As many know, Congress is in the process of passing a reconciliation bill that includes potential cuts to Medicaid services. ACB previously reported that the House had finished its version and passed it onto the Senate to discuss. This week, a draft of the Senate’s version of the bill was released. ACB is now reading through the text to better understand what the potential implications of the Senate version will be. Please stay tuned as we learn more about the new version of the bill.

On Thursday, June 12, 2025, the Supreme Court put out a unanimous opinion on an education-related case that the disability rights community is now excited about.

The case was brought by a teenage girl with epilepsy and her family from the state of Minnesota. She was fighting to receive as much instruction as her non-disabled peers. The legal question that was brought before the Supreme Court asked what standard of proof was necessary to demonstrate that the student was facing discrimination by the public school in education-related disability lawsuits.

ACB is excited to share our inaugural action alert through our new subscription to Speak4. Through this new program, we are making it easy for you all to reach out to Congress to advocate for important legislation and needs of the blind and low vision community. Please follow the link below to reach out to Congress concerning the reconciliation bill that may impact Medicaid services for persons with disabilities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Scott Thornhill

Executive Director

202-467-5081

sthornhill@acb.org

The American Council of the Blind Announces 2025 Scholarship Recipients

The Department of Energy has put out what is called a Direct Final Rule through the federal register. The rule will go into effect on July 15. However, we do have the opportunity to offer our thoughts and opinions. The process explains that if enough discourse is brought about the new rule, the agency will have to postpone the rule.

ACB thanks legal counsel, Matt Handley, for this new and exciting update to the Labcorp case.

The American Council of the Blind’s (ACB) Scholarship Program was established in 1982. The American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) have partnered to offer educational scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for legally blind students attending a technical college or who are an entering freshman, undergraduate or a graduate student. This program awards students with scholarships to help with post-secondary education financial needs such as tuition, fees, room and board and other additional costs associated with adaptive technology.

On Monday, June 2, Claire Stanley, the Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs for ACB, attended a budget oversight hearing for the District of Columbia’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment. The City Council’s committee is discussing the 2026 budget. ACB and other blind advocacy groups previously spoke at a Council hearing to talk about the potential opportunities that can come from the introduction of autonomous vehicles in the District and other cities across the country.

ACB is fortunate to interact with numerous advocacy coalitions to remain aware of advocacy occurring in Washington, D.C. at the federal level. Claire Stanley, Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, often attends housing-related meetings to remain aware of what is happening in the fair housing space. Presently, fair housing groups are advocating to Congress to include appropriate language in the 2026 Congressional budget to ensure access to fair housing. This includes access for people with disabilities.