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Congratulations to the 2025 Scholarship Recipients!

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.

Accessing Autonomous Vehicles

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.

Advocating for Fair Housing

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.

Title II Website Regulations

ACB was made aware of a letter submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) this month by the American Council on Education and signed by other higher education associations. The letter asked OMB to delay or provide additional information regarding numerous regulations that were established in the last administration but that have not been fully implemented yet. This list included the Title II ADA regulations that cover website accessibility.

Supreme Court Oral Arguments

In late April, oral arguments were heard before the Supreme Court for the Labcorp lawsuit that ACB has been involved in for multiple years now. Many members have asked where they can find a link to the oral argument recording. A link is pasted below. ACB will report out as soon as we learn anything about the Court’s decision.

Meeting with the Amtrak Board of Directors

ACB is fortunate to have the privilege to meet with Amtrak leadership on a quarterly basis to talk about accommodations for passengers with disabilities. ACB has been part of a small group of disability advocacy groups who have done this for many, many years now. Additionally, once a year, that same disability advocacy cohort gets to meet in person with the full Amtrak Board of Directors. On Thursday, May 22, Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs Claire Stanley attended that annual meeting in Washington, D.C.