Thursday, May 19, 2016 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Friday, May 20, 2016 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 21, 2016 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Hosted by Council of Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB)
at the Maryland School for the Blind, Baltimore, Maryland
1. Call to Order: Jennifer Dunnam
Jennifer Dunnam called the meeting to order at 8:20 a.m. EDT.
2. Welcome from the Council of Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB)
Ruth Ann Hynson, Director of Statewide Outreach Services at the Maryland School for the Blind (MSB) extended a warm welcome to the BANA board.
Michael Bina, President and CEO of MSB greeted the BANA board via a recorded video.
3. Seating of BANA members
Jessi Rivera was welcomed as the newly appointed representative of Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ASB).
4. Self-Introductions: Representatives and Observers
Attending
Jennifer Dunnam, National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Chair
Sandra (Sandy) Ruconich, American Council of the Blind (ACB), Vice Chair
Ruth Rozen, Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Secretary
Jackie Sheridan, National Braille Press (NBP), Treasurer
Frances Mary (FM) D'Andrea, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Immediate Past Chair
Dawn Gross, Alternate Text Production Center (ATPC)
Cathy Senft-Graves, American Printing House for the Blind (APH)
Jessica (Jessi) Rivera, Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ASB)
Mary Nelle McLennan, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER)
Tracy Gaines, California Transcribers and Educators for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CTEBVI)
Saul Garza, Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Darleen Bogart, CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind)
Stuart Wittenstein, Council of Schools and Services for the Blind (COSB)
Diane Spence, National Braille Association (NBA)
Judith (Judy) Dixon, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress (NLS)
Kim Charlson, Perkins
Jen Goulden, for associate member Crawford Technologies
Susan (Sue) Reilly participated in her role as administrative assistant.
Not attending
Maryann Bartkowski, Horizons for the Blind
Observers
Josie Howse, Australian Braille Authority (ABA)
Debbie Gillespie, CNIB, Canada
Tamara Rorie, NLS, Washington DC
Mary Schnackenberg, New Zealand
William Freeman, APH, Louisville
William Jolley, Australia
Sally Shreck, Maryland
Melissa Sheeder, Maryland
Debbie Adle, Maryland
Joshua Irzyk, Maryland
Robyn Hughes, Maryland
5. Meeting Arrangements: Stuart Wittenstein
Stuart Wittenstein provided information about meeting logistics and post-meeting travel arrangements.
6. Board's Liability Statement: Ruth Rozen
Ruth Rozen, BANA Secretary, read the following Indemnification Statement: "BANA indemnifies its Officers and Board of Directors and holds them harmless from all claims of every kind, including court expenses, attorneys' fees, and the claimed amount arising from the performance of their duties as Officers and Directors except for their own acts of dishonesty and gross negligence." (Adopted March 30, 1987)
7. Agenda Approval: Jennifer Dunnam
FM D'Andrea requested the addition of the following two items to agenda item no. 37, "New Business": a discussion of Navajo braille code, and the issue with braille apostrophe. Judy Dixon requested adding to New Business a discussion of the website brl.org. Kim Charlson requested adding to agenda item 28, Secretary's Report, a discussion about the BANA registered agent.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Dawn Gross seconded the motion that the agenda with amendments be approved. The motion passed unanimously.
8. Chair's Comments: Jennifer Dunnam
Jennifer Dunnam gave an overview of some of the meeting topics and indicated that there would likely be plenty of time for the in-depth discussion that will be required for a number of the agenda items.
9. Report of UEB Task Force: FM D'Andrea, Chair
FM D'Andrea, chair of the UEB Task Force, summarized the report, which is on file.
The task force has been working on charge 242 since 2013. It established the UEB Transition Forum, and developed materials for the BANA website. Recently, the task force has not been active because the General Committee on UEB and the Outreach Committee have taken up the tasks previously done by the UEB Task Force. FM D'Andrea suggested that this task force be disbanded because its original intent is now being fulfilled by other committees.
After a lengthy discussion, it was decided later in the meeting to keep the task force active through the end of 2016, and to have charge 242 stay as it is.
[Charge 242, 11/9/13: Lead the development, delivery, and communication of an implementation plan for the United States, in collaboration with other key organizations and agencies.]10. Report of General Committee on Unified English Braille: FM D'Andrea, Chair
FM D'Andrea, chair of the General Committee on Unified English Braille, summarized the report, which is on file.
FM D'Andrea commented that the space on the BANA website for code questions should be more noticeable and promoted.MSC FM D'Andrea moved and Cathy Senft-Graves seconded the motion that the disposition of Charge 286 be changed to "Ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 286 (11/5/15):Collaborate with the Outreach Committee to create content about UEB for the BANA website.]
11. Braille Formats Technical Committee: Cindi Laurent, Chair
Saul Garza, board liaison to the Braille Formats Technical Committee, summarized the report, which is on file.
A report prepared by the Formats board review panel, detailing its activities over ten meetings and working with the committee to assure that the guidelines are aligned with UEB, was read aloud and is also on file.
MSC Saul Garza moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion that BANA Board approve "Formats: Principles of Print-to-Braille Transcription, revised 2016," and prepare it for publication by the American Printing House for the Blind. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Dawn Gross seconded the motion to publish Formats 2016 as a non-enhanced PDF and BRF as soon as possible after copyediting changes have been incorporated. Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea), ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), CNIB (Darleen Bogart), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson); Not voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski); Abstaining: AER (Mary Nelle McLennan). The motion passed.
It was decided that the process of dealing with corrections that may arise during the copyediting would be as follows: Mary Nelle McLennan will send a notification to the review panel, which includes Jennifer Dunnam, Saul Garza, Darleen Bogart, and FM D'Andrea; and also to the chair of the Formats Committee, Cindi Laurent.
