On Tuesday, November 1, the trial of ACB’s litigation against nationwide phlebotomy lab Quest Diagnostics will begin at the federal courthouse in Los Angeles, California. We encourage any interested people to come and observe this important trial. The self-service kiosks at Quest Diagnostics’ Patient Service Centers are inaccessible to blind patients, and the Court will determine whether this lack of accessibility violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.  

ACB Media is proud to announce that the podcasts of the hybrid General Sessions that originated from the 2022 ACB Conference and Convention in Omaha, Nebraska are now available.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2022 — Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Representative John P. Sarbanes (D-Md.) introduced The Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (S. 4998) and (H.R. 9021) in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.

Calling all audio description enthusiasts! Make your voice heard at the American Council of the Blind’s second annual Audio Description Awards Gala by casting your vote for the new Audio Description People’s Choice Award, which celebrates the inclusion of audio description in all forms of media entertainment.

Have you experienced the beauty and awe of the incredible photos taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope? The scientists, writers, and educators from the Space Telescope Science Institute want to make space accessible for everyone, and have created vividly detailed alt text for every photo that has been released.

ACB’s second annual Audio Description Awards Gala, a virtual event, will take place on Nov. 29, 2022.

On June 23, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration launched a new initiative to expand the availability of testing options that are more accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Through the initiative, blind and low-vision users have been able to order Ellume COVID home tests, which are more accessible than other options. 

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) Mentoring Program will begin as a Pilot Program with 12 mentors and 12 mentees from September 2022 through June 2023. Applications will be accepted from Friday July 15, 2022 until August 15, 2022. The ACB Mentoring Team will review all submitted applications and carefully select the most qualified mentor candidates to pair with those who express interest in being mentored.

Selections will be formally announced to the ACB membership during early September and updates will continue to be made available.

On June 22, 2022, the federal government announced a new initiative to expand the availability of testing options that are more accessible for people who are blind or low vision and who use a smartphone. When connected to a smartphone application, these tests are capable of providing audible testing instructions and results to make the COVID-19 testing process more private and independent for people who are blind or low vision.