HLAA Public Policy and Advocacy

Predatory Pursuit of Students by For-Profit Colleges

2011-12-16T17:05:00.002-05:00

HLAA as well as other disability and consumer advocacy organizations were welcomed to a meeting the Senate HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) focusing on issues related to predatory recruiting of students by for-profit colleges. At that meeting, participants discussed the newly released report by the US Government Accounting Office (GAO) detailing questionable academic practices, as well as poor results for these colleges. “Once again a report reveals that too many students at for-profit colleges end up without a diploma and saddled with debt,” said Senator Tom Harkin.

76% of for-profit colleges are owned by Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs. Once these firms take over the schools, often academic considerations became secondary to profits. Even though over 86% of revenues comes from federal tax payer dollars in the form of student loans and grants, these colleges spend the majority of their revenues (approximately 60%) on marketing and profits, not academics. For example, Bridgepoint Education, a publically traded for-profit company spent 29.7% of its income on marketing, 30.3% on profits. Other for profits spent between 18%-22% of their funds on marketing. CEO Andrew Clark of Bridgepoint Education, Inc’s compensation in 2009 was $20.5 million.

The HELP Committee got involved because many of these students found that after taking the coursework, they couldn’t get the jobs they were looking for. Many ended up not finding jobs at all. Others found jobs but at a lower salary than people who attended state or community colleges. And all were saddled with debt. Without a job, these students find it difficult to pay back their loans. The rate of defaults on government loans has increased steadily since 2005.

The HELP Committee is also concerned because they are seeing more and more veterans targeted by these companies. The New York Times September 21, 2011 reports that returning veterans eager to earn post-secondary degrees have been exploited by unscrupulous for-profit companies. PBS’ Frontline reported that some recruiters signed up Marines with serious brain injuries who could not remember what courses they were taking. “Vast sums are involved. Between 2006 and 2010, the money received in military benefits but just 20 for-profit companies soared to $521.2 million from $66.6 million.” (NYTimes, For Profit Colleges, Vulnerable G.I.’s,” September 21, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/opinion/for-profit-colleges-vulnerable-gis.html?ref=forprofitschools )

Why was HLAA invited to a meeting about predatory practices by for-profit companies?

The HELP Committee has been gathering information about for-profit companies aggressive recruiting of students for over a year. They are now reaching out to a variety of communities of people who may have been targeted by these companies.

We know that people with disabilities in general, including people with hearing loss, are often underemployed or unemployed in the best of times. In a sagging economy, we are often “last hired, first fired.” People who are out of work often turn to schools to get the education and training they need to get back to work. It wouldn’t come as a great surprise if people with disabilities were among those targeted by these for-profit companies.

HLAA is seeking input from students, or people who know students, who have been targeted by these companies. If you have information on this topic, contact us. People who want to do better by going back to school should have all the information they need to get the best education possible.

Join the Captioned Conference Call with FEMA & FCC Today

2011-11-07T11:45:00.004-05:00

EAS Test: Don’t Stress; It’s Only a Test

HLAA has been working with FEMA and the FCC regarding an important test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). We have posted an FCC announcement on our home page regarding this test to alert people that the test may not be accessible. If you are watching this 30 second test on broadcast television or satellite or a service provided by your phone company, you should be able to see and hear during the test that it is not an actual emergency. However, if you are watching via cable television, you or may not get a visual message along with an announcement that it’s a test. People watching need to be aware that it is only a test, that there is no need for concern.

We applaud FEMA and the FCC for working hard to get a test out soon so they can determine where the problems are with the system. We know they are working on the issue of visual access. Other problems may arise as well. The more that FEMA and the FCC can learn about the flaws of the system, the more able they will be to make any future alerts fully accessible to all people with hearing loss and solve any problems to ensure that when an emergency does happen, all of us will get the information we need.

HLAA has just learned that a conference call, with captions, has been set up to advise the community about this test. If you are interested in learning more, plan to join the call this afternoon at 4:30 pm ET with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. Below is the message HLAA received from FEMA:

DISABILITY COMMUNITY CALL - FIRST NATIONWIDE TEST OF THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

Teleconference Call to Take Place November 7th at 4:30 pm ET

Test to Take Place November 9, 2011 at 2 p.m. ET

Dear Colleagues;

Many of you have told us you have passed along the information we sent out last week about the upcoming nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System. We thank you for your help. Please remind the communities you serve about this nationwide test, being held Tuesday, November 9th at 2pm ET. Here are more tools and information about the test, all on one page: http://www.fema.gov/eastest

We're also happy to announce that FEMA's Administrator Craig Fugate and Damon Penn, Assistant Administrator, National Continuity Programs Directorate as well as leadership from the FCC will participate in teleconference call with the disability community on Monday, November 7th at 4:30 pm Eastern. We invite you to participate in this call, find out more about the test, and why the test is an important step towards building a modern, accessible alert and warning system.

To participate in the call:

(800) 320-4330, Participant Code is 247177

To access captioning for this call, click this link: http://fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx

Event ID=1855918
CustomerID=321

Thank you!
---------
REMINDER:

FEMA wants everyone to know about the upcoming Emergency Alert System (EAS) test and how it may impact them. Please share this message with your communities and through your social networks.

• FEMA’s Emergency Alert System website: http://www.fema.gov/eastest

• FEMA Administrator’s Message – In English http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/6407

• FEMA Administrator’s Message – In Spanish http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/6408

As part of our larger efforts to strengthen our nation’s preparedness and resiliency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will conduct the first nation-wide test of the Emergency Alert System on November 9th, at 2 p.m. ET. The test will occur simultaneously across the United States and the U.S. territories and will last approximately 30 seconds, after which regular programming will resume. The test will appear on all broadcast radio and television stations, cable television systems, satellite radio and television systems, and wireline video service systems. The test will not involve landline or mobile phones or other infrastructure such as power grids.

Testing the Emergency Alert System plays a key role in evaluating and improving the systems we need in place to ensure our nation is prepared for all hazards and that people within its borders are able to receive critical and vital information through the system, should it ever be needed. It’s important to keep in mind that this is not a pass or fail test of the Emergency Alert System, but an opportunity to improve the system on a national level. Below we have provided a template for both a press release and/or a newsletter that you can use in your organizations to help inform your stakeholders, partners and continuances.

The national Emergency Alert System is an alert and warning system established to enable the President of the United States, if needed, to address the American public during emergencies. It is another critical communications tool that can protect the public and strengthen our nation’s resiliency. The National Weather Service, governors, and state and local authorities also use parts of the system to issue more localized emergency alerts. The test is an important exercise in ensuring that the system is effective in communicating critical information to the public in the event of a real national emergency.

This national test will help federal partners and EAS participants determine the reliability of the system, as well as its effectiveness in notifying the public of emergencies and potential disasters both nationally and regionally. The test will also provide the FCC and FEMA a chance to identify improvements that are needed to build a new, modernized, and fully accessible Emergency Alert System.

To help inform, and support the distribution of this information, FEMA has developed a toolkit of useful information which consists of the following examples and video links with additional information about the test.

If you have questions, please contact us at FEMA-Disibility-Integration-Coordination@dhs.gov.

HLAA attends FCC EAAC meeting

2011-10-11T18:19:00.002-04:00

September 9, HLAA attended the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) meeting. The Twenty First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) required the FCC to establish the EAAC to prepare recommendations on ways to ensure that people with disabilities have access to Next Generation 911 emergency services.

Currently, the only people in America who can successfully send a text message to 9-1-1 answering centers, called PSAPs – Public Safety Answering Points, live in Sacramento, California, and Black Hawk County, Iowa. Efforts are underway to upgrade the 9-1-1 system across the country so that anyone can reach 9-1-1 via voice, text, email, or video, but it will take some time before that system is in place. The new system is referred to as Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1).