The change document should be converted from a spreadsheet to a Word table.
A long discussion ensued about whether to produce hard copies. It was decided to wait for APH to give BANA more information about cost and possible availability.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion that Cindi Laurent and the Braille Formats Committee be thanked for their professional and exceptional job. The motion passed unanimously.
12. Tactile Graphics Technical Committee: Aquinas Pather, chair
Diane Spence, BANA liaison to the Tactile Graphics Technical Committee, summarized the report, which is on file.
The board reviewed the lists of symbols used for number lines in the Nemeth Code (Charge 220, November 7, 2014) and in UEB (tentative). In both cases, the symbols are presented in two categories: "Number Line Symbols" and "Distinctive Coordinate Markers." Within each category, symbols are in braille order. Darleen Bogart asked whether the committee has a valid reason for having two categories, since by using braille order a reader can find any symbol without having to know its category.
The changes that are proposed in this list of symbols may have to be adopted by ICEB. The interface for suggesting such changes to ICEB and ICEB's process for vetting them is currently being worked through. At this time, a recommendation, supported by a thorough rationale, can be submitted to the chair of BANA.
MSC Diane Spence moved and Mary Nelle McLennan seconded the motion that the disposition of Charge 279 be changed to "ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 279 (11/5/15): Update the current braille symbols list in tactile graphics for number lines and consider these updates in the UEB revision of the Tactile Graphics Guidelines.]
MSC FM D'Andrea moved and Stuart Wittenstein seconded the motion to allow the Tactile Graphics Technical Committee to have access to a pre-release, pre-copyedited version of Braille Formats 2016, with the understanding that the files will not be distributed or shared beyond the committee members. The motion passed unanimously.
Sue Reilly will ensure that the Word file of Braille Formats 2016 has a watermark and file name that identifies it as pre-release and not to be shared.
MSC Diane Spence moved and Cathy Senft-Graves seconded the motion that Charge 262 be discarded.
[Charge 262 (11/7/14): Work with the Nemeth-UEB task force regarding any necessary specific rules for Nemeth Code and UEB within tactile graphics]
MSC Diane Spence moved and Saul Garza seconded the motion to create a charge to the Tactile Graphics Committee to work with the Mathematics and Chemistry committees regarding any necessary specific rules for Nemeth Code and UEB within tactile graphics. The motion passed unanimously.
13. Mathematics Braille Technical Committee: Dorothy Worthington, chair
Dawn Gross, BANA liaison to the Mathematics Braille Technical Committee, summarized the report, which is on file.
The board discussed the completed recommendations for finalizing the "Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Context." A motion to approve the document was tabled because of the need for discussion about Item 14:
"14. In print, variables are distinguished from other letters by the use of italics. In braille, italic type-form of variables is omitted resulting in the loss of that distinction. In a transcription in which the technical material is transcribed in Nemeth Code, in order to retain the distinction, the grade 1 indicator (English Letter Indicator in Nemeth) is required on all variable letters, including a, i, and o. This applies to variables in the surrounding UEB text as well as those within the Nemeth Code switches."
Later in the meeting, after consultation with the Mathematics Braille Technical Committee, agreement was reached to remove the last sentence of the above paragraph and revise the examples accordingly.
MSC Dawn Gross moved and Sandy Ruconich seconded the motion that the BANA board accept "Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Context" with the revision of Item 14 and the examples. Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam) , NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart), Hadley (Ruth Rozen). The motion carried.
MSC Dawn Gross moved and Jackie Sheridan seconded the motion to change the disposition of Charge 280 to "done." Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart). The motion carried.
[Charge 280, (11/5/2015): Finalize the "Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts" (brailleauthority.org/ueb.html#nemeth) in consultation with those who participated on the Task Force on Recommendations for Nemeth Code with UEB.]
Charge 89 is on hold until the Guidance is finalized.
MSC Dawn Gross moved and Ruth Rozen seconded the motion to change the disposition of Charge 89 to "Ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 89 (11/14/03): Complete the Graphing Calculator Guidelines, which could include when and how to include such material in a transcription.]
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Kim Charlson seconded the motion to work with the Tactile Graphics Committee and the Chemistry Committee regarding any necessary specific rules for Nemeth Code and UEB within tactile graphics. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Dawn Gross moved and Jackie Sheridan seconded the motion that that Rule II §17, "Numerals in Table Entries" of The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation (1972 Revision), be revised according to the recommendation of the committee [on file], and that the committee be asked to prepare for the update for publication. Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart). The motion carried.
MSC Dawn Gross moved and Saul Garza seconded the motion that Rule V §33. a. "Use of Type-Form Indicators with Words, Phrases, and Mathematical Statements" of The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and Science Notation (1972 Revision), be revised according to the recommendation of the committee [on file], and that the committee be asked to prepare the update for publication. Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart). The motion carried.
Dawn Gross moved and Jackie Sheridan seconded the motion that the Mathematics Braille Technical Committee be charged to conduct a major revision of the Nemeth Code that incorporates all relevant updates and includes the "Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Context." Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart). The motion carried.
14. Ad Hoc Committee on Standardized Tests: Diane Spence
Diane Spence, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Standardized Tests summarized the report, which is on file.
The "Guidelines and Standards for the Production of Standardized Tests in Braille" document is with the publications committee and it is being transcribed in UEB. As soon as publications is done, the document will be circulated to the board for review. Committee members will then review the board's comments and incorporate changes with rationales.
15. Music Braille Technical Committee: Dan Geminder, chair
Ruth Rozen, BANA liaison to the Music Braille Technical Committee, summarized the report, which is on file.
Since the report was submitted, the final print and braille files for publication have been delivered to the Publications Committee. Following approval from that committee, the files will be made available on the BANA website, and an announcement will be made via a press release.
Cathy Senft-Graves, representing APH requested that if hard copies will be made, those files should also be available through the APH file repository, which users can access with a free account.
Some investigation will take place about the number and need for the music braille code to be offered in hard copy print and braille.
MSC Mary Nelle McLennan moved and Sandy Ruconich seconded the motion stating that the BANA Board again thanks the music braille technical committee for its diligent and thorough work bringing the code to completion and production. The motion passed unanimously.
16. (agenda item #18) Ad Hoc Committee on Early Literacy Materials Production: Bonnie Read, chair
Cathy Senft-Graves, board liaison to the Ad Hoc Committee on Early Literacy Materials Production reported that the committee's work on Charge 136 (11/3/05), "Develop guidelines for transcription of consumable materials and other forms that require direct entry on the braille page" is currently on hold because it is waiting for two documents to be finalized: Formats 2016 and "Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Context."
MSC Cathy Senft-Graves moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion to charge to the Ad Hoc Committee on Early Literacy Materials Production to work with the Mathematics Braille Technical Committee to update the mathematical examples in the document "BANA Guidelines for the Transcription of Early Educational Materials from Print to Braille." The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion that the Promising Practices document be updated for UEB. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Ruth Rozen moved and Dawn Gross seconded the motion to allow the Early Literacy Materials Production committee to have access to a pre-release, pre-copyedited version of Braille Formats 2016, with the understanding that the files will not be distributed or shared beyond the committee members. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Cathy Senft-Graves moved and Jackie Sheridan seconded the motion to change the disposition of Charge 136 to "ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 136 (11/3/05): Develop guidelines for transcription of consumable materials and other forms that require direct entry on the braille page.]
17. (agenda item #16) Crafts and Hobbies Technical Committee: Camille Caffarelli, chair
Maryann Bartkowski, board liaison to the Crafts and Hobbies Technical Committee joined the meeting by phone. She summarized the report of the committee, which is on file.
Maryann Bartkowski noted that many committee members did not attend committee meetings dealing with the topic of chess. Crafts and Hobbies encompasses a wide range of specialties, and many were appointed to this committee for their expertise in other crafts. Further efforts will be made to identify people who can contribute to the issue of chess on this committee. Additionally, the topic of the braille chess code will be raised with others in the International Council on English Braille.
18. (agenda item #19) Ad Hoc Committee on Chemistry: Cary Supalo, chair
Stuart Wittenstein, board liaison to the Ad Hoc Committee on Chemistry, summarized the committee's report, which is on file.
MSR Stuart Wittenstein moved, and Ruth Rozen seconded the motion that the board approve the "Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Chemistry Code within UEB Contexts." The motion and its second were rescinded after some discussion.
The following discussion continued at a later time in the meeting.
A discussion ensued about the list of chemistry terms in which the committee recommends that contractions not be used. Some wondered why many of the words in the list, which would not have contractions according to UEB rules in any case, needed to be on the word list. Some also questioned the Chemistry Committee's recommendation of nonuse of contractions that bridge certain suffixes and the base word, where those contractions would be used according to UEB rules. The Chemistry committee felt that when contractions bridge suffixes and base words in chemistry terms, the meaning of the suffix is obscured. The board agreed that the handling of contractions for chemical nomenclature should be raised in a larger UEB context.
MSC Saul Garza moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion that the "Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Chemistry Code within UEB Contexts" be approved with the deletion of the bullet point on page 5 including Example 9 and the word list. Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart). The motion carried.
MSC Stuart Wittenstein moved and Dawn Gross seconded the motion to change the disposition of Charge 283 to "done." The motion passed unanimously."
[Charge 283, (11/5/15): Prepare a provisional document for using the Chemistry Code within UEB.]
MSC FM D'Andrea moved and Ruth Rozen seconded the motion that General Committee on UEB be charged to explore the possible need for contraction rules regarding the handling of chemical nomenclature in UEB. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Stuart Wittenstein moved and Saul Garza seconded the motion that the disposition of Charge 284 be changed from "TBA" to "Ongoing." Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart). The motion carried.
[Charge 284, (11/5/15): Work with the Mathematics Braille Technical Committee on the "Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the Nemeth Code within UEB Context."]
Some discussion ensued about the need for another chemistry transcriber.
MSC Stuart Wittenstein moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion to create a charge to the Ad Hoc Committee on Chemistry to work with the Mathematics committee and the Tactile Graphics Committee regarding any necessary specific rules for Nemeth Code and UEB within Tactile Graphics. Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines), Clovernook (Saul Garza), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CNIB (Darleen Bogart). The motion carried.
19. (agenda item #20) Publications Committee: Mary Nelle McLennan
Mary Nelle McLennan summarized the report, which is on file.
She began with a review of the development and growth of BANA website. Then she continued with a summary and review of the "Status of BANA Documents in Process," which is on file.
Some discussion ensued about manuals and codes that are no longer current. It was decided to remove EBAE from the BANA website and the APH catalog and scrap existing hard copies of the following manuals and codes:
- EBAE
- "Provisional Guidelines for Linear Braille"
- Music Braille Code 1997
- Braille Formats 1997
- Computer Braille Code (CBC)
On the BANA website, it was decided to move the following manuals and codes to the archival section:
- "Provisional Guidelines for Linear Braille"
- EBAE
- Computer Braille Code 1997
- Braille Formats 1997 and any associated updates to these
20. (agenda item #21) Braille Research Committee: Judith Dixon
Judy Dixon led a discussion about the duties of the committee and the expertise needed to accomplish them. The initial question was what BANA wants the committee to do: manage the evaluations process of BANA's publications (dissemination and return of reviews and surveys) or monitor or conduct research related to braille use and awareness.
