Resolution 2025-03: Regarding Paratransit Accessibility Between New Jersey and New York City

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey is committed to advocating for accessible transportation options for all individuals with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, since there are several New Jersey Transit bus routes that go into Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Access Link also provides corresponding service which enables individuals with disabilities to access necessary services, employment, and recreational activities in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, there are also numerous New Jersey Transit lines that go into New York City, yet Access Link does not have corresponding service into New York; and

WHEREAS, the lack of paratransit connectivity between New Jersey and New York limits the independence and mobility of individuals with disabilities, hindering their ability to participate fully in society: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, in Convention assembled this twenty-fourth day of October, 2025, in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization urge the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York City (MTA) to take the following actions:

1. Collaborate on establishing a seamless paratransit service that allows for cross-state travel between New Jersey and New York.
2. Ensure that the paratransit service is fully accessible and meets the needs of individuals with disabilities, including those who are blind or low vision.
3. Implement policies and procedures to facilitate the coordination of paratransit services across state lines, ensuring that individuals with disabilities can travel between New Jersey and New York with the same ease as they can between New Jersey and Philadelphia.
4. Provide adequate funding and resources to support the expansion and maintenance of this essential service.
5. Engage with disability advocacy groups to gather input and feedback on the implementation and operation of the cross-state paratransit service to ensure it effectively meets the needs of the community.

Resolution 2025-04: Regarding Enhancing Access Link Services to New Jersey State Parks and Beaches

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey is dedicated to advocating for equal access to all public amenities for individuals with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey's state parks and beaches offer recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities that should be accessible to all residents of the state; and

WHEREAS, Access Link is New Jersey Transit’s paratransit service designed to provide public transportation for people with disabilities who are unable to use the fixed-route bus system; and

WHEREAS, Access Link service areas are determined by the distance from regular NJ Transit bus routes, specifically within a three-quarter-mile radius as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and

WHEREAS, many New Jersey state parks and beaches are located beyond the three-quarter-mile radius of regular NJ Transit bus routes, rendering them inaccessible via Access Link; and

WHEREAS, individuals without disabilities can access these state parks and beaches at any time, while those with disabilities are unjustly prevented from enjoying the natural beauty and recreational opportunities that our state is renowned for; and

WHEREAS, the lack of accessible transportation to state parks and beaches creates significant barriers and limits the independence of individuals with disabilities to enjoy public spaces: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, in Convention assembled this twenty-fourth day of October, 2025, in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization demand that New Jersey Transit and the New Jersey Department of Transportation take the following actions:

1. Immediately expand Access Link service areas to include all New Jersey state parks and state-owned beaches, regardless of their distance from regular NJ Transit bus routes,
2. Review and revise current policies that restrict Access Link services, ensuring that all residents have equal opportunities to access state parks and beaches,
3. Establish new regular NJ Transit bus routes or stops near state parks and beaches to extend Access Link eligibility zones to promote inclusivity,
4. Guarantee that all state parks and beaches are fully accessible via public transportation for individuals with disabilities, thereby upholding their rights to equal access to public amenities., and
5. Collaborate with disability advocacy groups to address transportation barriers and develop effective solutions to improve accessibility to state parks and beaches.

Resolution 2025-05: Regarding Protecting the Civil Rights of Blind Parents

WHEREAS, protecting the rights of parents with disabilities is a notion that, incredibly, was rejected by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Buck v. Bell 274 U.S. 200 (1927), in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, “It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind”; and

WHEREAS, this insulting and unjustified view that people with disabilities, including blind people, are somehow “manifestly unfit” to be parents (or otherwise to live the lives they want and to participate as members of society with all rights and privileges associated therewith) has too often continued to prevail in the courts even as we move further into the twenty-first century; and

WHEREAS, this bias is reflected in matters involving adoption and guardianship and in contested child custody proceedings, because blind parents have been perceived by the courts, child protection agencies, guardians ad litem, hospital staff, and others as incapable of caring adequately for their children’s needs, which has resulted in blind people routinely being denied the right to be parents without unfair bias or unnecessary overreach by government entities; and

WHEREAS, for most people a fundamental aspect of living life to the fullest includes the joy of being a parent and sharing in the nurturing, growth, and development of a child; and

WHEREAS, being a parent and raising children is a fundamental right which is protected under the Constitution of the United States of America by the First and Ninth Amendments and under the Fourteenth Amendment as applied to the states; and

WHEREAS, in the case of blind parents, there is a need to protect this fundamental constitutional right; yet New Jersey has no state laws at all to protect the right of blind citizens to be parents and raise their children without the fear of discriminatory treatment or unnecessary inquiries of fitness solely based on blindness; and

