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The Washington Connection 10-31-25

Welcome to the Washington Connection, the legislative and information service of the American Council of the Blind. The Washington Connection is brought to you by the ACB national office. If you have any questions or comments on the information provided, don’t hesitate to contact us and ask to speak with Claire Stanley.

The Washington Connection is updated any time we have new information to share with you. The following articles are available as of October 31, 2025. Messages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are new.

Thank you for calling the Washington Connection.

Effect of the Shutdown on the Disability Community

 

As of right now, the federal funding lapse prompted by the U.S. government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, after Congress failed to pass the FY2026 appropriations, has impacted the allocation of federal funds across a multitude of agencies and organizations. For individuals with disabilities and the broader disability community, most programs have remained in place; however, many are facing delays in services due to service disruptions. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits remain unscathed as they are under mandatory government-issued funding. Medicaid and Medicare will remain in effect; however, administrative functions have slowed in certain sectors, limiting accessibility. 

Essential programs like The Department of Justice’s ADA Information Line 1-800 has become largely inaccessible due to staff furloughs, leaving individuals abandoned without federal guidance on disability rights. Similarly, services through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other federal agencies that provide housing and accessibility support are experiencing significant communication delays and temporary closures.

If the shutdown persists, supplemental programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) face interruption or will be put on pause while the shutdown continues. While many short-term state-sanctioned benefits continue, a great deal of localized and state services face more concern. Administrative backlog and lack of secondary support heighten the need for alternative resources, demanding proactive outreach for all.

 

Department of Education Activates Contingency Plan

 

The Department of Education has been severely affected by the ongoing government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025, with students with disabilities facing some of the greatest risks. The Rehabilitation Services Administration, which oversees vocational rehabilitation programs for people with disabilities, has effectively ceased operations, leaving state agencies without federal guidance or funding distribution. As a result, vocational rehabilitation services that help blind students transition from school to work are now in jeopardy. In addition, enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been pushed entirely to the states, meaning there is no active federal oversight to ensure compliance or protect students’ rights under the law.

Beyond these critical issues, the ED has implemented its shutdown contingency plan. While core student-aid functions such as processing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), disbursing Pell Grant Program grants, and servicing federal direct student loans are continuing, thanks to mandatory or advance appropriations, many other parts of the agency are effectively frozen. On the other hand, ED has furloughed approximately 95% of its non-Federal Student Aid staff during the initial week of the funding lapse (about 2,100 employees) and will only maintain a minimal workforce for “excepted” functions. New grant-making activities have been paused; the Office for Civil Rights is suspending investigations into civil‐rights complaints, and regulatory/guidance work is on hold.

In short, while students may still receive aid and loan support, the loss of federal oversight and disability services could have lasting consequences, especially those who depend on federally managed accessibility and rehabilitation programs.

 

Bipartisan Support Growing for Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act

 

ACB is excited to see the bipartisan support for the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act, H.R. 3417 grow. Currently, the bill has 10 sponsors and co-sponsors. This is made up of 4 Republicans and 6 Democrats. The newest co-sponsor to join is Congressman Fine, Republican, from the state of Florida. The 10 sponsors and co-sponsors are Sessions, Weber, Owens, Fine, Hoyer, Soto, Thanedar, Landsman, Morelle, and Vindman. If your Congressmember is not on this list, please reach out and encourage them to support the bill.

 

ACB Supports the CONNECT for Health Act

 

ACB supports the CONNECT for Health Act, H.R. 4206. The bill is quickly gaining more and more bipartisan support.

The CONNECT for Health Act would:

  • Permanently remove all geographic restrictions on telehealth services and expand originating sites to the location of the patient, including homes;
  • Permanently allow health centers and rural health clinics to provide telehealth services;
  • Allow more eligible health care professionals to utilize telehealth services;
  • Remove unnecessary in-person visit requirement for telemental health services;
  • Allow for the waiver of telehealth restrictions during public health emergencies; and
  • Require more published data to learn more about how telehealth is being used, impacts on quality of care, and how it can be improved to support patients and health care providers.

To read the text version of the bill, visit https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1261/text.

 

2025 Convention Cartridge Now Available!

 

The 2025 ACB Conference and Convention cartridge is now available. All sessions that were recorded are on the cartridge. This includes general sessions, the banquet, and all recorded special-interest affiliate, ACB committee and business partner programming.