MSC Judy Dixon moved and Ruth Rozen seconded the motion that a Review Process Committee be created and that it be charged to manage the process of technical and board review of BANA publications and projects. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC FM D'Andrea moved and Mary Nelle McLennan seconded the motion that Jessi Rivera, Tamara Rorie, Jen Goulden, and Jennifer Dunnam be appointed to serve on the General Committee for Review Process and that Darleen Bogart be appointed consultant. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Judy Dixon moved and Darleen Bogart seconded the motion that Charge 104 be discarded. The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 104 (11/5/04): Serve as a resource to the technical committees to assist them in determining appropriate ways to collect information to answer specific questions with which they have been charged]
MSC Judy Dixon moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion that the Braille Research Committee be charged to keep BANA board informed of various research projects on braille, their outcomes and their implications for the BANA board. The motion passed unanimously.
Robert Englebretson continues to serve as co-chair of this committee.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Sandy Ruconich seconded the motion to appoint FM D'Andrea as co-chair of the Research Committee and thank Judy Dixon for her service as co-chair. The motion passed unanimously.
21. (agenda items #22 and #23) Outreach Committee and Transition Forum Steering Committee: Sandy Ruconich
Sandy Ruconich summarized the report of Transition Forum Steering Committee, which is on file. The report dealt with the open forums and the UEB Transition Forum.
At AER there will be a BANA poster presentation titled "CODE WORDS: Understanding the Not-So-Secret Work of the Braille Authority of North America." (See below under "Round the Table" for more about presentations at AER.)
BANA will no longer have to pay for a table at CTEBVI conferences, thanks to an in-kind donation from CTEBVI. Thanks to Dawn Gross (ATPC) and Tracy Gaines (CTEBVI) for arranging this. Thanks also to Nancy Niebrugge (associate BANA member Braille Institute) for housing the BANA trunk.
MSC Sandy Ruconich moved and Judy Dixon seconded the motion to thank Judy Dixon for her work on the Outreach committee and to appoint Tamara Rorie to the committee. The motion passed unanimously.
Outreach: Mary Nelle McLennan and FM D'Andrea will present a poster presentationMSC FM D'Andrea moved and Kim Charlson seconded the motion to change the disposition of charge 289 to "ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 289 (11/5/16): Explore the best way for BANA to communicate with its various constituents, with particular regard to the efficacy of the open forum.]
MSC FM D'Andrea moved and Jackie Sheridan seconded the motion to change the disposition of charge 288 to "ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 288 (11/5/15): Steering Committee: Explore whether an event be planned about the implementation of UEB and to help execute whatever is decided upon.]
Diane Spence brought to the board's attention that questions have been raised about whether the position paper "Terminology: Contracted and Uncontracted Braille," on the BANA website is still in effect, given the use of the terms grade 1 and grade 2 in the UEB rulebook. The use of the terms uncontracted braille and contracted braille is supported and explained in §2.5.2-2.5.4, and the position paper is in alignment with the rulebook's definitions. Jennifer Dunnam will send revision text to be added to the posted paper to make this clear for anyone reading it.
It was also decided to update the flier about BANA that is in the trunk.
Sandy mentioned the 2015 Braille Excellence Award given to Darleen Bogart, and Darleen thanked everyone for the honor.
22. (agenda item #24) BANA Appointments Committee: Barbara Finkelstein
Jennifer Dunnam presented the report, as Barbara Finkelstein is no longer representing ASB on the BANA board.
The committee is tasked with managing the process of recruiting people for committee appointments where needs and vacancies occur. BANA currently needs to recruit an individual who is experienced in braille chess to serve on the Crafts and Hobbies Technical Committee, and a transcriber for the Ad Hoc Committee on Chemistry. The process for recruiting people with the skills for various specific positions has been defined.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Dawn Gross seconded the motion to appoint Tracy Gaines as chair of the Appointments Committee. The motion passed unanimously.
23. (agenda item #25) "Friends of BANA" Task Force: Jackie Sheridan
Jackie Sheridan summarized the report, which is on file.
"Friends of BANA" determined not to proceed with the annual report as originally created, for reasons listed in previous meetings.
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Kim Charlson seconded the motion that that Charge 290 be discarded and members of the "Friends of BANA" be thanked for their work. The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 290 11/5/15): Prepare the 2014 annual report for Board review and for posting to the BANA website.]
A brief summary of yearly activities is available and will be sent to the Publications Committee for posting on the website. There was some discussion about the level of detail that will appear on an annual report on the BANA website. The report will be approved by the board prior to posting.
24. (agenda item #26) Ad Hoc Committee on Braille Signage and Labeling: Eugene Lozano, chair
Jackie Sheridan, board liaison to the Ad Hoc Committee on Braille Signage and Labeling, summarized the report, which is on file.
The committee has begun work gathering feedback and responding to queries.
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Darleen Bogart seconded the motion that the disposition of charge 293 be changed to "ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 293 (11/5/15): Review the ADA signage guidelines and NC117.1 standards to determine if the architectural code needs to be changed to comply with Unified English Braille.]
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Cathy Senft-Graves seconded the motion that the disposition of charge 294 be changed to "ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 294 (11/5/15): With content approval from the BANA board, contact the U.S. Departments of Justice and Transportation to provide guidance on changing their braille signage requirements to conform with Unified English Braille.]
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Dawn Gross seconded the motion that the disposition of charge 295 be changed to "ongoing." The motion passed unanimously.
[Charge 295 (11/5/15): Work with sign fabricators and standard-setting bodies within the signage industry to assist with the transition to the use of Unified English Braille.]