WHEREAS, ten states across the country have enacted legislation that specifically protects the rights of blind parents, and momentum toward the goal of equal rights for blind parents is growing: now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this twenty-fifth day of October, 2025, in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization call upon the New Jersey Legislature to enact laws that establish procedural safeguards to protect the right of blind people to be parents and prohibit discriminatory presumptions of manifest unfitness solely because a parent (or prospective parent) happens to be blind; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge the New Jersey Attorney General, in protecting the best interest of children in court proceedings, to use his or her good office affirmatively to protect blind parents in the state against discrimination and bias based solely upon blindness and to urge the courts, guardians ad litem, and officials of child protection agencies to base decisions about what is in the best interest of the child on the same criteria used for sighted parents.

Resolution 2025-06: Regarding Fully Accessible Vote-by-Mail Legislation

WHEREAS, the ability to cast a secret ballot independently is a cornerstone of our democracy that enables citizens to vote their conscience without fear; and

WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that voters with print disabilities must be able to cast their ballots privately and independently using the same methods available to voters without disabilities; and

WHEREAS, American military personnel and citizens living overseas are permitted to return their completed ballots either by email, fax, or web portal; and

WHEREAS, thirteen states also allow print disabled voters to submit their vote-by-mail ballots electronically; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey currently provides neither a method for independently marking such ballots nor returning them electronically to print disabled voters, depriving them of the right to a secret vote; and

WHEREAS, there was legislation during the 2022-2023 session of the New Jersey Legislature – namely bills A4746 and S3302 – that would have removed both of these barriers; and

WHEREAS, A4746 passed out of the Assembly, yet S3302 stalled in the Senate; and

WHEREAS, Assembly Bill A2806 and Senate Bill S1762, which would put into place the same policies as the previous bills, were introduced in the current legislative session; and

WHEREAS, organizations such as Common Cause, Free Speech for People, and the Brennan Center for Justice say that their missions are to “ensure that every eligible American can cast a ballot,” and “to ensure people can participate equally and meaningfully in our democracy”, yet these same organizations oppose fully accessible vote by mail systems, therefore denying the right of voters with print disabilities to vote by mail privately and independently, claiming security concerns as their reason; and

WHEREAS, multiple electronic ballot return applications have been used securely for many years, and have received complete approval from our federal security and intelligence agencies, refuting these unfounded and antiquated concerns: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this twenty-fifth day of October, 2025, in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization strongly urge the New Jersey Assembly and Senate to introduce comparable legislation in the upcoming 2026-2027 session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the New Jersey Legislature to work with the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey and other disability advocates to ensure that New Jerseyans with print disabilities can cast private and independent votes guaranteed to all voters in this state.

Resolution 2025-07: Regarding the Need for New Jersey Legislation Requiring All Websites and Applications to be Accessible

WHEREAS, the activities of a vast number of employers, retailers, restaurants, other public accommodations, educational institutions, state and local governments, other public entities, and many other entities now occur in whole or in part through websites and applications; and

WHEREAS, according to a report with statistics covering the period from 2005 to 2020 conducted by the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, the digital economy alone accounts for nearly 10 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States; and

WHEREAS, according to a study published in March 2021 by the Pew Research Center, 85 percent of American adults visit the internet at least once per day; and

WHEREAS, equal access to digital spaces is necessary for the blind and others with disabilities to participate in the mainstream of economic, cultural, and political life; and

WHEREAS, the vast majority of the entities identified above want their websites and applications to be accessible and usable by all, including the blind and others with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the blind and others with disabilities constantly face access barriers to websites and applications as indicated by a recent survey of the one million most visited websites, which revealed that at least one access barrier existed on over ninety-seven percent of those million websites; and

WHEREAS, according to numerous news sources, the United States has approximately two open jobs for every unemployed American, yet unemployment and underemployment of the blind has not improved due in part to accessibility barriers; and

WHEREAS, many, including the Federation, believe that Congress intended for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to apply to websites of those entities covered by the ADA when it said the ADA "should keep pace with the rapidly changing technology of the times"; and

WHEREAS, despite such clear legislative intent, the courts of our land have varied wildly in their opinions deciding whether the ADA covers websites, with some courts saying that websites and digital spaces of any entity are not covered by the ADA, others saying that only websites of covered entities with a physical presence are covered, and yet other courts saying that all websites of covered entities are covered regardless of whether those exist entirely in cyberspace or whether they have both physical and digital locations; and