At the EAAC meeting, Jim Nixon for ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions) reported that Industry groups are actively working on solutions to the problem of access to 9-1-1 for people who rely on text or emails to communicate. ATIS is seeking a solution that would be available by June of 2012, that would have minimal impact on PSAPs as well as consumers, that would be easy to use, not proprietary, would give the PSAP the ability to record and log calls, and would be able to communicate in a secure and private way.

There was also a report from Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden from the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Telecommunications Access (RERC-TA) making a case for text messaging to PSAPs that more closely mirrored voice communication by providing a letter by letter transmission that allows the operator to see and possibly respond to the message as its being typed. The RERC-TA also suggested establishing a central text messaging center for 9-1-1 calls, rather than depending on each and every PSAP to upgrade their local system to accept text messaging.

The next EAAC meeting is coming up soon: Friday, October 14, 2011 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the FCC Headquarters, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554, in the Commission meeting room. The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast live at http://www.fcc.gov/live.

For more info, visit:
http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/emergency-access-advisory-committee-eaac

Next Generation 9-1-1

2011-08-19T14:19:00.002-04:00

August 10, 2011

FCC Chairman Genachowski Announces Five-Step Action Plan to Improve the Deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1

Washington, D.C. At the 2011 Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) conference in Philadelphia, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski today announced his five-step action plan to chart the transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) services. Working with the public safety community, carriers, manufacturers and other service providers, Chairman Genachowski's goal is to ensure that effective emergency response is a critical element of the broadband environment.

Under the Chairman's five-step action plan, the FCC will:

(1) develop automatic location accuracy mechanisms for NG-911,

(2) facilitate the completion and implementation of NG911 technical standards for the hardware and software that carriers and public safety answering points (PSAPs) use to communicate NG911 information,

(3) work with state 911 authorities, other Federal agencies, and other governing entities to provide technical expertise and develop a coordinated approach to NG911 governance,

(4) develop an NG911 Funding Model focused on the cost-effectiveness of the NG911 network infrastructure linking PSAPs and carriers and

(5) enable consumers to send text, photos, and videos to PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points).

Next month, the FCC is expected to launch a rulemaking to consider how to accelerate NG911 adoption to help answer practical, technical questions about how to enable text, photo, and video transmission to 911, including how to ensure adequate broadband infrastructure to deliver the bandwidth PSAPs will need to provide NG911. As part of the proceeding, the FCC will examine interim solutions for ensuring that carriers and service providers support transmission of text-to-911.

Chairman Genachowski said, "It's hard to imagine that airlines can send text messages if your flight is delayed, but you can't send a text message to 9-1-1 in an emergency. The unfortunate truth is that the capability of our emergency response communications has not kept pace with commercial innovation has not kept pace with what ordinary people now do every day with communications devices. The shift to NG911 can't be about if, but about when and how."

NG911 supports seamless, end-to-end IP-based communication of emergency-related voice, text, data, photos, and video between the public and public safety answering points. NG911 systems will continue to support the legacy 911 system on a transitional basis for as long as is necessary.

The announcement builds on Chairman Genachowski's strong public safety agenda, including launching of Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN), strengthening the FCC's existing enhanced E-911 location accuracy rules, laying the groundwork for a nationwide, interoperable public safety network and granting waivers to build out the public safety network.

-FCC-

FCC’s announcement
http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0810/DOC-309005A1.pdf

US Access Board Holds Forum on IT Access

2011-08-19T14:13:00.002-04:00

Virtual Forum on Improving Access to Federal IT to be Held September 8, 2011

The U.S. Access Board and the Chief Information Officers Council will conduct an online listening session, with a dial-in option, on ways to improve access to information technology in the federal sector for people with disabilities on September 8 from 2:00 to 5:00 (E). This forum will provide an opportunity for members of the public to suggest steps the federal government can take to improve its acquisition and implementation of accessible technology under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Information is also sought on emerging technologies that may pose barriers to access. People with disabilities, advocates, technology companies, government employees and other interested parties are invited to participate.

Participants can attend by logging onto the webinar, which will be captioned, or by calling in according to the instructions (http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/session-instructions.htm) posted on the Board’s website. Advance registration is not required.

This session is the last in a series held over the past year as part of an administration initiative to improve the access to government information. Under this effort, the Board and the CIO Council, along with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council and the General Services Administration, have organized these listening sessions to engage with citizens, federal employees, and other stakeholders and to collect their comments, ideas, and recommendations. Previous sessions took place in Chicago (September), Washington, D.C. (December), San Diego (March), and Silicon Valley (June).

A published notice provides additional details and background information on the session. For further information, contact Tim Creagan of the Access Board at creagan@access-board.gov, (202) 272-0016 (v), or (202) 272-0074 (TTY).

HLAA Joins FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee

2011-08-09T10:13:00.002-04:00

Once again this year, HLAA has accepted the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) invitation to be a voting member of the Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC). The mission of the CAC is to make recommendations to the FCC regarding consumer issues and facilitation the participation of consumers, including people with disabilities and underserved populations in proceedings before the FCC.

Topics to be addressed by the Committee will include:

1. Consumer protection and education (e.g., cramming, slamming, consumer friendly billing, detariffing, bundling of services, Lifeline/Linkup programs, customer service, privacy, telemarketing abuses, and outreach to underserved populations such as Native Americans and persons living in rural areas.

2. Access by people with disabilities (e.g., telecommunications relay services, hearing aid compatibility, video description, closed captioning, accessible billing and access to telecommunications products and services) to the extent that these issues are not within the jurisdiction of the Emergency Access Advisory Committee and Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee created by the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.

3. Impact upon consumers of new and emerging technologies (e.g., availability of broadband, digital television, cable, satellite, low power FM, and the convergence of these and emerging technologies).

Other members of the CAC include:
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Action Network
• American Foundation for the Blind
• Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults
• Consumer Electronics Association
• CTIA The Wireless Association
• National Association of Broadcasters

For a full listing of CAC members, see the FCC’s meeting notice: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/consumer-advisory-committee

The newly chartered CAC’s first meeting will be held August 17 from 9 am to 4 pm. CAC meetings are open to the public and are webcast with captions at http://www.fcc.gov/live

Closed Captioning in Movie Theaters

2011-07-26T12:32:00.006-04:00

According to a recent posting on Hearing Loss Law/Washington State Communication Access Project (Wash-CAP):

“Washington's Law against Discrimination requires movie theaters to install equipment to show closed captions, according to a ruling issued [July 22, 2011] by a King County Superior Court judge. AMC, America's second-largest theater chain, will therefore be required to install captioning equipment once it converts its theaters to digital projection.”

John Waldo of Wash-CAP notes that Regal Cinema and Cinemark Holdings had earlier agreed to fully equip all their theaters, and have done so. After this ruling, it’s anticipated that AMC will follow suit. Thanks to Wash-CAP for their update on movie captioning: http://www.hearinglosslaw.com/2011/07/articles/washcap-1/public-facilities/washington-theaters-must-show-captioned-movies-judge-rules/index.html

We look forward to hearing from residents and visitors to Washington State who take advantage of the closed captioned showings in Regal, Cinemark and now AMC theaters.

In related news, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced plans to release their notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on movie captioning in October, 2011. That rulemaking will help those of us who do not live in Washington State see more closed captioned movies in theaters.