25. (agenda item #17) Foreign Language Task Force: Jennifer Dunnam
Jennifer Dunnam presented the report. She reviewed the recent history of the work of the Foreign Language Task Force, which was tasked with updating the Provisional Guidance for Transcribing Foreign Language Material in UEB. An updated draft was distributed to the board last fall, but subsequently, an NBA workshop occurred during which some questions were asked which were not addressed in the updated draft, so the document was not moved forward at that time. There has been no action on the update since then due to the press of other BANA work for the transition to UEB. The task force will endeavor to have an update ready by the fall; Jen Goulden agreed to assist with ensuring that the work progresses. In the meantime, the current provisional document will remain on the BANA website.
26. (agenda item #27) Bylaws Committee: Darleen Bogart
Darleen Bogart summarized the report, which is on file.
In response to Charge 292 (11/5/15), "Refine the process for code changes and revisions with respect to the Research Committee and surveys,"
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion to make the following change to policy 5.7.2, and to have it reflect the new Review Process Committee. "5.7.2 (from Bylaws 6.4.3) the Braille Research Committee shall consist of members with knowledge of braille and expertise in research and teaching methodologies. It shall [delete: serve as a resource to the BANA technical committees to assist them in determining appropriate ways to collect information to answer specific questions with which they have been charged; end delete] promote and conduct research on braille-related issues relevant to the goals of BANA; and provide opportunities for partnerships to answer questions related to braille reading and writing which have an impact on braille codes and guidelines."
In response to Charge 291 (11/5/15) "Update the treasurer's duties and responsibilities regarding the annual report,"
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Stuart Wittenstein seconded the motion to accept the adoption of the following: Bylaw 4.3.1, Policy 3.5.5.1, and Policy 6.7. The motion passed unanimously.
[Bylaw 4.3.1 Annual Report: Within ninety (90) days of the close of the fiscal year and following the financial review, the Treasurer will create an annual report for the Publications Committee to prepare for public access.]
[Policy 3.5.5.1: Within ninety (90) days of the close of the fiscal year and following the financial review, the Treasurer will create an annual report for the Publications Committee to prepare for public access.]
[Policy 6.7 Annual Report: Within ninety (90) days of the close of the fiscal year and following the financial review, the Treasurer will create an annual report for the Publications Committee to prepare for public access.]
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion to change the disposition of charge 291 to "done." The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Mary Nelle McLennan seconded the motion to the revisions as follows to Policy 5.5.4. The motion passed unanimously.
1. Policy 5.5.4
5.5.4 Minor Code, Guidelines or format changes
[delete Proposed new braille codes and guidelines or end delete] Revisions of existing codes and guidelines must be submitted to the chairs of the other technical committees and the BANA Board for review prior to submission to the Board for final approval. This review shall be for the purpose of avoiding the creation of conflicts among the braille codes and guidelines or of difficulties in production.
5.5.5 New or Major Revisions of Code and Guidelines (no change)
5.5.5.1 The development and adoption of new braille codes and guidelines would follow the same procedures as those outlined in 5.5.4 above for the revision of existing codes.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion that Bylaw 3.1 be changed to reflect the BANA membership changes as follows. The motion passed unanimously.
Full members: Remove Braille Institute of America. Remove The Hadley School for the Blind. Add Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Perkins School for the Blind. Associate members: Add Braille Institute of America (BIA) and remove Braille Authority of NZ Aotearoa Trust.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Sandy Ruconich seconded the motion to create a new charge to the Bylaws Committee to bring the bylaws into conformity by clarifying full member responsibilities. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion to change the policy 5.7.2 to reflect the following new wording. The motion passed unanimously.
Policy 5.7.2 (from Bylaws 6.4.3) the Braille Research Committee shall consist of members with knowledge of braille and expertise in research and teaching methodologies. It shall [delete serve as a resource to the BANA technical committees to assist them in determining appropriate ways to collect information to answer specific questions with which they have been charged; end delete] promote and conduct research on braille-related issues relevant to the goals of BANA; and provide opportunities for partnerships to answer questions related to braille reading and writing which have an impact on braille codes and guidelines.
[Add:] 5.7.2.1 The Braille Research Committee shall serve as a resource to the BANA technical committees to assist them in determining appropriate ways to collect information to answer specific questions with which they have been charged. This may be accomplished by developing an electronic survey to evaluate all major code and guideline changes and revisions, with input from the particular technical committee. The resulting instrument, approved by the Braille Research Committee, will be used to conduct the evaluation by soliciting input from knowledgeable persons in the field, BANA Technical Committee members, and BANA Board members. The survey results will be forwarded to the BANA Board and the applicable Technical Committee Chair for responses to the issues raised in the survey results.
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and Tracy Gaines seconded the motion to add policy 5.7.4 as follows. The motion passed unanimously.
[5.7.4: The Review Process Committee manages the board and technical review process for BANA publications and projects. It also shall serve as a resource to BANA committees to assist them in determining appropriate ways to collect information to complete their charges.]
MSC Darleen Bogart moved and FM D'Andrea seconded the motion to change the disposition of charge 292 to "done." The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Darleen Bogart seconded the motion to appoint Sandy Ruconich to the Bylaws committee. The motion passed unanimously.
27. (agenda item #28) Secretary's Report: Ruth Rozen
The email motions and votes that had taken place since the Fall 2015 are as follows:
MSC Ruth Rozen moved and Darleen Bogart seconded the motion that we thank the current members of the Music Braille Committee for heir successful work on the revision of the Music Braille Code 2015, and, with the approval of that revision, terminate their appointments at the end of 2015.
Date Due: November 20, 2015 at noon EST.
