TDPH Monthly Newsletter

In July the Student Success Act [H.R. 5] was approved by the House of Representatives. The bill, which would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, works to reduce “the federal role in education” through State level academic and teacher assessments in addition to providing State-level grants to promote education for specific populations, such as students with limited English proficiency or students in rural areas.

A new bill, Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013 [S.1094], was introduced in June by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to revise the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 of which No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was the last rewrite.  By allowing States the flexibility to institute their own college- and career-ready standards, performance targets, academic assessments, and accountability models, the bill’

In May, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order [FCC 13-64] regarding the roll out of text-to-911, specifically requiring wireless carriers as well as providers of text messaging services to provide a “bounce-back” message to consumers when text-to-911 is not available.  The bounce-back rules become effective June 28, 2013, and are invoked under the authority of  the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (

In April the final report on NIDRR’s long-range plan for 2013-2017 was released and included continued support of research development focused on employment, community participation, and the health and function of individuals with disabilities. In addition, funding opportunities were announced and a new Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) was proposed by NIDRR.

In March the Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC ) released a report entitled EAAC Working Group 3 Recommendations on Current 9-1-1 and Next-Generation 9-1-1: Media Communication Line Services Used to Ensure Effective Communication with Callers with Disabilities.