About a year ago, July, 2010, DOJ issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) on four issues, including movie captioning. http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010.htm In the movie captioning ANPRM, DOJ proposed capping theater owners’ responsibility to provide captioning to 50%, which would only go into effect 5 years after a final rule is issued. We disagreed. HLAA sent our comments to DOJ, noting that 50% was not enough, and 5 years after the final rule was published was not soon enough. In response to an HLAA action alert, many others also sent comments: DOJ received over 1400 comments on the issue.
To see our comments:
http://www.hearingloss.org/advocacy/pdfs/HLAA_Comments_DOJ_ANPRM_MovieCaps.pdf

The step after an “Advanced Notice” is a “Notice of Proposed Rule Making” at which point DOJ will again take comments from the public before the rules are final. Lainey Feingold notes in her news item “DOJ Delays Web Accessibility Regs” http://lflegal.com/2011/07/web-delay that the expected dates for the Notices of Proposed rulemaking were reported in DOJ’s Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda for Spring, 2011. These dates are not hard and fast, but do give us an idea about DOJ's the schedule for release of the NPRM:

• The DOJ’s proposal about next generation 9-1-1 services has a date of September 2011 for publication of an NPRM.
• The DOJ Equipment and Furniture ANPRM addresses a wide range of issues including the accessibility of kiosks, golf carts and medical equipment. There is now a December 2011 date for publication of the NPRM on furniture and equipment. There will then be another public comment period after that, with no prediction when a final rule will be published. ]
• Web accessibility NPRM will not be out until December, 2012.

Thanks to Ms. Feingold for her report on the scheduled release of DOJ’s NPRM.

FCC Advisory Committees Release Reports

2011-07-26T12:25:00.002-04:00

Closed Captioning on the Internet & Emergency Access Addressed

Two Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Advisory Committees for the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) released reports as scheduled in July, 2011.

Both committees were established in December 2010 by Chairman Julius Genachowski in response to provisions in the CVAA. This landmark legislation is designed to ensure that people with disabilities have access to Twenty-first century communications and video programming technologies and is the most far-reaching legislation addressing the needs of people with disabilities since the Americans with Disabilities Act. Each of the advisory committees, established to aid the FCC in implementing the Act's accessibility provisions, is comprised of representatives from a wide range of companies and consumer organizations with knowledge and expertise with respect to these matters.

According to the FCC’s news release, "Both the VPAAC (Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee) and EAAC (Emergency Access Advisory Committee) are to be commended for the extensive time, energy, and resources they have put into their reports. The Commission greatly appreciates all that each committee has achieved and looks forward to their continued efforts to provide the Commission with valuable information on these issues," said Chairman Julius Genachowski.

VPAAC Report
After weeks of intense work by committee members, the Video Programming Accessibility Advisory Committee (VPAAC) Report was released July 13, 2011. The committee reached consensus on most items, showing considerable cooperation among participants.

HLAA is a member of VPAAC. Other members include the National Association of the Deaf, Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc, Center for Hearing & Communications, World Wide Web Consortium, National Center for Accessible Media, Vitac, Caption Colorado, Consumer Electronics Association, Google, Microsoft, Sony and Disney/ABC Cable Networks. A full list of the members can be found on http://vpaac.wikispaces.com

The Committee emphasizes that the consumer experience when viewing captions over the Internet must be equal if not better than when the programming was originally aired on television. The report includes recommended requirements for rendering of captions, including colors of background, characters, opacity, font size and styles. It also includes technical requirements for the captions. The report encourages continued and open innovation in the field of accessibility and recommended the use of advanced features and user controls.

The VPAAC report recommends that a schedule for requiring captioning on the Internet distribution to end users, in cases where the content has aired on television:
• Effective 6 months after the FCC publishes rules: prerecorded programming that has not been edited;
• Effective 12 months after the FCC publishes rules: live and near-live programming;
• Effective 18 months after the FCC publishes rules: all prerecorded programming that has been substantially edited for Internet distribution.

There were a few issues where consensus could not be reached, including some issues related to consumer control of captions on internet-based devices and how quickly those consumer controls should be rolled out.

The report is now in the hands of the FCC. This report should serve as a basis for the FCC to draft a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). When the NPRM is released, the public will have an opportunity to weigh in. To read the report visit:

http://vpaac.wikispaces.com/file/view/First+VPAAC+Report+to+the+FCC_7-11-11_FINAL.pdf

EAAC Report
Another report was released July 22, 2011 from the FCC’s Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC). That report addresses the accessibility of Next Generation 9-1-1 for people with disabilities. Their report contains a review and analysis of a survey conducted by the FCC on the kinds of equipment and services used for reaching 9-1-1 by people with disabilities.

The survey revealed that many different types of assistive technology re sued by survey respondents, including:
• Assistive listening devices (PockeTalkers, neckloops, silhouettes)
• Augmentative alternative communication devices
• Braille devices
• Screen readers
• Hearing aids and cochlear implants
• Relay services (including hearing carry over and Speech-To-Speech Relay)
• Devices for speech-to-text

In accordance with the CVAA, the EAAC will now use the results of the survey to develop and submit to the FCC recommendations to ensure equal access to the technologies used to access NG 9-1-1 services.

To see the EAAC Report:
http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/EAAC/EAAC-REPORT.pdf

To see the FCC’s news release:
http://www.fcc.gov/document/closed-captioning-and-emergency-calling-reports-released

Submit Questions for White House Virtual Town Hall Meeting

2011-07-11T15:46:00.004-04:00

On Thursday, July 14th from 1:00 - 2:00 PM Eastern, Disability.gov will air a live "Virtual" Town Hall meeting to introduce the White House's top advisors on disability policy.

Do you have a question for President Obama's top disability policy advisors? Disability.gov is offering the chance to have it answered!

Participants during the virtual town hall who will be able to answer your questions include Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy and Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement; Jeffrey Crowley, M.P.H., Senior Advisor on Disability Policy and Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy at the White House; and Rebecca Cokley, Director of Priority Placement for Public Engagement, White House Presidential Personnel Office.

If you have a question that you would like to have answered during the Town Hall meeting, complete the form by Wednesday, July 13th at 6:00 PM Eastern. Please understand that due to time constraints, not all questions that are submitted can be answered during the event.

To sign up to submit questions, visit https://www.disability.gov/WHQuestion

Pictured: Rebecca Cokley, Jeffrey Crowley, Kareem Dale

HLAA invited to ATIS Incubator on Wireless Emergency Notification

2011-07-11T15:16:00.003-04:00

When an emergency happens and you are on the move, how will you get the help you need? Do you have a mobile phone? If so, how will you use it to reach 9-1-1? Voice? VCO? Mobile Captions? TTY?

Reaching 9-1-1 is not always easy for people with hearing loss, particularly when we use mobile phones. Many people have text-only plans because they use text more than voice. If you have a text-only plan, you need to be sure you know how to reach 9-1-1. You should be able to contact 9-1-1 using voice even on text only plan – but you should check with your mobile phone carrier to be sure. And unless you live in one of the few places in the US that do respond to SMS the 9-1-1 centers, called public safety answering points (PSAPs), will not have the ability to receive and respond to text messages from your mobile phone. They do respond to voice calls and can still respond to TTY calls, but how many of us schlep a portable TTY around?

Even if you have a voice plan, will you be able to hear on the phone? It would be great if we could call 9-1-1 and get text in response and that may happen someday. Until that time, do call 9-1-1, and tell the dispatcher you cannot hear, but you will give them the essential information: the address and the city of the emergency, your phone number in case you get cut off, and the type of emergency. That information will help them find you and dispatch the right emergency responder, as long as you can voice for yourself. If you cannot voice for yourself, think about schlepping that portable TTY after all.

When Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) becomes a reality, you will have several ways to reach 9-1-1 directly: voice, text, video, images or data using your mobile phone. But it will take some time to build out the infrastructure to support that. Right now, the only two ways to reach 9-1-1 directly is via TTY or voice, despite the fact that most people are no longer using TTY’s, and many people use text, email, IM, SMS, and video regularly on their mobile phones.

So, what do we do until NG 9-1-1? That’s the question the ATIS (Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions) Incubator group on Interim Non-Voice Emergency Services (INES) is working on. ATIS is a membership organization of leading service providers, manufacturers, wireless companies, carriers, software designers, Internet Service Providers, consultants, and other companies who seek work together to solve critical telecommunications issues. July 7, they invited HLAA and other organizations representing people with hearing loss to the table to address the issue of access to 9-1-1 for non-voice users until NG 9-1-1 is available. We are pleased to see ATIS reaching out to consumer representatives for input. We look forward to seeing a workable solution available soon for people with hearing loss using mobile phones in an emergency.