Voting YES: (ACB) Sandra Ruconich; (AER) Diane Wormsley; (AFB) Frances Mary D'Andrea; (ASB)Barbara Finkelstein; (ATPC) Dawn Gross; (Clovernook) Saul Garza; (CNIB) Darleen Bogart; (COSB) Stuart Wittenstein; (CTEBVI) Tracy Gaines; (Hadley) Ruth Rozen; (Horizons) Maryann Bartkowski; (NBA) Diane Spence; (NBP) Jackie Sheridan; (NFB) Jennifer Dunnam; (NLS) Judy Dixon; (Perkins) Kim Charlson. Not voting: (APH) Mary Nelle McLennan; (BIA) Nancy Niebrugge. The motion carried.
MSC Ruth Rozen moved and Maryann Bartkowski seconded the motion that the following individuals be appointed to the music braille technical committee, and that their respective terms be staggered as follows:
Dan Geminder (Chair) 2017
Karin Auckenthaler 2017
Gilbert Busch 2016
Christina (Tina) Davidson 2017
Karen Gearreald 2016
Date Due: November 24, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. EST.
Voting YES: (ACB) Sandra Ruconich; (AER) Diane Wormsley; (AFB) Frances Mary D'Andrea; (APH) Mary Nelle McLennan; (ASB) Barbara Finkelstein; (ATPC) Dawn Gross; (Clovernook) Saul Garza; (CNIB) Darleen Bogart; (COSB) Stuart Wittenstein; (CTEBVI) Tracy Gaines; (Hadley) Ruth Rozen; (NBA) Diane Spence; (NBP) Jackie Sheridan; (NFB) Jennifer Dunnam; (NLS) Judy Dixon; (Perkins) Kim Charlson; Not voting: (Horizons) Maryann Bartkowski; (BIA) Nancy Niebrugge. The motion carried.
Ruth Rozen moved and Dawn Gross seconded a motion to accept the Fall 2015 minutes.
Date Due: Feb. 17, 2016, 5:00 p.m. EST
Voting Yes: (ATPC) Dawn Gross; (ACB) Sandra Ruconich; (AFB) Frances Mary (FM) D'Andrea; (APH) Cathy Senft-Graves; (ASB) Barbara Finkelstein; (AER) Mary Nelle McLennan; (CTEBVI) Tracy Gaines; (CNIB) Darleen Bogart; (Clovernook) Saul Garza; (COSB) Stuart Wittenstein; (Hadley) Ruth Rozen; (Horizons) Maryann Bartkowski; (NBA) Diane Spence; (NBP) Jackie Sheridan; (NFB) Jennifer Dunnam; (NLS) Judith (Judy) Dixon; (Perkins) Kim Charlson. The motion passes unanimously.
MSC Ruth Rozen moved and Dawn Gross seconded a motion to accept the February 2016 teleconference minutes.
Date Due: March. 10, 2016, 5:00 p.m. EST
Voting yes: (ATPC) Dawn Gross; (ACB) Sandra Ruconich; (APH) Cathy Senft-Graves; (ASB) Barbara Finkelstein; (CTEBVI) Tracy Gaines; (Clovernook) Saul Garza; (CNIB) Darleen Bogart; (COSB) Stuart Wittenstein; (Hadley) Ruth Rozen; (Horizons) Maryann Bartkowski; (NBA) Diane Spence; (NBP) Jackie Sheridan; (NFB) Jennifer Dunnam; (NLS) Judith (Judy) Dixon; (Perkins) Kim Charlson; Not voting: (AFB) Frances Mary (FM) D'Andrea; (AER) Mary Nelle McLennan. The motion carried.
Kim Charlson brought up the topic of the BANA registered agent. All states require nonprofit organizations to have a registered agent. The purpose of a Registered Agent is to provide a legal address and a person or persons available during normal business hours for legal and tax purposes. Oral Millar has been the registered agent for many years. Mark Richert is an attorney who works for AFB in Washington D.C. He is a braille reader. The board listened to a brief bio of Richert.
MSC Kim Charlson moved and Stuart Wittenstein seconded the motion that BANA appoint Mark Richert as the registered agent for BANA. The motion passed unanimously.
28. (agenda item #29) Treasurer's Report: Jackie Sheridan
The board reviewed the end of year financial statement for 2015 and 2016 and the 2016 budget and year-to-date income and expenses.
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Judy Dixon seconded the motion that the 2015 Year End Treasurer's Report be approved by the board. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Jackie Sheridan moved and Darleen Bogart seconded the motion that Mocera Visconti & Co CPA LLP be approved as the financial reviewer for 2014 and 2015 for BANA. The motion passed unanimously.
29. (agenda item #37) New Business
29.1 Apostrophe Issue
In computer transcribed materials, especially without the intervention of a human transcriber, the apostrophe is often transcribed in braille as a single opening quotation mark (also called inner opening quotation mark). While this is not a problem specific to UEB, it has arisen recently, coincidentally to the implementation of UEB. A lengthy discussion took place about the ease of reading and transcribing apostrophes and single opening quotation marks as different symbols in braille (apostrophe dot 3; single opening quotation mark dot 6, dots 236) versus using the same braille symbol (dot 3) for the apostrophe and both the opening and closing single quotation marks. The board reviewed comments and opinions from experts in the field.
MSC Sandy Ruconich moved and Judy Dixon seconded the motion to make the following recommendation to the ICEB Code Maintenance Committee: In regard to the apostrophe issue, BANA supports the use of dot 3 for both the open and close single quotation marks as well as the apostrophe. Furthermore, amended rules should clearly address interior apostrophes as discussed in section 2.6.4 of the Rules of Unified English Braille so that rules are applied regardless of which Unicode symbols are used. Rules regarding predominant single-cell quotation marks would remain unchanged. Voting Yes: ACB (Sandy Ruconich), AFB (FM D'Andrea) , ATPC (Dawn Gross), APH (Cathy Senft-Graves), ASB (Jessi Rivera), AER (Mary Nelle McLennan), Clovernook (Saul Garza), CNIB (Darleen Bogart), COSB (Stuart Wittenstein), Hadley (Ruth Rozen), NBA (Diane Spence), NBP (Jackie Sheridan), NFB (Jennifer Dunnam), NLS (Judy Dixon), Perkins (Kim Charlson). Not Voting: Horizons (Maryann Bartkowski). Abstaining CTEBVI (Tracy Gaines). The motion carried.
