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 Each proposed resolution is read, spoken for by the authoring member, considered, and then ultimately withdrawn or recommended for passage or disapproval by the Convention.

Resolution 2015-01: Regarding the New Direction of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, herein referred to as “the Commission”, has been the main provider of education, vocational rehabilitation, and independent living services to the blind and visually impaired of New Jersey since its founding in 1910; and
WHEREAS, the Commission, as the main provider of services, has a great influence and impact on many critical areas of the lives of blind children and adults who depend on these services for their education, jobs, and independence; and
WHEREAS, Daniel Frye, as its Executive Director, seeks to lead the Commission in a new direction which emphasizes responsiveness and excellence in services; and
WHEREAS, the Executive Director has sought to include consumers in both planning and reform efforts of the Commission and has demonstrated his willingness to listen with an open mind to consumer ideas and concerns: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this seventh day of November, 2015, in the township of Stafford, New Jersey, that this organization commend the Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired for the direction in which he is taking that agency, and for his continued efforts in achieving partnership and communication with consumers in working toward the goals of equal opportunity and first class citizenship for the blind and visually impaired of New Jersey.

Resolution 2015-02: Regarding Ending Subminimum Wage Payments to Workers with Disabilities

WHEREAS, Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), established on the erroneous belief that people with disabilities lack the capacity for competitive and integrated employment, currently permits approximately 3,000 employers to obtain special wage certificates which allow them to pay more than 400,000 workers with disabilities wages that are less than the federal minimum wage, herein referred to as “subminimum wages”; and

WHEREAS, employers who pay subminimum wages argue that the special wage certificate is an essential tool for employing workers with disabilities, and threaten that paying the federal minimum wage to such workers would require them to terminate these employees, even though they apparently have enough revenue to pay some of their executives six-figure salaries and to pay professional lobbyists to advocate for the perpetuation of this discriminatory provision; and

WHEREAS, other businesses that employ comparable populations of people with disabilities yet do not utilize these certificates are able to maintain successful operations, proving the assertions of subminimum wage employers to be patently false; and

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind has been joined by over eighty other national and local organizations of and for people with disabilities in our effort to support legislation and policies that work to end the payment of subminimum wages to workers with disabilities and to oppose the development and implementation of new policies that would perpetuate the use of this unfair and outmoded practice; and

WHEREAS, Congressman Gregg Harper has introduced the Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act (HR188) in the United States House of Representatives, which, if enacted, would immediately stop the issuance of new special wage certificates, responsibly phase out existing certificates over a three-year period, and repeal Section 14(c) of the FLSA once and for all; and

WHEREAS, Senator Kelly Ayotte has introduced companion legislation (S2001) in the United States Senate; and

WHEREAS, there are 48 cosponsors of HR188 and 1 cosponsor of S2001, but no member of the New Jersey delegation in either the United States Senate or House of Representatives has cosponsored the TIME Act: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this eighth day of November, 2015, in the Township of Stafford, New Jersey, that we strongly urge Senators Corey Booker and Robert Menendez to cosponsor S2001, and all New Jersey members of the United States House of Representatives to cosponsor HR188.

Resolution 2015-03: Regarding Access Link using text messaging to communicate with deaf-blind riders

WHEREAS, Access Link is the paratransit service provided by New Jersey Transit for people with disabilities who cannot use its standard buses; and

WHEREAS, a significant number of Access Link riders are both deaf and blind (deaf-blind); and

WHEREAS, persons who are deaf-blind must use both non-visual and non-auditory technology to communicate with others; and

WHEREAS, one form of communication which the deaf-blind can use is text messaging, in conjunction with adaptive equipment that they own and use; and

WHEREAS, Access Link blows the horn and makes an announcement to alert riders that the vehicle has arrived, and uses the telephone to tell riders that the driver is running late, yet does not utilize text messaging for these purposes, claiming that it does not have the capability or authority to do so; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey Transit uses text messaging on a regular basis to communicate with its non-disabled riders to inform them of such things as traffic delays, thus utterly disproving the claims made by Access Link; and

WHEREAS, Access Link’s refusal to incorporate text messaging as a method to communicate with its deaf-blind riders leaves those riders unaware that their vehicle has arrived or is delayed; and

WHEREAS, not knowing that a driver is waiting for them puts these riders at risk not only of missing their rides, but also of unjustly being given a “no-show”, potentially leading to suspension of Access Link service, where other Access Link users do not have these concerns; and

WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires reasonable accommodation in the use of public services; and

WHEREAS, Access Link not using a readily available technology to ensure that its deaf-blind customers can use its service as easily as riders with other disabilities is a violation of Title II of the ADA: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this eighth day of November, 2015, in the Township of Stafford, New Jersey, that this organization demand that Access Link implement text messaging to communicate with its deaf-blind riders.

Resolution 2015-04: Regarding Orientation and Mobility Instruction for Children

WHEREAS, skills in orientation and mobility (O&M) are essential for the successful transition of blind and visually impaired children to full and productive lives as adults; and

WHEREAS, local and state laws recognize the use of the long white cane as a tool for both the safety and independence of blind people, yet too many school systems do not promote the use of the white cane by blind and visually impaired students; and

WHEREAS, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Related Services section clearly defines O&M as one of the “services provided to blind or visually impaired children by qualified personnel to enable those students to attain systematic orientation to and safe movement within their environments in school, home, and community; ” and

WHEREAS, although IDEA and N.J.A.C. 6A:14, New Jersey’s Special Education law, specifically list O&M as an essential service for blind and visually impaired children, too often these children are denied O&M instruction due to an assumption that this service is not needed or due to the results of insufficient evaluations which only examine a child’s movement in familiar areas, fail to consider the effects of bright or low lighting, do not request input from parents, or do not consider a child’s future need for O&M skills due to medically diagnosed deteriorating vision; and

WHEREAS, Individualized Education Plan (IEP) teams should treat O&M instruction as a presumption for youth who have an IEP based on visual impairment, as it does with Braille, unless a proper assessment determines that O&M instruction is not necessary; and

WHEREAS, two states, Maryland and Texas, have incorporated both a presumption for O&M services and strong evaluation requirements into state law, which will ensure that more students who need O&M instruction in those states will receive it: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey in Convention assembled this eighth day of November, 2015, in the Township of Stafford, New Jersey, that this organization call upon the New Jersey legislature to enact legislation to create an O&M presumption similar to the Braille presumption in IDEA, that explicitly states that each blind and visually impaired child will receive orientation and mobility instruction unless a proper evaluation demonstrates that such instruction is not appropriate for the child.