HLAA Georgia Advocates Celebrate Success!

2011-07-08T12:31:00.007-04:00

In our June 24, 2011 blog, we mentioned that HLA-Georgia members Cathy Fletcher, Jeff Bonnell, and Anne Taylor took advantage of the HLAA Convention in DC to visit their congressional representatives’ offices on Capitol Hill. During those visits, our advocates spoke about why people with hearing loss need the kind of financial support toward the purchase of hearing aids that the hearing aid tax credit legislation, HR 1479, would provide. We are thrilled to report their visits produced results: Representative Hank Johnson (4th District, GA) has agreed to co-sponsor the tax credit bill. Kudos to Georgia advocates Cathy, Jeff, and Ann!

HLAA staff and members of the coalition that supports the hearing aid tax credit bill have been visiting Congress too. We have been busy educating members of Congress about the high cost of hearing aids, the impact of hearing loss on consumers, and the need to find ways to support consumers who do want to purchase hearing aids. The hearing aid tax credit is one way to ease the financial burden of hearing aid purchase. We’ll continue to provide updates on the progress of the bill during this session of Congress.

For more information on the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Legislation, visit the HLAA website at
http://www.hearingloss.org/advocacy/legislative.asp and scroll down to the section devoted to the tax credit: Hearing Aid Tax Credit Legislation Updates.

Pictured, left to right, Cathy Fletcher, Jeff Bonnell, Anne Taylor

NY City Forces Retirement of Police Officers wearing Hearing Aids

2011-06-28T08:32:00.004-04:00

In an article published June 19, 2011, (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/nyregion/ny-enforces-ban-on-police-officers-using-hearing-aids.html ) the New York Times reported the New York City police department has banned the use of hearing aids on the job. Two officers who were forced to retire because they did wear hearing aids on the job have filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), saying that the policy is discriminatory toward people with hearing loss.

It appears that the NYC police department has a kind of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward hearing aid wearers. According to the New York Times, Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, said it was “not actively looking to see if people have hearing aids.” He does admit that the department has told officers to stop wearing the hearing aids once found. According to Dan Carione, one of the two officers who were forced to retire, the department is sending a message that if you step forward and make your use of hearing aids known, “it will end your career.”

Mr. Carione and his attorneys contacted HLAA soon after he learned the department’s policy last fall. HLAA has offered continuing support and information about hearing loss and employment issues as he works toward reinstatement.

In response to the article, Brenda Battat sent the following letter to the editor of the New York Times which was published June 28, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/opinion/l28hearing.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

To the Editor:

Re “Ban on Hearing Aids is Forcing Out Veteran New York City Police Officers” (news article, June 19):

Hearing Loss is a health issue that has long been misunderstood and stigmatized in our society. Banning the use of hearing aids that help police officers to function at their best is inconceivable and perpetuates the myths and stereotypes that are still prevalent about hearing loss today.

More important, it puts both the police officer and the public at risk when those who have admitted their hearing loss, sought treatment for it, and can function well with a hearing aid are forced to hide their hearing loss for fear of losing their jobs.

For more than twenty years the Americans with Disabilities Act has provided equal opportunity in the workplace. Banning young police officers from using the excellent hearing aids available today and forcing older police officers with hearing aids to retire is discriminating. As long as they can pass the hearing test with their hearing aids in they should be allowed to use them on the job.

Brenda Battat,
Bethesda, Md, June 21, 2011

The writer is the executive director of Hearing Loss Association of America, a national membership organization of and for people with hearing loss.

A letter was also sent to the New York Times in response to the article by David Gayle:

To the Editor:

Joseph Goldstein's insightful article misses two key points. First, he suggests that it is permissible for the NYPD to have a blanket exclusion of all new applicants for police officer positions who have a hearing loss. This is a discriminatory practice. Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, as applied by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, otherwise qualified applicants for local and state police offer jobs have the right to an individual assessment including taking hearing tests with hearing aids. Second, Mr. Goldstein seems to be unaware that the State of New York has issued written policy requiring such an individual assessment, which the NYPD willingly ignores. ("Medical and Physical Fitness Standards and Procedures for Police Officer Candidates." www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us/ops/docs/registry/policeapptsmed.pdf.) This legal standard should apply equally to veteran officers such as Mr. Carione and Mr. Phillips.

David Gayle
Silver Spring, MD

Mr. Gayle is an attorney with the Hearing Loss Association of America.

HLAA Convention-Goers Go To The Hill

2011-06-24T15:00:00.007-04:00

Visiting the DC area for HLAA Convention 2011 afforded members of Hearing Loss Association of Texas an opportunity to visit Capitol Hill. Lois Johnson, Teri Wathen and Ray Wathen met with AG Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) and HIA (Hearing Industries Association) representatives for the presentation of a plaque to Representative Pete Olson (R-TX). The plaque commemorated an event held to thank Rep. Olson for his support of the hearing aid tax credit. The event, which attracted 130 Texas tax credit supporters, was held in Sugar Land, Texas, in August 2010. Rep. Olson emphasized the importance of local efforts nationwide in support of the bill, and thanked the volunteers for their dedication to a good cause. He also emphasized that he will continue to champion the bill in the House on behalf of everyone with hearing loss, especially the folks back home.

HLA-Georgia members Jeff Bonnell, Cathy Fletcher and Anne Taylor also took advantage of the HLAA Convention to visit the Hill. They were excited to visit the DC offices of their Congressional representatives Friday of the Convention. Jeff sent us an enthusiastic email after the Convention, noting the trip to DC was an “adventure” that provided “Civics 101 - a Reality!”

Pictured above from left: Lois Johnson, HLA-Texas; Representative Pete Olson; Teri Wathen, HLA-TX; Ray Wathen, HLA-TX; Susan Boswell, AG Bell; and Andy Bopp, HIA

For information you about visiting your own representatives while in DC or in their local office closer to your home, contact Lise Hamlin: advocacy@hearingloss.org

Support The Captioned Radio Project!

2011-05-18T17:22:00.003-04:00

Over the last several years, HLAA has supported the Captioned Radio Project developed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is a project whose goal is to provide a text version of radio programming broadcast over digital radio.

HLAA is sending a letter to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to urge them to provide funding for this project. http://www.hearingloss.org/advocacy/index.asp#radio

We are looking for more organizations, and chapters of national organizations, to sign onto that letter. Cheryl Heppner from the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf & Hard of Hearing People is working with us to find sign-on's to our letter.

We believe that we are very close to success. Plans were being made for a captioned radio pilot project funded by CPB, but they pulled back when Congress began to talk about cutting their funding. We'd like CPB to reconsider this decision, so we have drafted a letter to them and are looking for signatures from heads of organizations who want to see captioned radio become a reality.

If you'd like to have your organization or chapter listed as one of those signing this letter, please email LHamlin@hearingloss.org by 5 pm ET on Friday, May 20, 2011.

Provide the full name of your organization and the name of the individual who should be listed as signing on behalf of the organization.

Thank you!

Getting Access to Online Programming

2011-03-21T23:32:00.007-04:00

Recently, we’ve heard some good news about finding captioned and subtitled programs on the Internet.