If you purchased a cartridge on the convention registration form, it will be sent to you. If you did not, you can still purchase the cartridge by calling the Brooklyn Center MN office at (612) 332-3242.  We would appreciate it if you place your order by November 7th.

 

Guide Dog Laws in the 50 States

 

Have you ever wanted to look at all the states’ laws regarding guide dogs or service animals? Wish no more. Michigan State University has created a table laying out each state, its definition of service animal, whether it covers service dogs in training, the public accommodation law, what happens if somebody harasses or interferes with a service animal, the state’s white cane law, licensing law, and service dog fraud law.

Equal access laws protect the rights of disabled individuals to use service animals in public places without being denied entry or having to pay an extra fee. If a listed place refuses entry with an assistance animal or otherwise interferes with the rights of the individual, that entity may have to pay a fine or could even face criminal charges (usually a misdemeanor). This table only lists the public accommodation access laws and does not cover assistance animals in housing.

Service dogs in training (SDiTs) are covered under the second column. Currently, only one state does not cover service animals in-training under its public accommodation law: Hawaii. Since federal law (the Americans with Disabilities Act or "ADA") only applies to service animals used to do work or perform tasks for persons with disabilities and not those in-training, it is presumed service dog trainers are not guaranteed public access in this state.

Nearly all states (except for four) have laws that protect assistance animals from criminal interference, theft, and assault. Only Alaska, Iowa, Montana, and West Virginia do not appear to have such laws. Violators can face a simple misdemeanor for willfully interfering with a service animal in New Hampshire, to a one-year term of imprisonment/$10,000 fine in California for causing intentional injury to a service animal. It is important to observe the state of mind (or mens rea in legal terms) required under many of these state laws. Some laws require that a person only "recklessly" interfere with, or allow his or her dog to interfere with, a service animal. For the more serious crime of causing death or serious injury to a service animal, a person must "intentionally" cause the injury. In states with laws, restitution is required for injury to service animals.

Laws protecting disabled pedestrians, typically known as "White Cane Laws," appear in most states. These laws mandate that drivers approaching pedestrians who are blind or visually handicapped and using guide dogs take such reasonable precautions before proceeding as may be necessary to avoid an accident or injury. Punishment typically involves a fine and possibly restitution resulting from injuries to the pedestrian and his or her guide dog.

About half the states offer licensing fee waivers/exemptions for service dogs. Sometimes proof of the dog's status as a service dog is required. In California, for instance, a person must attest to such fact in an affidavit. A person who makes a false claim on this affidavit faces a possible six months in jail and/or $1,000 fine.

Finally, more than half the states have laws that make it a crime to fraudulently represent that a person has the right to be accompanied by a service animal. This may simply involve the unauthorized use of a harness, vest, or orange leash that typically identifies as a dog as a service animal. Violation is usually a misdemeanor. The laws on this table only cover service dog fraud and not the laws related to fraudulent assistance animals in housing.

To view the whole document, visit https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-assistance-animal-laws.

 

Tell Congress to Keep Bookshare Free for All Students

 

Bookshare is a book distribution program that has served people with disabilities for over 20 years. It serves students with multiple disabilities across the country for no fee. It has been funded through the Education, Technology, Media, and Materials Program (Ed Tech). Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children are ensured access to accessible education materials in an accessible format.

For many years now, accessible materials for students have been provided by Bookshare. The Ed Tech program provides funding to procure the materials from Bookshare. The budget proposed by Congress will eliminate this funding. What the proposed budget would do is to split the program into a separate, fifty-state model, where each state provides the books on a state-by-state basis. Such a model will be detrimental for students with disabilities.

Please follow the link below to reach out to Congress to tell them to fund Bookshare services for students.

https://speak4.app/lp/ey01ss2s/?ts=1757949671

 

Department of Education Cuts Funding for All Three National Braille Training Programs

 

On September 5, the Department of Education announced that it would not continue the grants for all three national braille training programs. These programs are essential to train teachers of the visually impaired to ensure braille literacy and train vision rehabilitation therapists to assist adults who lose their vision later in life. With this discontinuation, funding will be cut for all federal funding that is carried out at three universities: California State University Los Angeles, University of South Carolina Upstate, and University of Massachusetts Boston. Each of the three universities is now appealing the elimination of the program. Constituents should reach out to their senators to speak out against the cuts. Constituents of the following states should especially reach out: West Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina.