Statutory Council on Blindness

News and updates

July 2024

Dear community members,

We are excited to share important updates regarding the finalized rules of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II and Health and Human Services (HHS) Section 504. These updates aims to enhance accessibility and ensure equal opportunities for everyone.

Final rule of ADA Title II

On April 24, 2024, The Federal Register published the Department of Justice's final rule updating its regulation for Title II of ADA. The final rule has specific requirement about how to ensure that web content and mobile applications (apps) are accessible to people with disabilities. To see more information, go to this fact sheet: New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments.

Final rule of HHS Section 504

On May 1, 2024, the HHS released a final rule on implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This rule clarifies 504's application. It aligns with key court and law updates. Thus, this rule has strong provisions. They uphold civil rights and ensure equal access to health care and human services. To see more information, go to this fact sheet: https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/section-504-rehabilitation-act-of-1973/part-84-final-rule-fact-sheet/index.html.

Overview

The Statutory Council on Blindness (SCOB) is a nine-member body whose purpose is to make recommendations to the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and other state agencies on services, activities, programs, investigations, and research that affect persons of Wisconsin who are blind or visually impaired. The nine members of the Council are appointed by the Secretary of DHS to serve three-year terms and are eligible to reapply to serve a second three-year term at the conclusion of the first.

Per Wis. Stat. § 47.01(1) and § 47.01(5), at least seven of the nine appointed members must be blind or visually impaired, and the members must reflect a broad representation of blind or visually impaired persons. All Council members must have an interest in and demonstrated knowledge of the problems of the blind and visually impaired. More detailed functions of the SCOB are specified in Wis. Stat. § 47.03(9).

The Statutory Council on Blindness meets quarterly to discuss issues and recommendations for state agencies regarding people who are blind or visually impaired. These meetings are open to the public. Public meeting notices, agendas, and meeting minutes can be found on our meetings page. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Statutory Council on Blindness, visit the Join the Council page for more information.

If you encounter any issues or have concerns that affect the blind community, we invite you to join us at an upcoming meeting or submit a public comment to present your issue to the Council for review.