WGBH Announces Captioning Collaboration with Netflix

From The Media Access Group at WGBH:

We’re proud to be able to announce that we have been--and are right this minute--working with Netflix to caption and subtitle movies and TV shows to watch instantly via their service. Here's a link to Netflix's blog posting on the topic:

This is Neil Hunt, Chief Product Officer for Netflix, with an update on subtitles on content available to watch instantly from Netflix. In the US, more than 3,500 TV episodes and movies have subtitles available, representing about 30% of viewing. (This is in addition to the subtitles already available “burned in” to the picture for all non-English content.) More subtitles are being added every week, and we expect to get to 80% viewing coverage by the end of 2011. We've added this page on the Netflix Website that lists all of the TV shows and movies that are available with subtitles. It is accessible via a link in the Netflix Website footer, via search (for “subtitle” or “caption”), or linked from the detail page of any title that has subtitles.
http://blog.netflix.com/2011/02/30-of-netflix-streaming-content-has.html

About The Media Access Group at WGBH
Media Access Group at WGBH has been pioneering and delivering accessible media to disabled adults, students, and their families, teachers, and friends for over 30 years. For more information, visit http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag

About Netflix
Netflix currently has over 20 million members in the United States and Canada. For $7.99 a month, members can watch an unlimited number of movies and TV episodes using either their computer or one of more than 200 other devices (including iPhones and iPads) capable of streaming movies via Netflix. Netflix ships some 2 million discs daily in the US.
The company has over 2,000 employees between its headquarters and distribution centers. Netflix has experienced quite a bit of growth over the last year, having increased its membership by 63 percent.

Finding captioned and subtitled programming on Netflix

The following is from a press release issued by Phlixie.com (our thanks to Nanci Link Ellis for alerting us to this resource)

When Captionfish was created, it simplified the task of finding accessible entertainment at public venues everywhere. Now we have a different kind of challenge: finding accessible titles online from different content providers and being able to sort out where and how it will work.

To provide a solution, Phlixie was created by people associated with Captionfish. http://www.Phlixie.com Phlixie allows you to find accessible titles on Netflix. Over time, Phlixie plans/hopes to expand this to include Hulu, iTunes, captioned Web Series, etc. If you'd like specifics of how: http://www.phlixie.com/about

Statistics
based on data collected by PhlixieI, Netflix now has:

- 38,456 individual instant titles (includes movies and episodes in TV series)

- 6,031 individual instant titles with captions or burned in English subtitles

- 11,158 top-level instant titles (includes movie titles and individual seasons in a TV series, e.g. Greek: Season One)

- 1,408 top-level instant titles with captions or burned in English subtitles

- 909 instant titles with captions

http://www.phlixie.com/about

And now, Zediva: a new online video service

Netflix now has a competitor. There is a new online video service that provides greater access to videos at a lower cost than Netflix. According to their web site, Zediva.com, the services they provide include captioned and subtitled films:

At this time, we have enabled 2 special DVD features - Subtitles and Languages. The Language feature will contain the Director's Commentary as well, if one is included on the DVD. Closed captioning, if available on the DVD, is also automatically supported.
Zediva has already created more demand that it can handle: a note on their home page indicates that registration is closed while they build capacity. However, people can put their name on the wait list while Zediva grows to fit the need.

With more streamed videos on Netflix captioned, easier ways to find those videos and new choices of service providers, people with hearing loss may finally get access to the videos we want to see.

Access to the Airlines – Are We There Yet?

2011-01-24T15:20:00.006-05:00

Hearing Loss Association participated in the US Department of Transportations’ (DOT) forum on the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), “Working Together to Improve Air Travel for Passengers with Disabilities” January 11, 2011. We joined members of the disability community, the domestic and foreign airline representatives, and staff from DOT, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the US Department of Justice. In short, the room was filled with people interested in access to air travel for people with disabilities taking time out of their busy schedules for the two-day forum.

HLAA had been asked by DOT to join in a panel discussion of access issues for people with different disabilities. In addition to HLAA, representatives from the Association of Blind Citizens, the Coalition of Assistance Dog Organizations, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Albert Einstein Medical Center provided information on air access issues.

It’s true that people with hearing loss have seen some improvements over the last few years. Some airlines are providing more visual display of information at the gate. In newer planes, we are beginning to see visual display showing not only seat belt use, but when to shut down your electronics. That’s great – it takes the guesswork out of figuring out when to shut off that cell phone. Not only that, we are beginning to see on some International flights seat-back access to movies with a choice of captioning for some airlines (yea, British Airways!) And of course when emergency information is provided on a video, that video is required to be captioned. So, yes, there is some improved access for people with hearing loss.

But we still have a long way to go. HLAA strongly objects to rules that require self-identification of individuals with hearing loss at every point in the process. We object to self identification not only because it puts the onus on the individual to declare their hearing loss (will that businessman who’s been hiding his hearing loss for years really self-identify?), but because it doesn’t work. I have identified myself on numerous flights and at the gates (I have yet to find anyone to self-identify to at the baggage carrousel). Not once has staff come to me to ensure I understood announcements at the gate. Not once on the flight has each and every announcement been made accessible to me. And once, when I boarded and requested that announcements be made accessible to me, a very nice and very concerned flight attendant returned with a copy of the flight emergency information – in Braille.

OK, so what do we want? HLAA's position is that all audible announcements should be accessible via text – and not just canned announcements, but live announcements - at the gate, on the aircraft, and at the baggage area. In areas that can be looped, looping should be provided. In addition, when an airline provides videos, there should be an option to caption those videos. We know it can be done. The technology is there. It’s time for the air carriers to step up to the plate.

We also believe that better and more on-point training should be provided to airline staff. We have received reports that current training does a good job of informing staff about the law, but does less well letting them know how to interact with people with different disabilities. We can see that. Air carriers need to do better to ensure that everyone gets the training they need to provide better access to people with disabilities.

At DOT’s forum, it was emphasized that consumers need to send complaints in – or things won’t change. DOT says they receive very few complaints from people with hearing loss. You and I may talk about it, but we aren’t sending our complaints to the people who need to hear about it. We must take responsibility ourselves and file those complaints. To let DOT and the airlines how they can do better, you need to let them know what happened. But you need to be very clear about your complaint.

Air travel complaints: Be specific!

Include:

Your name

Your contact information, including either email address or phone

Airline

Flight Date

Flight Itinerary (destination cities and flight number)

Description of the problem

For example:

Don’t say: Your lousy airline made my trip miserable. I’ll never fly Amanda Airlines again!

Do say: On January 11, 2011, I told Amanda Airlines personnel at the gate that I would not be able to hear any announcements. They told me they didn’t have time to worry about me and I should ask another passenger to alert me when it was time to board. I did not feel comfortable asking a stranger to help me. What I did do was stand next to the boarding area podium for 20 minutes, watching the gate personnel and the passengers to be sure I did not miss my flight. When I thought I understood it was time to board and got in line, one of the gate staff yelled at me for boarding early, humiliating me in front of the other passengers. Also, when was finally on board comfortably settled into my seat with my hearing dog tucked under the seat in front of me, a flight attendant told me I must move to the bulkhead. Now, I thought it was OK for me to sit anywhere in the airplane with my service animal, except right next to the emergency exit. When I said that to the flight attendant she insisted that I must move now or I would be escorted off the plane. Because I simply wanted to get to my destination without any further problems, I did move to the bulkhead, but it was not comfortable for me or my service dog. Please let me know what Amanda Airlines will do in response to this complaint.

Send in complaints in right away

If you put it off, you could forget the details – and so could they. Make notes on the flight, and put a letter together and send it in as soon as possible. You can contact the airline directly, or fill out the form on the DOT website: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm

You can expect to receive a reply from the Airline. The reply should respond to all your concerns, not just one, and let you know whether they agree or disagree that their staff was at fault, and direct you to the DOT if you wish to pursue it further. If you received a form letter, the airline did not do the right thing. Complain again.

DOT investigates and keeps track of complaints. All, DOT and the airline industry, take these complaints very seriously. So, our advice to you: send in your written complaints. Your complaints could help improve access to airlines.

For more information about filing complaints with the DOT, visit http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/ACAAcomplaint.htm

2010-12-22T12:21:00.015-05:00

After the Golden Globe nominations were announced, I was intrigued by one of the films nominated: “The King’s Speech.” I thought I’d treat my family to a captioned showing of a first run film during the holidays. So, I visited the website http://www.captionfish.com/ to see if a theater nearby had a captioned showing. Well, much to my dismay not only did I fail to find either an open or closed captioned showing, I found that the movie has not been captioned at all for theatrical release. So much for my holiday treat for the family.

