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Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
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we set up our forum with seating in the center of the room, and display tables
from our sponsors around the perimeter of the room.
Our main topic of discussion involved a dialogue on the Cogswell-Macy
Act led by colleagues at the American Foundation for the Blind, Mark Richert,
Director of Public Policy, and Dr. Rebecca Sheffield, Senior Policy Analyst.
Together, they described the shared vision for the Act that if passed, would
address the dire need for qualified personnel at the local levels; establishing a
more accurate child count; and creating a mechanism for states to engage in
planning for students with deafness, blindness and deafblindness. At this
time, the Act has been introduced in the House as HB3535 with bipartisan
support. It has not been introduced in the Senate because advocates are
seeking a Republican co-sponsor for the Senate version of the bill. It has
taken some time for our low incidence communities to come together and
build consensus and momentum around the Cogswell-Macy Act. Just the day
before the Teacher and Intervener forum, AFB hosted a successful
Congressional call-in day, with over 500 people from across the country
making calls to representatives to support the Cogswell-Macy Act.
After the update from Mark and Rebecca, participants in the forum
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