29.2 Navajo Braille
FM D'Andrea reported that she has been approached regarding a Navajo braille code. On FM's advice, parties with an interest in Navajo braille code, including the Navajo Board of Education, will continue to communicate with Robert Englebretson, co-chair of the research committee, who is a linguist, after which a response to the BANA board will be made if something needs to be done.
30. (agenda item #36) Unfinished/Continued Business
30.1 "Braille Through Remote Learning"
The website "Braille Through Remote Learning: BRL" (www.brl.org) still exists. It teaches old code. BANA has asked that it be taken down because the code is not up to date (see May, 2015 meeting minutes). Jennifer Dunnam has contacted Ron Broadnax and the Shodor Foundation, which hosts brl.org, with requests to take the site down. Jennifer will continue her efforts at that level and raise the efforts to another level as necessary.
30.2 Awards Committee
MSC Sandy Ruconich moved and Jackie Sheridan seconded the motion that the 2017 Awards committee remain constituted as it was for the 2015 awards presentation, assuming all members agree to remain on the committee, as listed here. The motion passed unanimously.
Awards committee:
Sandy Ruconich, Chair
Anna Dresner
Cay Holbrook
Debbie Willis
Karen Gearreald
Tracy Gaines
30.3 Judy Dixon
The board took time towards the close of the meeting to acknowledge Judy Dixon, as she announced that this will be her last meeting to serve as NLS's representative to the BANA board. She was BANA's longest serving chairperson. She was also instrumental in providing leadership in moving toward new directions for braille and BANA. On behalf of the BANA board, Judy received a gift certificate with a message with thanks for her 12 years of dedicated service to BANA.
30.4 Membership Committee
MSC Mary Nelle moved and Ruth Rozen seconded the motion to review and update the membership materials on the BANA website. The motion passed unanimously.
MSC Sandy Ruconich moved and Jackie Sheridan seconded the motion to appoint Kim Charlson as chair of the Membership Committee. The motion passed unanimously.
30.5 Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearroa Trust (BANZAT)
As noted at the spring board teleconference meeting, the Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearroa Trust (BANZAT), a long-time associate member of BANA, had to drop its associate membership for financial reasons to focus resources on the International Council on English Braille. Mary Schnackenberg, Chair of BANZAT, offered comments to the board. She expressed gratitude for BANA's leadership in the English Braille world, particularly with respect to the importance of the work to ensure that braille textbooks could be produced in such a way that braille reading students can participate in classes with print reading students. This work has helped to improve education and reduce isolation for blind students not just in North America but in many countries throughout the world. The board expressed its appreciation for BANZAT's many years of support and looks forward to continuing to work together as colleagues within ICEB.
30.6 Other Initiatives
Orientation materials for new board members are progressing with Mary Nelle McLennan. This is a vice-chair responsibility, but Mary Nelle, immediate past vice-chair, has continued her work on it. It will be a "common sense" orientation to the BANA board. Mary Nelle will send the draft for board review.
31. (agenda item #30) Certificates of Appreciation: Ruth Rozen, Kim Charlson
Kim Charlson reviewed the list of individuals who will received certificates of appreciation after this meeting.
32. (agenda item #31) Directory Update: Sue Reilly
Sue Reilly has been making changes to the directory as needed, and she will be ready to post it soon after the meeting. The BANA board will review the changes, and then the directory will be posted.
33. (agenda item #32) BANA's Listservs: Kim Charlson
Kim Charlson reports that sometimes ISPs cause problems with some members not receiving listserv messages. She also reminded members to send any changes in their contact information to her for updating.
34. (agenda item #33) BANA's Archives: Frances Mary D'Andrea
FM D'Andrea is continuing to collect papers for archives at APH, and she is working on methods for collecting for electronic archives.
BANAFILES also includes archival materials. Some discussion about management of the server ensued, in view of the fact that Judy Dixon, who provides the server space for BANA, is retiring. Jennifer will explore options for a new server, which could also be the server on which the website resides.
35. (agenda item #34) Press Releases: Sandy Ruconich
Sandy Ruconich listed recent BANA press releases that have been posted. Press releases are available on brailleauthority.org/pressreleases/pressreleasesarchive.html. Press releases that will come soon include one about this meeting, including the discussion held regarding braille terminology and one about the music braille code 2015 release.
36. (agenda item #35) International Report
36.1 ICEB: Judy Dixon
The ICEB 6th General Assembly will be audio streamed. To listen and to access the program, go to iceb.org and follow links. The audio stream will not be archived.
36.2 World Braille Council
Kim Charlson and Judy Dixon will be attending the 2016 General Assembly of WBU/ICEVI (World Blind Union/International Council for Education or People with Visual Impairment). The conference will take place in Orlando, Florida in August.