Movie captioning has come a long way from the time we could only see open captioned movies at special screenings set up by deaf groups. Now there are regular open captioned showings in some theaters in the country. And in 333 first-run theaters in the US and Canada and 55 specialty theaters (IMAX, Disney attractions, national parks, etc.), you can see closed captioned movies using Rear Window Technology.

Several companies have been busy developing new ways to provide closed captions to moviegoers. Recently, HLAA was invited to attend an Emerging Technology Symposium where a group of deaf and hard of hearing advocates were able to try out four different captioning technologies. I found all the devices provided easy access to the captions: they were readable, usable, and didn’t take me long to forget they were even there. To learn more, visit the blog of Catherine McNally, who also attended that event: http://blog.keenguides.com/2010/11/17/theater-captioning-back-to-the-future

Still with the exception of Rear Window, these devices have yet to be deployed to movie theaters. With 6,039 theaters in the country with 39,028 indoor screens, there are a lot of movies we are missing out on.

Recently, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) determined it’s time to look again at the rules for captioning in movie theaters. DOJ has released Advanced Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) and is holding a series of public hearings on the movie access, as well as three other issues. http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010/anprm2010.htm

It was a cold and snowy day in December when HLAA testified before the DOJ in Washington DC regarding their ANPRM on movie captioning. Thomas E. Perez, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Samuel R. Bagenstos Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Mazen M. Basrawi, Counsel in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General, and John L. Wodatch, Chief of the Disability Rights Section were at the dais at the opening of the hearing. Many other DOJ staff attended the hearing as well, along with a room full of spectators. We were among the first to provide comments that day. To see HLAA’s comments, visit http://www.hearingloss.org/advocacy/regulatory.asp#moviecap

We were pleased to see other advocates provide comments as well, including TDI (Telecommunications for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing), NAD (National Association of the Deaf), AAPD (American Association of People with Disabilities), Gallaudet University, AFB (American Federation of the Blind) and approximately 40 other commenters. DOJ held a hearing early in Chicago and will hold the last hearing on January 10, 2011 in San Francisco. Visit www.ada.gov for more information about the upcoming hearing and for a transcript of hearings already held.

To provide the DOJ more input on this issue, HLAA posted an Action Alert, asking HLAA constituents to send in their comments to the DOJ on movie captioning. Many people are already busy sending in their comments to the DOJ. If you have not, and you are interested, visit our website for our sample letter and instructions on how to send your comments either via US mail or electronically. http://www.hearingloss.org/doj_moviecaptions.asp

We do see that a number of people are simply cutting and pasting our sample letter onto the comments file. We urge you to tell the DOJ your own experience in your own words instead of using our version word for word. We think it’s important for them to hear about the issue from many different perspectives.

HLAA is in the process of drafting formal comments and we plan to send those in to the DOJ before the January 24, 2011 deadline. We will post those comments to our website for you to see too.

Here's hoping the next time I want to treat my family to a movie, there will be many captioned movies showing whenever we want to see them.

Travel Tips for People with Hearing Loss from TSA

2010-12-13T17:34:00.008-05:00

During the holiday season, many of us fly to visit family and friends or take off for a vacation. Some of us will be facing the new Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) for the first time. HLAA has been asked whether it is safe to go through AIT wearing the processor for a cochlear implant. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, Transporation Security Administration (TSA): AIT will not harm a cochlear implant’s processor.

TSA’s website provides general information about the screening process as well as information for people with disabilities. According to their website, TSA, “has established a program for screening of persons with disabilities and their associated equipment, mobility aids, and devices. Our program covers all categories of disabilities (mobility, hearing, visual, and hidden).”

To learn more about their program, visit:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/index.shtm

Their tips for people for hearing loss follows:

Hearing Disabilities
Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions

• If you need to communicate with the Security Officer, inform her/him of your disability and the way in which you can communicate. TSA Security Officers are trained to provide whatever assistance they can to persons with hearing disabilities.

• If the screening process is unclear to you, motion to the Security Officer that you can't hear and ask him/her to ask the Security Officer to write the information down.

• If you can read lips or are hard of hearing, ask the Security Officer to look directly at you and repeat the information slowly.

• It is not necessary to remove hearing aids or the exterior component of a cochlear implant at security checkpoints.

• It is best if you wear your hearing device while going through the metal detector.

• According to Otolaryngologist and Otolaryngology surgeons, hearing devices such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, external component of cochlear implants, and middle ear implants are not affected by X-ray inspection or walk-through metal detector screening. In addition, these devices may also safely be screened using Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT).

• If you are concerned or uncomfortable with going through the walk-thorough metal detector, or are uneasy with having your external component of your cochlear implant X-rayed, you can ask for a full body pat-down of your person and a visual and physical inspection of the exterior component while it remains on your body.

• Assistive listening devices must undergo x-ray screening.

• If you use a hearing dog, you and the dog will remain together at all times while going through the security checkpoint. See the "Service Animal" section for more tips on service animals in the screening process.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1380.shtm

White House Hosts Disability Call

2010-11-30T09:31:00.003-05:00

From the White House:

In order to keep you more informed, we are beginning in December to host monthly calls to update you on various disability issues as well as introduce you to persons who work on disability issues in the federal government.

Our first call will be this Friday, December 3 at 11 am Eastern.

The conference call information is below.

Dial in: (800) 230-1092

Title: Disability Call (use instead of code)

Date of Call: 12/03/10

Start time: 11:00 am Eastern

For live captioning:

http://www.fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=1663465&CustomerID=321

A New Disability Law

2010-10-18T15:51:00.017-04:00

On October 8, President Barack Obama signed into law the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 and Hearing Loss Association of America was there. HLAA has been working with COAT (Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology) to move this bill forward for several years. We provided input into the language of the bill, provided help by talking to legislators and urging our members to talk to legislators when the bill was being considered by Congress, we provided information to our Chapters to encourage them to join this coalition, and action alerts when it was being voted on. We did all that because we believed from the beginning that this legislation will help people with hearing loss get better access to the Internet. We believe that for as long as we did not succeed, consumers with hearing loss would be held back, that many of the great strides being made in emerging technology would not be accessible to us.

It was a happy day when the legislation passed both Houses of Congress and reached the desk of President Obama. HLAA was thrilled to be able to be part of the White House celebration with many of our friends who also supported the bill. Over 170 people took part in the ceremony that celebrated the 21st Century Accessibility Act and Rosa’s Law, signed earlier in the week for people with intellectual disabilities. It was a good day for people with disabilities. A few of the many pictures we took that day are here on this blog. You can see the whole album at http://bit.ly/cSknUC

What does the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 do for you?

It’s great to go to the White House, but what truly important is what this Act will do for people hearing and vision loss.

There are two sections that stand out for most people with hearing loss: the section requiring telephones that are used with the Internet to be hearing aid compatible; and the section that ensures that people with disabilities will have access to commercial video programming presented on the Internet. Under the new law, once a television program is published or exhibited on television with closed captions, any subsequent distribution of that programming on the Internet must include closed captions.

There is more to the law, including requirements for video description for people with vision loss. Here is a quick summary of some of the provisions:

• Requires telephones used with the Internet to be hearing aid compatible.

• Allocates up to $10 million per year from the Interstate Relay Service Fund for equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind

• Restores FCC (Federal Communication Commission) rules requiring video description

• Requires devices designed to receive or play back video programming, using a picture screen of any size, to be capable of displaying closed captioning, delivering available video description, and making emergency information accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision, except, devices with picture screens less than 13” must meet these requirements if achievable with reasonable effort or expense.

• Requires devices designed to record video programming (such as DVRs) to enable the rendering or pass through of closed captions, video description, and emergency information, so viewers can turn the closed captions and video description on/off when played back on a screen of any size.

