This legislation has been endorsed by the Lackawanna Blind Association, Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children, Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children Alabama Association of the Deaf, Alaska State School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Alliance of and for Visually Impaired Texans, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of the Deaf-Blind (AADB), American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, American Society for Deaf Children, Arkansas Empowering Families with DeafBlindness, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Beginnings SC, California School for the Deaf, Riverside Center on Deafness Inland Empire, Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization, CHARGE Syndrome Foundation, Children’s Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf, Cleary School for the Deaf, Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, Communication Service for the Deaf, Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, Council for Exceptional Children – Division on Visual Impairments and Deafblindness, Council for Exceptional Children – Division for Communication, Language, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Council of Schools and Services for the Blind, Deaf Community Services of San Diego, Deaf Focus, DeafBlind Camp of Texas, DeafBlind Citizens in Action, Deafblind Services Minnesota, Flagler College, Florida & Virgin Islands Deaf-Blind Collaborative, Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, Gallaudet University Alumni Association, GLAD, Inc., Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders, Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc., Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind, Illinois Advocates for the DeafBlind, Indiana School for the Deaf, Iowa Association of the Deaf, Iowa School for the Deaf, Jayne’s Interpreting LLC, Kansas School for the Deaf, Kentucky School for the Deaf, Lafayette Athletic Association of the Deaf, Lexington School & Center for the Deaf, Lighthouse Louisiana, Louisiana Association of the Deaf, Maryland School for the Deaf, Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Minnesota State Academies for the Deaf and the Blind, Missouri Deaf-Blind Technical Assistance Project, Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind, National Association of the Deaf, National Braille Press, National Coalition on Deafblindness, National DeafBlind Intervener Initiative, National Family Association for Deaf-Blind (NFADB), National Intervener Association, New Mexico School for the Deaf, Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, New York Institute for Special Education, Noah’s Endeavor, Inc.: Inclusive Community Recreation, North Dakota School for the Deaf, North Dakota Vision Services/School for the Blind, Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Persons, Oklahoma School for the Deaf, Orange County Deaf Equal Access Foundation, Overbrook School for the Blind, Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (Penn-Del AER), Pennsylvania Partnership for the Deafblind, Perkins School for the Blind, Pinellas Public Library Cooperative – Deaf Literacy Center, Rhode Island School for the Deaf, Rochester School for the Deaf, Salish Sea Deaf School, , South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, South Dakota School for the Deaf, South Dakota Association of the Deaf, St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf in Brooklyn, St. Rita School for the Deaf, Statewide Programs for the Deaf, HH, Deaf-Blind; Delaware School for the Deaf, Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TDI), Texas Association of the Deaf, Texas Chargers, The Learning Center for the Deaf, The Programs of Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, The Radical Middle Project, Transformative Deaf Education, Tri-County GLAD, Two Spirits, Usher Syndrome Coalition, Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, VisionServe Alliance, and the Willie Ross School for the Deaf.
“The ultimate purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was and is to promote equitable access to education everywhere for children with disabilities, and this bill will address some much needed updates and gaps especially when it comes to addressing the current challenges in achieving age-appropriate language milestones among deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled and deafblind children, including increased accountability for educational placements and data collection,” said Jeff Bravin, CEO of American School for the Deaf and President of CEASD.
“As the oldest educational administrator organization in the United States, the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD) is committed to ensuring equity in education, language and culture in all deaf, hard of hearing, deafdisabled, and deafblind students, and this latest version of the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act will be vital in achieving that,” said Luanne Barron, EdD, Superintendent of the Kansas School for the Deaf.
“The Cogswell-Macy Act has always been intended to revolutionize special education in this country for kids with sensory disabilities. It’s long past time for America’s special education law to be modernized to meet the needs of our kids, and the significant refresh of the Cogswell-Macy Act being introduced today makes the bill even more relevant and responsive both to the chronic challenges and the changing times,” said Mark Richert, Esq., President-Elect of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
“Helen Keller, the most well-known individual with deafblindness, benefited from the services of Anne Sullivan who gave Helen access to information about people and things in her environment. That was critical to Helen’s ability to learn, communicate, and function in the world. Today, students who are deafblind can receive similar services from individuals with training and specialized skills in deafblindness called interveners. The language in Title III of Cogswell-Macy designates intervener services as a related service under IDEA. Recognizing interveners as related service providers will facilitate national awareness of the critical need for intervener services, support systems change at state and local levels, and result in significant and life-changing benefits for children and youth who are deafblind and their families,” said Linda Alsop, Co-Director of The National Intervener & Advocate Association.
“NFADB exists to empower the voices of families with individuals who are DeafBlind. Our families know that we do not have a law to protect our children. Families are at the mercy of their school districts because there is no law that says our children are entitled to qualified personnel trained to teach our children. IDEA currently requires Teachers of Deaf / Hard of Hearing or Teachers of Blind/Visually Impaired but does not require a Teacher of DeafBlind. We need both Teachers of DeafBlind and Interveners. Interveners will provide access to the information provided by the teacher. The Cogswell-Macy Act will meet this need!” said Jacqueline Izaguirre, Board Member of The National Family Association for Deaf-Blind.
This month, Senator Markey introduced a resolution to commemorate the impact of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 on the lives of people with disabilities and call for further action from the federal government, in cooperation with states and cities, to expand access, opportunity, and equity for people with disabilities. In July, he and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (CA-16) announced the reintroduction of the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility (CVTA) Act, legislation that would update and strengthen existing accessibility regulations to ensure equal access to mainstream communication for people with disabilities. In June, Senator Markey and Representative Eshoo applauded the FCC’s unanimous vote to strengthen accessibility standards across video conferencing platforms. In May, Senator Markey and Representative Eshoo called upon the FCC to adopt proposals that would, for the first time, ensure video conferencing platforms comply with accessibility requirements for people with disabilities. In March, during Disability Awareness Month, Senator Markey and Representative Katie Porter (CA-47) introduced the Disability and Age in Jury Service Nondiscrimination Act to prohibit excluding a person from jury service based on these identities and ensure disabled jurors, who can perform their duties with reasonable accommodations, would not be disqualified from service. In February, Senator Markey demanded then-CEO Elon Musk to reinstate Twitter’ Accessibility Team and support the development and implementation of critical online features, so users with disabilities can fully access and utilize the social media platform.
