Kentucky Council of the Blind

06/17/2026

The Department of Education announced today that several offices and programs will be moved to other agencies. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, or OSERS, will be moved to the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS. OSERS is responsible for distributing federal funding for special education and helps ensure students receive services that they are legally entitled to. The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights, or OCR, will be moved to the Department of Justice, DOJ. OCR investigates discrimination claims in schools, including disability discrimination involving accommodations, accessibility, and harassment. Additional changes have been made, but these two are the most likely to affect students with disabilities and their families.

ACB is concerned by these actions of the current administration. The Department of Education was established in part to ensure equal access to education and prevent discrimination. Moving OSERS and OCR to HHS and DOJ, respectively, will likely make it more difficult and time-consuming for students, families, and educators to navigate, access services, resolve discrimination, and hold states accountable under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.

The administration has indicated that they seek to lessen the roles and responsibilities of the Department of Education. This movement of OSERS and OCR is an example of that. While HHS and DOJ play vital roles within the federal government, we feel that the Department of Education is the agency best equipped to oversee these essential functions of OSERS and OCR.

A link to the announcement from the Department of Education can be found here: https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-additional-partnerships-strengthen-coordination-individuals-disabilities-programs-bolster-civil-rights

Sincerely,

Grace Hart
Operations Administrator, Advocacy & Accessibility
American Council of the Blind
202-978-2593

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) today announced four new interagency agreements (IAAs) designed to reduce federal bureaucracy and improve the efficient delivery of federally funded programs and activities to better support students and families.

06/16/2026

The June 2026 issue of The Braille Forum is now available online and via podcast! Here’s how to access the most recent issue:

🌐 Online Edition: https://www.acb.org/acb-braille-forum-june-2026

🎙️ Podcast: https://acb-braille-forum-and-e-forum.pinecast.co

ACB members get early access to The Braille Forum, delivered to their inboxes or mailboxes in a format of their choosing. Join today at https://acb.org/join-ACB and access a list of our affiliates at https://www.acb.org/affiliates.

Support The Braille Forum and other ACB publications by making a donation at https://acb.org/donate.

06/12/2026

Saturday is June 13, and that means that it is time for the Kentucky Low Vision Alliance in-person support group. The group meets from 10 AM to 12:00 noon at United Crescent Hill Ministries, located at 150 State Street in Louisville. The meeting begins with a light breakfast, and there’s plenty of time to meet others and share information and tips.

This week we will be exploring the Meta smart glasses with Michael McCarty. Find out how these glasses can help both people who have low vision and people who have no vision to handle everyday tasks.

We will also be answering questions and sharing information about some of the informative programs coming up at the national convention of the American Council of the Blind. Whether you can attend the convention in St. Louis, or whether you can participate by Zoom on your phone or computer or through your Alexa device, this is a great chance for you to learn about many blindness and low vision related topics such as technology, guide dogs, advocacy, library services, living with low vision, and so much more.

For more information about this meeting, and to let us know you will be attending, give us a call at 502-895-4598. Remember, everyone is welcome, including friends and family members.

06/11/2026

Last week we announced that the Alice Cogswell and Anne Sullivan Macy Act was reintroduced in both the House and the Senate! This bipartisan bill would improve educational opportunities for students who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, blind, or who have low vision.

ACB is proud to endorse this bill, and we hope that you will share your voice with your Congressmembers and encourage them to support this bill through our new Speak4 campaign below!

The link to the Speak4 campaign can be found here: https://speak4.app/lp/lc019s7h?ts=1781182015

Sincerely,

Grace Hart
Operations Administrator, Advocacy & Accessibility
American Council of the Blind
202-978-2593

Often, children who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, blind, or who have low vision face barriers to obtain the...

06/11/2026

We always have questions about TARC and TARC-3 services, and now is no exception.

Shawn Reilly from TARC will be our guest at the Greater Louisville Council of the Blind Roundabout this week. Please come and hear the latest information about all the changes.

This week is virtual, from 6 to 8 PM on Zoom. Shawn will be our first speaker, so be on time so you don’t miss any of his comments.

Remember that you can join the Zoom call from any computer, cell phone or landline phone. give us a call at 502-895-4598 if you have questions about how to join the call.

06/10/2026

What: Basics With BITS Topic: AI Survival Guide for Gemini and Chat GPT. When: Saturday June 27th at 1:00 PM Eastern (10:00 AM Pacific) Ready to unlock the power of AI? Join us for an exciting BITS course led by Kayla Bentas! In this fun and interactive one-hour session, you’ll learn the basics of...

06/09/2026

ACB Welcomes Brian Kempfer as Legal Counsel

After a very thorough search, we have hired our Legal Counsel to join the ACB team. Brian Kempfer will start on June 8th.

Brian earned his Bachelor of Arts in history from Bowling Green State University in Ohio (where he was awarded a scholarship from ACB Ohio!). Brian earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He has been practicing law at a large law firm in Washington, D.C. for about a decade, where he has represented clients in complex civil lawsuits and sensitive investigations. During that time, he represented a class of thousands of deaf and hard of hearing prisoners in the Michigan prison system, ensuring them access to effective communication during high stakes proceedings like disciplinary hearings and religious services.

He was also a part of a team that successfully challenged an Ohio law that improperly prevented a disabled voter from choosing the person of their choice to assist them with returning their absentee ballots. Additionally, he helped lead a team that represented a group of disability rights organizations and scholars in filing a friend of the court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court that explained to the justices some of the barriers to accessing medical care and higher medical risks faced by people with disabilities. During law school, he interned for the Disability Rights Section at the U.S. Department of Justice where he helped investigate violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In his spare time, Brian enjoys reading (especially science fiction, fantasy, histories, and mysteries), going to plays (especially musicals), and acting as a judge for college mock trial competitions.

06/07/2026

GET ON THE BUS

Have you been thinking about the many opportunities for training and learning coming up at the ACB convention in St. Louis, and wishing you could be there? Hands-on exhibits; tech sessions sponsored by major companies such as Meta, Amazon, Humanware, APH, Bookshare, and so many more; educational programs about diabetes, guide dogs, audio description, advocacy, low vision, library services, health and wellness - just to name a few; and once-in-a-lifetime tours. Continuing education credits are available too. In short, you will experience an entire week of opportunities and training.

Going to convention often means flying to a far-away city, spending hours in line at the airport, and changing flights. This year St. Louis is only slightly more than a four-hour drive from Louisville. KCB has chartered a bus to St. Louis; it will leave Louisville on Friday morning, July 24 and return on Friday afternoon, July 31. We will make a brief stop in Evansville, Indiana to pick up more passengers. Lunch will be provided each way on the bus, courtesy of the Louisville East Lions Club.

The charge to ride our bus to St. Louis is $100 per person round-trip; $75 one way. Seats are filling quickly, but there's still room for more.

If you would like more information about the bus, and to reserve your seat now, have your debit or credit card ready and give us a call right now at (502) 895-4598.

06/04/2026

Way to go KSB!

A big shoutout to students and staff at the Kentucky School for the Blind. They came by today to tour the newsroom and our studios and experience news in real time.

A perfect group to feature as we head into Crusade Weekend! They're a frequent grant recipient of the WHAS Crusade for Children.

Don't forget to tune in this Saturday and Sunday on WHAS11 News.