• Requires devices designed to receive or play back video programming to provide access to built-in closed captioning and video description features through a mechanism that is reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon designated for activating the closed captioning or accessibility features.

When does the new law take effect?
The law has different sections that take effect at different times. The law also provides for an Advisory Committee that will start up in April of 2011. A report of the Committee’s recommendations and findings on closed captioning is due October, 2011. The FCC is then directed to revise its regulations and adopt a phase-in schedule no later than six months after the Advisory Committee submits the closed captioning report. In short:

1. Advisory committee starts up 4/8/2011

2. Advisory committee report due 10/8/2011

3. Begin phase in of closed captioning for the Internet 4/8/2012

4. Equipment phase in (devices smaller than 13” to display captions, closed captioning buttons on remote control devices, video description decoding) between 4/2012 and 10/2012

It will take time for the law to be fully realized. But there is no question that in the future people with hearing loss and vision loss will have greater access to the Internet than ever before.

For more information about the Act and a more detailed summary of the sections of the Act, visit the COAT website at http://www.coataccess.org/node/9776

(Photos, from top: Joe Gordon, NYC advocate with Brenda Battat, HLAA executive director and Lise Hamlin, HLAA director of public policy arrive at the White House for the celebration of the 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act of 2010; Larry Goldberg, WGBH with Joe Gordon and a copy of the Act hot off the presses; President Barack Obama signs the 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act)

Hearing Aid Tax Credit Event A Huge Success

2010-09-20T12:18:00.022-04:00

The Hearing Loss Association of Michigan (HLA-MI) and the Michigan chapter of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Michigan AB Bell) were delighted to host an event for Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) featuring federal legislation that if passed will provide a tax credit for hearing aids.

Senator Stabenow, speaking to a packed room, emphasized the importance of enacting the Hearing Aid Tax Credit (S. 1019) to help people and families who need hearing aids.

Sen. Stabenow urged the audience to continue efforts in support of S.1019, especially to help families with children who have hearing loss and for adults with hearing loss who face a difficult job market. She noted that she is working within the Senate Finance Committee, of which she is a member, to promote passage of the bill. She added that the bill was ultimately about “whether we as a country can fully benefit from the skills, knowledge and talent of people with hearing loss.”

A chance meeting at a farmer’s market between Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and a HLA-MI volunteer paved the way to this hugely successful event. The planners, who had only three weeks to organize this event, were rewarded when on Friday evening of Labor Day weekend when 170 people gathered at the Kellogg Center on the campus of Michigan State University to attend the event. Many HLAA members were in the audience along with members from the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Members of the Deaf and DeafBlind communities and hearing health care professionals were also in attendance. Several people drove between two and three hours to be a part of this event.

The program to honor Senator Stabenow opened with several children leading the Pledge of Allegiance. As children have a way of doing, they set the tone for the evening by creating smiles and warming hearts.

As part of the program, four Michigan residents described the effectiveness of their hearing aids and discussed the difficulties related to the lack of financial assistance when hearing aids are needed. Two of them, Nan Asher and Dottie Wendell, both HLAA chapter members, shared stories related to hearing aids. Nan started wearing a hearing aid at the age of 4. After 11 years the aid was held together with rubber bands. After binaural aids were purchased for Nan at the age of 14, she became a straight A student. Nan needs new hearing aids but noted the high cost of aids and that a tax credit would be helpful. She stated that hearing aids are the third most expensive item an individual will purchase, after a home and a car.

Dottie shared a story about a friend who helped her mother purchase two needed hearing aids. She found here was very little financial support available. Her mother’s insurance paid for only one hearing aid. She wondered whether that would be like the insurance company deciding to pay for glasses with only one lens.

The event was the 11th in a series of grassroots initiatives in support of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit sponsored by HIA in partnership with HLAA, AG Bell, IHS and supported by ASHA, AAA and ADA. Other successful events have been held in California, Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.

The Hearing Aid Tax Credit currently has 10 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate, including 3 members of the Senate Finance Committee, and 125 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives including 15 members of the Ways and Means Committee. Visit http://www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org/ to learn more.

Thanks to Ann Liming of Michigan for her contributions to this story.

News from the FCC, DOJ, Access Board

2010-09-17T10:38:00.008-04:00

Over the summer federal regulators have been busy working on issues that impact people with disabilities. In case you missed it while you were enjoying your summer vacation, here are a few of the notices issued from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Access Board that impact people with hearing loss.

From the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

8/5/2010. FCC TAKES STEPS TO EMPOWER CONSUMERS WITH HEARING LOSS BY ENCOURAGING HANDSET DEVICE INNOVATION. The Federal Communications Commission took important steps to ensure that the latest wireless phones are hearing aid-compatible, expanding access to mobile networks and services for the 8 million Americans who use hearing aids. These actions encourage innovation and investment and foster an environment that enables Americans with hearing loss to have meaningful access to 21st century mobile technology by allowing industry the flexibility to devise a range of solutions that meet consumers’ needs.

The Second Report and Order adopted [8/5/2010] clarifies that the hearing aid compatibility rules cover customer equipment that contains a built-in speaker and is designed to be typically held to the ear. The Order also modifies the de minimis exception in the existing rule so that all large entities are required to offer at least one hearing aid-compatible model after a two-year initial period. The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) seeks comment on extending the hearing aid compatibility rules to cover new handsets and air interfaces.

The FCC also adopted a Policy Statement that emphasizes to developers of new technologies the necessity of considering and planning for hearing aid compatibility at the earliest stages of the product design process. By focusing on the development stage, innovators and entrepreneurs can account for compatibility issues before their first device is ever produced.

This revised rule will be beneficial to consumers, and HLAA was there for you from the start. HLAA raised concerns about the rule in 2007 in connection with other proposed changes to the regulations. Our comments were taken seriously with this Report and Order and the Proposed Rules reflecting our concerns.

9/8/2010. FCC publishes further notice of proposed rulemaking on HAC cell phones. The Commission is seeking comment on potential revisions to its rules regarding rules governing hearing aid compatible mobile handsets (cell phones) to ensure that people with hearing loss have the fullest possible access to the means of wireless communication. Comments are due on October 25, 2010, and reply comments are due on November 22, 2010. HLAA will submit comments to the FCC in the coming weeks.

8/30/2010. The Commission issues three Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (“NAL”) for three wireless service providers. Each NAL was for fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) against Oklahoma Independent, Cellular One, and OK-5 Licensee for failing to offer to consumers the required number or percentage of digital wireless handsets that met or exceeded the radio frequency interference standards for hearing aid compatiblity. http://www.fcc.gov/eb/ada

FCC Supports LifeLine/Link-Up Awareness Week. In these times with so many struggling to get by, it is important that everyone understand all of the assistance that is available to help people stay afloat. “Lifeline" and "Link-Up" are programs that ensure that all Americans can get basic telephone service by providing limited discounts to consumers who might not otherwise be able to afford service. Lifeline involves discounts on the cost of monthly telephone service, and Link-Up involves a discount on the cost of initiating telephone service. The discount is available for the primary residential telephone, even if that phone is wireless. The programs have been in place since the 1980s, administered by the federal government and the state public utility commissions, but, nationally, only about a third of low-income consumers who are eligible for the programs participate. To find out about how the discount works in your state and how to apply, go to http://www.lifelinesupport.org/.

From the US Department of Justice (DOJ)

9/15/2010. Final rules on the Americans with Disabilities Act, Titles II and III. The Department’s revised ADA regulations as published in the Federal Register amend the Department’s Title II regulation for State and local governments, and Title III regulation for places of public accommodations and commercial facilities. The final rules take effect on March 15, 2010. Links to the HTML and PDF versions of the revised ADA regulations and fact sheets are available at this link: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm

7/26/2010. The Department published four advance notices of proposed rulemaking (ANPRMs) in the Federal Register seeking public comment on the topics addressed by these fact sheets. Comments will be accepted for 180 days.

