Take The Initiative

**If you are interested in financially contributing to help my family, please consider donating to Combined Arms SIVs and Allies Group to offset the costs associated with moving my family to the U.S. and starting our new life in Houston, Texas donate here**

I am the son of the late Mohammad*. The Taliban murdered my father on January 27, 2021, leaving my mother, my five siblings, and me grieving and fearful for our lives. My father helped the U.S. Mission in Afghanistan for over a decade. It was this work that put a target on his back and eventually cost him his life.

Losing a father is painful enough but what's even more cruel is that it didn't have to be that way. Over ten years ago my father applied for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), a visa that was designed to save families like mine, whose lives are at risk because of their work with the U.S. military. It took over a decade and the extensive help of lawyers to get my father approved to apply for the visa, all because the U.S. Government made a mistake. If the U.S. Government did not err nor delay in my father’s visa application, then he would still be alive, and my family would be safely living in the United States. Instead, my father is dead and my family is still under attack. Most recently, in February, the Taliban wrote us:

Your father was a spy, America’s puppet, and was working for them, and you saw the consequences, that we killed him. You are his son, and you are all spies. If you are caught, you all will end up dying as your father. Our fight will continue as you are the apostate. Down with the spies and puppets of America. God is great God is great God is great.

My family and I are currently in hiding, fearful of leaving our apartment. I know the Taliban will actualize their threats as they did to my father and other family members.

To ensure that my mother, siblings, and I escape the Taliban, lawyers at Touro Law School and the International Refugee Assistance Project have helped my family file a humanitarian parole petition. Our lives currently depend on the U.S. Government’s willingness to act and stand by its wartime allies. My father raised me to believe in the ideal that America stands for freedom and the fundamental value of human life. He died fighting for these truths. I still have faith that my father’s vision of America is true and America will act to save me and my family. Please sign this petition to encourage U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to grant us Humanitarian Parole and live up to its American ideals.

For more information on my family’s situation and my father’s tragic death, please refer to the articles below:

We Can't Abandon Afghans Who Helped Us - The Atlantic, March 2021
Afghan Interpreters Languish in Visa Limbo as US Coalitions Return Home - The World, March 2021

Over this last year our school district has faced many challenges in responding to the Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines. Soon after the 2020-2021 school year began, it was so encouraging to see students back in classrooms. The students were once again beginning to thrive, grades were improving, and the overall mental health of those attending had noticeably improved. While we understand the district has faced many hard decisions with the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in our area, we also see the need for our students to safely return to the classroom. The high school districts that surround our area have already begun in-person learning with plans to increase to a 5 day learning model soon. We feel that the NJUHSD should follow suit. The district is doing our students a great disservice by not allow them to return to at least a hybrid in person learning model. Our hope with this petition is that the district will hear from the families of the students and the students themselves. We are asking that the superintendent of schools and the school board would value the input of the parents and students. We feel very strongly that students should have the option to be able to return to in-person learning immediately. Thank you for your consideration.
Here’s an article from a medical perspective.
https://gbdeclaration.org/

My name is Saher and I'm currently working to evacuate family members from Afghanistan. I need your help to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of every family in Afghanistan seeking asylum.

We call upon the Biden Administration to re-open the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and provide sanctuary for those fleeing the Taliban. In doing so, this would allow families to seek asylum (Refugee/Political). We the people urge you to speedily implement a real-life plan for those greatly affected by the despicable fashion the United States of America with drawled from Afghanistan.

Please help us in making a difference... every signature counts...

When Minden town manager JD Frisby recently agreed to change their nightly siren to 5pm instead of 6pm he showed a willingness to compromise.

Given the racist history of Minden as a sundown town with a law against Washoe Tribe members after sundown, the next step should be a full apology to the Washoe.

Starting in the early 1900s the town prohibited the Washoe from being in Minden after sunset until 1974. After that they continued to ring their sundown siren at 6pm despite years of requests from the Washoe.

The recent siren switch from 6pm to 5pm does not erase decades of mistreatment and marginalization in Minden and the Lake Tahoe area.

We cannot change the future until we acknowledge the past. What happened in Minden was part of the systematic genocide of the Washoe people in the Lake Tahoe area. Washoe were forced into servitude and their children taken away.

