The official policy statements of the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa are established every year with annual resolutions adopted at the state convention.

The resolutions committee meets early during the convention. Each proposed resolution is read, spoken for by the authoring member, considered, and then ultimately withdrawn or recommended for passage or disapproval by the Convention.

At times, resolutions may also be presented and adopted during an affiliate board meeting when timely action is needed between conventions. These resolutions hold the same official weight and reflect the affiliate’s ongoing commitment to addressing current issues affecting blind Iowans.

Resolution 2025-01: REGARDING THE IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM AND DISMISSAL OF TEXAS V. KENNEDY

WHEREAS, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a landmark civil rights provision for people with disabilities, protecting us from discrimination by federal agencies and recipients of federal funding in public education, work readiness programs, healthcare, elections, the court system, and more; and

WHEREAS, seventeen states’ attorneys general have filed suit in Texas v. Kennedy alleging that Section 504 is unconstitutional and should be entirely or partially enjoined, limiting it only to those programs, services, and activities directly funded by and through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and

WHEREAS, those seventeen states submitted a status report to the Court on February 21, 2025, stating in pertinent part, “Plaintiffs clarify that they have never moved--and do not plan to move--the Court to declare or enjoin Section 504. . . as unconstitutional on its face. Plaintiffs have not sought and do not seek to enjoin the disbursement of funds from the Department on the basis that the statute is unconstitutional.”; and

WHEREAS, at the time of this resolution, Plaintiffs have chosen not to amend pages 37 and 42 of their complaint, which directly contradict the previous paragraph by stating: “Count 3: Section 504 is Unconstitutional,” and “Demand for Relief . . . d. Declare Section 504, 29 U.S.C. § 794, unconstitutional; e. Issue permanent injunctive relief against [the Department of Health and Human Services] enjoining them from enforcing Section 504.”; and

WHEREAS, when asked by members of the National Federation of the Blind, Plaintiffs have repeatedly directed those members to the quoted language from the status report without ever addressing the language in the actual complaint; and

WHEREAS, if Plaintiffs’ demand is granted, it will have a devastating impact on blind Americans’ rights to effective communication and reasonable accommodation in connection with government programs, services, and activities, including but not limited to education, employment, housing, healthcare, and other forms of civic life: Now, therefore;

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa this 13th day of April, 2025, that this organization immediately call upon the Iowa Attorney General to withdraw their name from Texas v. Kennedy because of the far-reaching and harmful effects the lawsuit could have on Section 504 and the lives of blind and other disabled Americans generally; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call for the immediate dismissal of Texas v. Kennedy in order to protect blind people and all other Americans with disabilities by preserving the full force and effect of Section 504.

Resolution 2025-02: Regarding IOWA DEPARTMENT FOR THE BLIND, their new director, and the ruthless dismantling of Structured Discovery, the Iowa Model

WHEREAS, the Iowa Commission for the Blind (now the Iowa Department for the Blind) was founded in 1925; and

WHEREAS, In 1958 the Iowa Commission for the Blind (hereafter referred to as IDB), was ranked 48th in the then 48 states where services for the blind were concerned; and

WHEREAS, It was possible for blind people to get very few jobs, (mostly the money making opportunities for blind people were in various crafts and in small vending stands); and

WHEREAS, between 1958 AND 1968 the current building was procured, training methods were expanded upon and improved, and the IDB flew from 48th in services for the blind to 1st in services for the blind; and

WHEREAS, the methodology of training blind people was known as the Iowa Model, now called Structured Discovery, which includes the use of learning shades as an essential tool for building nonvisual skills and self-assurance; and

WHEREAS, in 1968 the IDB was so highly acclaimed that they received a Presidential Citation from President Lyndon B. Johnson; and

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa, the National Federation of the Blind, and other entities have worked to protect the methodology of training, which has continued to enjoy success in Iowa as well as in other places where it has been applied; and

WHEREAS, the Governor of the State of Iowa has managed, with the help of legislation and executive order, to usurp some of the power that originally belonged to the Iowa Commission for the Blind Board, including the hiring of a director, thus making it possible for the Governor to hire the director of IDB after Ms. Wharton’s retirement; and

WHEREAS, the new director of the IDB, Ms. Cervenka has in the first three months of her directorship dismantled many of these tried and true methods of successful blindness training, including the elimination of the learning shades requirement, thus making them optional, returning much of the blindness training in Iowa to pre-1960 methods. Now, Therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa in Convention assembled in the City of Urbandale, Iowa this 19th day of October, 2025, that we condemn and deplore these changes, as they threaten the independence and opportunities of blind Iowans; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we respectfully but firmly urge the Director to engage meaningfully with the organized blind movement, to consider and act upon our feedback, and to restore the training principles that have made Iowa a leader in the field of blindness rehabilitation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, should the Director continue to disregard the voices and perspectives of blind Iowans, the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa will actively advocate against her confirmation, as the leadership of the Department must be accountable to the community it serves.