The observers from Australia mentioned the UEB ONLINE program uebonline.org. This is an online course based on the UEB Australian Training Manual and hosted by the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in Sydney, Australia. Four thousand students have registered from 55 countries. Two thousand of those have completed one-half of the course, and one thousand of those have completed the whole course. The online course has now been modified to be used with a screen reader, and that version is available at accessible.uebonline.org
37. (agenda item #38) Upcoming Meetings
37.1 Fall 2016: AFB
The Fall 2016 BANA meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, where AFB has an office. The dates are November 3-5. FM D'Andrea will send all the details and information about the meeting to the listserv.37.2 Spring 2017: CTEBVI
Tracy Gaines said that she will try to schedule the BANA meeting immediately following the CTEBVI conference, which will take place March 9-12, 2017.3. Board Teleconferences
The next BANA teleconference will take place August 15 at 1:00 EDT.38. (agenda item #39) Future BANA meetings
Fall 2017: Hadley
Spring 2018: ATPC
Fall 2018: ACB
Spring 2019: CNIB
Fall 2019: Clovernook
Spring 2020: NFB
Fall 2020: NBA
Spring 2021: NLS
Fall 2021: APH
Spring 2022: ASB
Fall 2022: AER
Spring 2023: Perkins
Fall 2023: NBP
Spring 2024: Horizons
Fall 2024: COSB
39. (agenda item #40) Around the Table agency updates
NFB: Jennifer Dunnam reported that the summer NFB Bell Academy Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning take place in 35 states. These are one- or two-week programs for young children who are braille users to give them an opportunity for both intensive braille use and fun time.
NFB is also delighted to be hosting the ICEB 6th General Assembly.
ATPC: Dawn Gross reported that their grant is up for renewal. For now the organization is staying with San Bernadino. They have two prison programs for braille training. The students now have the ability to access webinars, allowing weekly training, which increases the quality and ease of work. About 20 individuals are in the process of doing their manuscript for certification, and 9-10 men are taking the UEB proficiency exam.
CETBVI: Tracy Gaines reported that at their recent conference a new method was introduced that allows incarcerated individuals to do workshops remotely. They are hoping to expand on that.
AER: Mary Nelle McLennan reported that AER is having its biennial conference this July in Jacksonville, Florida. She and FM D'Andrea are having a poster session (described under "Outreach," above). In addition they will present paper titled "Up to Speed on UEB: Sharing Resources for the Implementation." AER has started a series of articles in the AER Report about UEB and its implementation. The first one just became available this week, and includes interviews with FM and Mary Nelle, plus interviews with two braille instructors. Sandy Ruconich added she will be doing a presentation titled "UEB and Braille Displays: Steps, Tips, and Tricks."
APH: Cathy Senft-Graves mentioned that APH is undergoing leadership changes. After 44 years of dedicated service to APH and its customers, Dena Garrett will be retiring in June. Cathy also reported that Building on Patterns student materials are now in UEB with supplements for teachers. Some other products are in the process of being modernized to UEB. A JAWS® and MAGic® Student Edition is now available to K-12 students in the U.S. using Federal Quota funds.
ACB: Sandy Ruconich noted that medical prescription accessibility is improving, including braille labeling on drugs, thanks to an agreement with RiteAid. All pharmacies associated with RiteAid will now be making the prescriptions accessible, thanks to the work of Tony Stevens, Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs. ACB holds its convention in July in Minneapolis.
NLS: Judy Dixon praised NLS Director Karen Keniger for her dedication to braille. She also mentioned the success of the Orbit Reader. Legislation for braille-making braille displays has been moving slowly. NLS has requested proposals to develop a UEB technical materials course. Jennifer Dunnam added that under a contract with NLS, NFB manages the braille transcription courses. The 20-lesson course material is updated for UEB. Further updates will take place after Formats 2016 is released. Updating of the proofreading course is in progress. Jennifer also mentioned future updates for UEB of the Nemeth and Music Courses. A process has been developed for transcribers to earn a "letter of proficiency" in UEB. As of now, 118 people have earned that letter.
AFB: FM D'Andrea reported that AFB also has change in leadership. Longtime president Carl Augusto is retiring. FM also noted that Reading Connections by Cheryl Kamei-Hannan and other braille-related publications for teachers are now in the AFB Press bookstore in various media.
CNIB: Darleen Bogart reported that the Orbit Reader is selling in Canada this fall. Their UEB Technical course is available on the CNIB website. The CNIB conference in Toronto will be one day only. Next year, 2017, will be CNIB's 100th year. A new CNIB project is helping the people of Rwanda by preparing textbooks for a school for the blind in Rwanda..
Clovernook: Saul Garza noted that all publications done by Clovernook are now in UEB. Clovernook also was awarded a grant to receive braille displays. The organization's website is becoming more accessible. In partnership with Braille Institute, Clovernook is hosting the Braille Challenge.
Perkins: Kim Charlson mentioned that Perkins participated in the beta testing of the Orbit Reader. Perkins is one of the partners in the "transforming braille" group e-learning division on-line and in-person training.
NBP: Jackie Sheridan also reported changes in leadership at her organization. Publisher Dianne Croft is leaving, so NBP has hired a new editor. The "Great Expectations" program is available with an accompanying website, making the project interactive. NBP is producing the tactile caliper, which is an award-winning measuring ruler that provides output to one-sixteenth of an inch. A UEB transcription course has begun, with twelve people who took it locally. With grant funding, it could potentially be given at braille camps and by remote access. The B2G refreshable braille computer is now on sale.
NBA: Diane Spence reported that NBA is continuing UEB training, among other topics. The next conference is October 26-29 in St. Louis, Missouri. Julie Somwalt is presenting at the Midwest Regional Braille Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Debbie Willis and Ruth Loew are presenting at the National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) in Philadelphia.
COSB: Stuart Wittenstein reported that COSB member agencies have been hosting regional events in the Braille Challenge. He also mentioned that the superintendent of the Washington State School for the Blind is retiring and that COSB is seeking to fill its vacant executive director position.
Hadley: Ruth Rozen reported that all Hadley's braille instruction courses are updated for UEB, and most are already open for enrollment, including "Transitioning to UEB," as well as courses for learning braille from the start for both sighted and blind students. Hadley is also undergoing leadership changes, as Chuck Young retired after 10 years as president.
40. (agenda item #41) Adjournment: Jennifer Dunnam
The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m., EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Ruth Rozen, Secretary