• Accessibility of Web Information and Services Provided by Entities Covered by the ADA
• Movie Captioning and Video Description
• Accessibility of Next Generation 9-1-1
• Equipment and Furniture

HLAA will be drafting comments and will provide information on ways you too can provide comments on issues DOJ’s rulemaking in the coming weeks.

From the U S Access Board

Access Board Seeks Public Input on Vehicle Guidelines and Information Technology at Chicago Events
The Access Board will hold public events in Chicago on September 29 and 30. The agenda includes a community-wide reception on September 29 and, on the following day, a public hearing on the Board's proposed update of its ADA guidelines for buses and vans and an open forum on ways to improve access to information technology in the Federal sector.

Public Forum on Information Technology in the Federal Sector (Sept. 30, 1:30 to 4:30) As part of a new administration initiative, members of the Chief Information Officers Council will join the Board in conducting the first in a series of listening sessions on ways to promote access to information technology (IT) in the Federal sector under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Questions to be explored through this session include:
• What can the federal government do to use technology in new and better ways and to influence technology accessibility?
• What can technology do to improve access and opportunities for people with disabilities and enhance their interaction with the federal government?
• Are there emerging technologies being used by the federal government that people feel left out of?

For more information, visit http://www.access-board.gov/news/chicago.htm

President Barack Obama appoints Karen L. Braitmayer, FAIA, of Seattle and Howard A. Rosenblum of Chicago as members of the U.S. Access Board

Braitmayer is a registered architect and principal with Studio Pacifica, Ltd., an architectural consulting firm focused on accessibility and accessible design that she co-founded in 1993. Braitmayer served as a member of the Washington State Building Code Council from 1994 to 2001 and remains active in the development and update of Washington State’s accessibility code.

Rosenblum is a senior attorney at Equip for Equality, a nonprofit organization responsible for implementing the Protection and Advocacy System in the State of Illinois. He was recently named Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), a position he will assume next April.
http://www.access-board.gov/news/members2010.htm

FCC Takes Strong Action to Ensure Access to Moblie Phones

2010-08-10T11:36:00.008-04:00

On August 4, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission announced they “took important steps to ensure that the latest wireless phones are hearing aid-compatible, expanding access to mobile networks and services for the 8 million Americans who use hearing aids. [These] actions encourage innovation and investment and foster an environment that enables Americans with hearing loss to have meaningful access to 21st century mobile technology by allowing industry the flexibility to devise a range of solutions that meet consumers’ needs.”

Policy Statement
The Commission’s adopted a Statement of Policy that encourages development of new technology and emphasizes that hearing aid compatibility should be addressed at the “earliest stages of product design process. By focusing on the development stage, innovators and entrepreneurs can account for compatibility issues before their first device is ever produced.”

Report and Order
The Second Report and Order adopted by the Commission had these key actions:

Clarification that the hearing aid compatibility rules cover customer equipment that contains a built-in speaker and is designed to be held to the ear.
Change in an exception to the rule; all large entities will now be required to offer at least one hearing aid compatible model after a two-year initial period.
Expansion of the rules to include handsets sold through all distribution channels, a step up from the previous requirement that covered only ones sold through wireless service providers.

Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The Commission’s vote included issuing a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to seek comments on:

Extending the hearing aid compatibility rules to customer equipment over any type of network.
Offering consumers in-store testing of hearing aid compatible phones in sites beyond retail stores.
Permiting a user-controlled reduction of power to meet HAC requirements in legacy air interfaces.

Roundtable of Industry and Disability Group Leaders
Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the FCC will convene a roundtable of industry and disability group leaders. The goal is to renew the collaborative process to address the challenges of hearing aid compatibility up front in the development process.

In his statement at the Commission meeting, Chairman Julius Genachowski noted, “We adopt today an unprecedented agency Statement of Policy that emphasizes to developers of new technologies the necessity of considering and planning for hearing aid compatibility at the earliest stages of the product design process. For too many years, Americans who have hearing loss have faced the uphill battle of attempting to obtain hearing aid compatibility long after essential communications devices completed their development cycle and went on the market. By turning the collective focus to the development stage, innovators and entrepreneurs can account for compatibility issues before devices are produced. This is an important change, which will result in real benefits to Americans with hearing loss.”

Commissioner Michael Copps added, “Our decision will ensure that the hearing loss community has far greater access to the newest and most popular smartphones. And, I am particularly pleased that the outcome we reach today was shaped in no small measure by the input and contributions of the Hearing Loss Association of America and others from the hearing loss community. If I have learned one thing from my years of fighting for greater inclusion for persons with disabilities, it is that accessibility must be addressed at the earliest stages of both product design and agency rule-making. It is far more efficient and cost-effective to have these communities present at the creation of new products and services and new government regulations than it is to retrofit after it’s discovered that something wasn’t properly designed or considered.”

HLAA is pleased to have been part of the process that we anticipate will result in consumer access to more mobile phone handsets that are hearing aid compatible. We applaud the Commission for their work on these issues. We are also encouraged by the efforts of the wireless industry in their committment to working with the community of people with hearing loss, and in their creative solutions that show their commitment to producing products that are hearing aid compatible while at the same time fostering the kind of innovation that we all want to see. We look forward to continuing our ongoing work with the wireless industry to ensure that consumers have the greatest access possible to hearing aid compatible mobile phones.

2010-08-10T11:33:00.000-04:00

Senate Passes S. 3304 by Unanimous Consent

2010-08-06T10:14:00.003-04:00

HLAA, alongside COAT, celebrates the passage of the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (S. 3304) by the U.S. Senate on August 5, 2010, by unanimous consent.

Here’s the word from the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT):

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Due to the extraordinary efforts of advocates across the country and in Washington, DC, COAT secured a monumental step forward in accessible technology. Special thank you to all advocates in Oklahoma who urged Senator Coburn to support S. 3304. (See COAT special action alert for Oklahoma at http://www.coataccess.org/node/9771) Your advocacy efforts were successful!

Earlier this week, Senator Pryor (D-AR) introduced an amendment to improve S. 3304. S. 3304, as amended, was passed by U.S. Senate by unanimous consent. Like H.R. 3101, which was passed on July 26, 2010, S. 3304 will also:

Require captioned television programs to be captioned when delivered over the Internet
Authorize the FCC to require 7 hours per week of video description on the top 4 network channels and top 5 cable channels nationwide.
Allocate up to $10 million per year for equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind.-- Require televised emergency information to be accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.
Require accessible advanced communications equipment and services, such as text messaging and e-mail.
Require access to Internet services that are built-in to mobile telephone devices, like smart phones, if achievable.
Require devices of any size to be capable of displaying closed captioning, delivering available video description, and making emergency information accessible.
Require accessible user controls for televisions and set-top boxes, and easy access to closed captioning and video description.

And more.

For more information, see the section-by-section summary of what S. 3304 (as amended) will do for us at http://www.coataccess.org/node/9776

S. 3304 will now go to the House of Representatives. COAT supports and expects the House will pass S. 3304 soon.

Job well done, everyone! Like the ADA 20 years ago, you are making history now!

Rosaline
For the COAT Steering Committee
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I must add that we have watched the COAT Steering Committee from the beginning work miracles with this legislation. Theirs was extraordinary work by talented individuals supported by a coalition of over 300 national, state and local organizations. They put in long hours negotiating with representatives from the many different industries impacted by this bill. They then attended meetings with members of Congress, many of whom had little background in disability issues. All that hard work has resulted in legislation that will serve us well in the future. Kudos to the Steering Committee! Kudos also to those members of Industry who negotiated in good faith with the idea in mind that serving people with sensory disabilities just makes sense!

But none of this could have happened without the support of local advocates across the county. Those advocates spent their time meeting Congressional representatives, sending letters and email, phoning in their support of HR 3101 and S 3304. It was all of us working together that made this happen. It brings to mind what Margaret Mead said so many years ago, still true today:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead, U.S. anthropologist (1901 - 1978)