FCC Forms Disability Advisory Committee

The Federal Communications Commission announced the planned formation of the Disability Advisory Committee and seeks nominations for membership. The FCC will accept nominations until January 12, 2015.

The FCC expects to hold its first meeting of the new committee during the first quarter of 2015, coinciding with a year-long celebration of both the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 5th anniversary of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). The committee, to be created under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, will provide a vehicle for consumers and other stakeholders to provide feedback and recommendations to the Commission on a wide array of disability issues within the FCC’s jurisdiction. The new body will enable the FCC to keep pace with evolving communications accessibility issues and build on its record of ensuring access to communications and video programming for people with disabilities. Some of the issues the committee will address include telecommunications relay services, closed captioning, video description, access to emergency information on television and telephone emergency services, device accessibility, IP and other network transitions, and the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program, as well as new disability and accessibility issues that arise.