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 Each proposed resolution is read, spoken for by the authoring member, considered, and then ultimately withdrawn or recommended for passage or disapproval by the Convention.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

Contents

• Resolution 2026-01: Regarding the Immediate Protection of Specialized Blindness Services Staff at the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Resolution 2026-01: Regarding the Immediate Protection of Specialized Blindness Services Staff at the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey (NFB of NJ), through its duly elected Board of Directors, speaks with authority on behalf of blind people throughout the State of New Jersey, including all chapters, divisions, members, and the broader blind community we represent; and

WHEREAS, the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI), within the Department of Human Services, is legally and morally obligated to provide essential education, rehabilitation, and independent living services to blind children and adults; and

WHEREAS, Teachers of Blind Students (TBS) and Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Instructors are highly trained, credentialed professionals whose work is indispensable to Braille literacy, safe independent travel, employment readiness, and full participation in society; and

WHEREAS, CBVI is already operating under a severe and well-documented shortage of qualified TBS and O&M professionals, resulting in unacceptable delays and unmet needs across the state; and

WHEREAS, the NFB of NJ Board of Directors is deeply disturbed and profoundly disappointed by reports that the Governor-elect’s transition team has demanded the mass resignation of Department of Human Services personnel, including specialized CBVI staff who are not political appointees and whose positions are mission-critical; and

WHEREAS, forcing or accepting the resignation of these professionals would recklessly destabilize blindness services, immediately harm blind students and adults, and place New Jersey in jeopardy of failing its legal obligations under state and federal law; and

WHEREAS, blind New Jerseyans cannot and will not accept being treated as collateral damage during a political transition, particularly when the consequences include loss of independence, educational neglect, and exclusion from the workforce; and

WHEREAS, blindness is not the characteristic that limits opportunity, but rather the removal of competent services and the imposition of low expectations: NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey, speaking on behalf of all blind New Jerseyans, on this fourteenth day of January, 2026, that we unequivocally condemn any action that results in the resignation, displacement, or loss of Teachers of Blind Students, Orientation and Mobility Instructors, or other specialized CBVI personnel; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NFB of NJ demands the immediate and explicit exemption of all CBVI specialized staff from any requested or implied resignations within the Department of Human Services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NFB of NJ expresses its strong disappointment that such a harmful proposal was advanced without consultation with the organized blind community or consideration of its devastating consequences; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NFB of NJ demands a clear, public commitment from the Governor-elect to protect the continuity, integrity, and staffing of blindness services in New Jersey; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NFB of NJ insists that no restructuring, transition action, or administrative directive affecting CBVI occur without meaningful engagement with the blind community and its representative organizations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Governor-elect, Department of Human Services leadership, members of the New Jersey Legislature, and all relevant officials.