Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a pivotal law to uphold the rights of people with disabilities. The law says that all programs receiving federal funding, which is a substantial portion of programs, must provide accommodations for persons with disabilities. We believe that the law is extremely vulnerable at this time. In September of 2024, a lawsuit was brought by 17 states against the U.S.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Scott Thornhill
Executive Director
American Council of the Blind
(202) 467-5081
sthornhill@acb.org

Program area will advance equal access for people who are blind or have low vision

Early this week, the new chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau called for the suspension of work by Bureau employees for at least a week. It is unknown what will transpire after that. The Bureau was established in 2011, and along with many other responsibilities, works to prevent fraud against the American people; the elderly and people with disabilities are more vulnerable to fraudulent activities. ACB will watch this change closely to see what happens with the Bureau. Congress ultimately has the authority to dissolve the agency

After a multitude of challenges from many advocacy groups, the January 27 memo on federal funding freezes has been rescinded. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) put out their own statement to work to walk back the significant amount of misunderstanding that has occurred over the last few days. To our understanding, at this time, impacted programs will continue as expected. However, the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, emphasized that is was only a rescission of the memo, not the funding freeze policies.

Minutes before the funding freeze was to go into effect on Tuesday afternoon, Judge Loren L. Alikhan from the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia issued a stay until Monday, February 3, 2025, to determine next steps on a lawsuit against the presidential directive given on Monday, January 27. A temporary restraining order was brought by the National Council on Nonprofits to prevent the freezing of federal funding for numerous federal programs.

On Monday, January 27, President Trump released a two-page memo instructing federal agencies to temporarily cease all federal financial assistance and grant programs. According to one article, this includes diversity programs. Fortunately, numerous articles state that it will not include Social Security or Medicare benefits, as well as services provided directly to individuals.

Alexandria, VA., Nov. 7th, 2024  – The 2025 American Council of the Blind (ACB) Leadership Conference will be a hybrid event. ACB’s Board Meeting, Presidents’ Meeting, Legislative Seminar, and Capitol Hill visits will take place March 14th-18th, at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, VA.

No one knows the importance of audio description (AD) better than students who rely on it to make filmed media accessible. The Benefits of Audio Description in Education (BADIE) blog and essay contest is an exciting chance for students on the blindness spectrum to share their thoughts about AD.