[Missouri-l] [leadership] ALERT: Video Description Grant Funding Pulled at Dept. of Ed
peter altschul
paltschul at centurytel.net
Tue Apr 21 18:01:10 CDT 2009
---- Original Message ------
From: "Eric Bridges" <ebridges at acb.org
Subject: [leadership] ALERT: Video Description Grant Funding
Pulled at Dept. of Ed
Date sent: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:01:24 -0400
The American Council of the Blind has recently become aware of a
very
disturbing development at the Department of Education. We need
your
assistance in righting this wrong! We have worked on a letter
that appears
beneath this message with our colleagues in the Coalition of
Organizations
for Accessible Technology (COAT) in an attempt to not only make
members of
Congress and the Obama administration aware of the current
situation but
also to explain the critical need for the funding for video
description to
be restored. Please send letters to the individuals beneath this
message as
soon as possible. It would be helpful if you could send me
electronic copies
of your transmissions so we in the national office can keep track
of the
traffic. Please be aware that the national office is already
taking action
on this issue. We have been told that in order for the funding
to be
restored that there needs to be an out-poring of letters from the
affected
population. It would be quite helpful if you attempt in some way
to
personalize this letter by giving an example of how description
has helped
you in your TV viewing experience. Please feel free to give me a
call with
any questions or concerns you might have.
Eric
Date: April 23, 2009
To: Representative George Miller, Chair
House Committee on Education and Labor
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-3725
Fax: 202-226-5398
Senator Tom Harkin, Chair, Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,
Health and
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Personal Office: 731 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-3254 Phone
(202) 224-9369 Fax
Senate Appropriations Committee
The Capitol, S-128
Washington, D.C.20510
Phone: 202-224-7363
Secretary Arne Duncan, U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202
Phone: 1-800-872-5327
Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for
Disability
Policy
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
Email: kareem_a.dale at who.eop.gov
Re: Cancellation of Television Access Grants by the U.S.
Department of
Education
(CFDA 84.327C – OSERS/OSEP)
The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT)
is a
coalition of over 230 national, regional, state, and
community-based
disability-related organizations. We advocate for legislative
and
regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with
disabilities to the wide range of evolving communications
technologies.
It was recently brought to our attention that the U.S.
Department of
Education’s Television Access grant program (CFDA 84.327C –
OSERS/OSEP) will
not be offered. This is the second year in a row that these
three-year
grant awards will not be offered. These grants are authorized
under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. §
1474(c), and
are the primary source of funding for broadcast television video
description
of educational media for children who are blind or who have low
vision.
There is a great deal at stake here: children who are blind or
who have low
vision will no longer have the same access to televised
educational media
that their sighted peers enjoy on a daily basis.
For television, video description provides access to on-screen
visual
elements through verbal descriptions that are provided during
natural pauses
in dialogue.[1] On analog televisions, video description has
been passed
through to viewers via a secondary audio channel; video
description easily
can be provided to viewers via digital television as well Video
description provides access to more than 21 million Americans
with
“significant vision loss.”[2] On July 21, 2000, the Federal
Communications
Commission (FCC) adopted rules to make television more accessible
to people
with visual disabilities by mandating that a certain amount of
programming
contain video description. However, in November 2002, a Federal
court
struck down those rules. As a consequence, unlike closed
captioning, there
are no federal requirements for the provision of video
description.
Currently, only a limited number of television programs
voluntarily provide
video description for individuals who are blind or have low
vision.
For many years, the Department of Education’s Television Access
grant
program has provided limited funding to support and provide video
description for televised educational video programming. It was
with dismay
that we learned that no funding was provided for the Television
Access grant
program for FY 2008. It is now with alarm that we have learned
that no
funding is being provided for the Television Access grant program
for FY
2009. The Department of Education has taken this action without
any input
from the community that relies on these services, and for reasons
not
explained to the stakeholders. COAT and its member
organizations, such as
the American Council of the Blind and American Foundation for the
Blind,
whose members and constituents are directly affected by this
action, are
deeply concerned about this disturbing development.
COAT is actively working to achieve a legislative mandate for
video
description of televised programming. However, the wheels of
legislative
change turn slowly and, even if a mandate is passed, its
implementation may
still take years. For this reason, it is imperative that the
Department of
Education continue funding through its Television Access grant
program. To
cease funding at this time, when there is no mandate to provide
access to
any television programming for people who are blind, would result
in a
significant reduction in accessible educational television for
children who
are blind or visually impaired. COAT is gravely concerned that
these
children will not have access to televised educational media
because of the
elimination of this grant award program.
We seek your support and urge the reinstatement of this grant
offering for
the current fiscal year in time for its use during the 2009-10
television
programming season. In preparation for the Television Access
grant
competition, video description producers have secured commitments
from
educational media producers for description of hundreds of hours
of new
educational programming.
COAT representatives are available to meet with you to discuss
this critical
situation. We welcome your prompt response and assistance toward
this goal
and stand ready to support you in any way. Time is of the
essence!
Sincerely,
Eric Bridges
Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
American Council of the Blind (ACB)
Mark Richert
Director of Public Policy
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
Karen Peltz Strauss
Legal Consultant
Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD)
Rosaline Hayes Crawford
Director, Law and Advocacy Center
National Association of the Deaf (NAD)
Jenifer Simpson
Senior Director, Telecommunications and Technology Policy
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
On behalf of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible
Technology
c/o AAPD, 1629 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006
www.COATaccess.org <http://www.coataccess.org/> / 202-457-0046
Ext. 31 /
info at coataccess.org
Eric Bridges
Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
American Council of the Blind
2200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 650
Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: (202) 467-5081
Fax: (703) 465-5085
_____
[1] For more information about video description, visit
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/video-description.html.
[2] This includes individuals who have trouble seeing (even when
wearing
glasses or contact lenses) and individuals who are blind.
National Center
for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2006
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