WHEREAS, we had fervently hoped that the United States Department of Justice would clarify these legal uncertainties when, in 2010, it published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making with the intention of ultimately promulgating regulations clarifying that websites of covered entities fell within the scope of the ADA's protection, regardless of whether such entities existed entirely in cyberspace; and

WHEREAS, to the great sorrow of the disability community and others, no further action has been taken on the proposed regulations since 2010, and in fact the proposed rulemaking was canceled in 2017; and

WHEREAS, neither current law nor the proposed regulations from 2010 clearly cover applications used on mobile phones and other devices; and

WHEREAS, many businesses, employers, educational institutions, and other entities rely on third-party commercial entities, which are not currently covered by the law, to design and implement their websites and applications; and

WHEREAS, it has become abundantly clear that there is a critical need for federal legislation to clarify exactly who must offer accessible websites and applications and how they must do it: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this twenty-fifth day of October, 2025, in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization urge Congress to adopt a law requiring websites and applications of employers, retailers, restaurants, other public accommodations, educational institutions, state and local governments, other public entities, and any other entity currently covered by the ADA to be accessible to the blind and others with disabilities through compliance with an accessibility standard defined by Congress; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon Congress to require those commercial entities that design and implement websites and applications and then sell them to all other covered entities to design and implement websites and applications which are accessible to the blind and others with disabilities in compliance with the accessibility standard defined by Congress; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge Congress to direct the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to develop and then promulgate an accessibility standard in which accessibility shall mean perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust websites and applications that enable persons with disabilities to access the same information as, to engage in the same interactions as, and to enjoy the same services offered to other persons with the same privacy, same independence, and same ease of use as nondisabled persons; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge Congress, in the new law, to include provisions that allow the law to be enforced by EEOC and DOJ acting on complaints filed with them or on their own initiative and that private individuals and organizations may also enforce the law by instituting private causes of actions in our courts with the full array of legal remedies and damages available to them.

Resolution 2025-08: Regarding the use of accessible traffic lights and walk signals

WHEREAS, road safety for pedestrians and vehicle drivers is dependent on clear understanding and proper use of traffic lights and pedestrian signals; and

WHEREAS, for pedestrian and traffic signals to be clearly understood and properly used by both blind and sighted pedestrians, signals that are solely non-visual need to be replaced by accessible signals that utilize both visual and non-visual cues, such as tactile and vibrating surfaces and audio tones, to inform pedestrians of appropriate crossing intervals where possible; and

WHEREAS, by various laws such as Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, state and local governments are required to make such public services as pedestrian signals accessible; and

WHEREAS, many traffic lights and pedestrian signals have either not been converted from inaccessible versions, or have been converted in a manner that does not meet legal standards for accessibility: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, in convention assembled this twenty-fifth day of October, 2025, in the township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization call upon the New Jersey Legislature and local municipalities to establish definitive plans to comply with the law and convert non-accessible traffic lights and pedestrian signals to accessible pedestrian signals.

Resolution 2025-09: Regarding an Immediate Motion to Dismiss Texas v. Kennedy

WHEREAS, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a landmark civil rights statute for people with disabilities, protecting us from discrimination by federal agencies and recipients of federal funding in public education, work readiness programs, healthcare, elections, the court system, and more; and

WHEREAS, seventeen states’ attorneys general have filed suit in Texas v. Kennedy alleging that Section 504 is unconstitutional and should be entirely or partially enjoined, limiting it only to those programs, services, and activities directly funded by and through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and

WHEREAS, in a status report submitted on April 11, 2025, the seventeen states wrote that they “have no intention to seek any relief from this Court on Count 3 (Section 504 is Unconstitutional) of their Complaint. ... And nothing in Plaintiffs’ Complaint seeks to restrain the disbursement of federal funds from the Department [of Health and Human Services] on the basis that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is unconstitutional”; and

WHEREAS, the Plaintiffs also seek for the Court to declare the Final Rule titled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance” released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services on May 9, 2024, and which contains valuable website accessibility rules pertaining to federal government websites, as illegal and unconstitutional; and

WHEREAS, if Plaintiffs’ demand is granted, it will have a devastating effect on blind Americans’ rights to effective communication and reasonable accommodation in connection with government programs, services, and activities, including but not limited to education, employment, housing, healthcare, and other forms of civic life: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this twenty-fifth day of October, 2025, in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey, that this organization immediately call upon Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to move to dismiss the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit because of the far-reaching and harmful effects the lawsuit could have on Section 504 and the lives of blind and other disabled Americans.