We need to understand and acknowledge this history before we can move on. The next step is for Minden to issue a heartfelt apology to the Washoe for being a racist sundown town.

March 3, 2021

Dear Governor Steve Sisolak and Covid-19 Task Force,

My name is and I am writing in support of ALL of the basketball programs in Southern Nevada to request a change to the risk classification of boy’s and girl’s youth and high school basketball in Nevada.

Basketball has been erroneously classified and enormously impacted in Nevada, perhaps due to an incomplete understanding of the science and risk of transmission by decision makers. The state has provided no research, simply ignoring how the prohibition of basketball has affected the mental health of our youth. Basketball is currently being played in Nevada at the Collegiate and (Community College) levels. Local youth/high school teams are forced to travel to bordering states to play, creating a different set of safety issues. Most importantly the inability to play and the expense to travel is causing disproportionate opportunities directly effecting our minority and lower income communities. (As noted by North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown at her press conference on February 24, 2021)

• Youth and high school basketball has returned or is set to return to every state in the continental United States except for Nevada. (See Max Preps roadmap to return to high school basketball.)
• Basketball will be contested in many of our neighboring states including, Utah, Arizona, Washington and Idaho.
• The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has done away with tiered sport classifications, stating that “as knowledge of the virus that causes COVID-19 has evolved, we have increasingly recognized that transmission depends upon multiple factors that cannot be easily accounted for by simply dividing sports into three distinct categories of risk.”
I request you to please review your standing and allow the many thousands of boys and girls to play Basketball this Spring 2021 in Nevada.



Signed _________________________________________________



Dated __________________________________________________

Please e-mail your signed letter to [email protected]

Nevada High School Marching Bands, Winter guards and Winter drum lines are in desperate need of some practice time. Students are becoming restless, depressed and in need of some musical and social fulfillment. Recently full contact sports have been approved by Steve Sisolak. Including: Football, Cheer, Wrestling. Etc. All which include sharing equipment, skin to skin contact, and aerosol transmission. The bands will not need to share any equipment, the wind players have special PPE made at select schools. Winter guard and Winter drumline requires no equipment sharing, no contact whatsoever, and no aerosol transmission. The Arts are just as important as the NIAA sports. We should be allowed to have our rehearsals or at least some conditioning. If things like full contact sports will be allowed then why not Ensembles with no equipment sharing, social distancing, and PPE. This is made for and by students, not affiliated with any school or program.

Nevadans concerned about the welfare of animals thank Nevada State Assemblymember Susie Martinez for introducing legislation, AB 209, which would prohibit the unnecessary and harmful practice of declawing in Nevada. The Paw Project is proud to sponsor and support anti-declaw legislation in Nevada and in several other states and provinces.

Declawing is amputation, whether performed by scalpel, clippers, or laser. We believe there is never a reason to declaw for non-therapeutic reasons (that is, unless surgery were necessary to treat animals' medical conditions). Declawing does not keep cats in homes, a fact acknowledged by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP). The state of New York has banned declawing. Eight cities in California - Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Burbank, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, and Culver City - plus Denver, St. Louis, and Austin have enacted declaw bans. Statistics available from those cities indicate that the relinquishment of cats to shelters in those cities, in the years since the bans were enacted, has not increased - in fact, the number of cats dumped in shelters has DECREASED consistently in the years since the laws went into effect.

The 10,000+ veterinarians in VCA and Banfield's 2000+ veterinary clinics in the US and Canada no longer declaw, stating that declawing does not conform with "best practices" of the veterinary profession. The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) no longer allow vets in its certified Cat Friendly Practices to declaw.

There is no reason to declaw cats to protect human health. The NIH, CDC, US Public Health Service, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Canadian Medical Association, all have specifically stated that the declawing is "not advised," even for the animals of persons who are severely immunocompromised, including those with HIV. This opinion is echoed in statements on declawing published by the AAHA and the AAFP.

The Paw Project and the signatories of this petition hope this Nevada bill will be a model for humane legislation in other states.

In the King Fu Panda franchise, Master Oogway teaches the main character, Po, an important lesson. "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift! That is why it is called the present".

At the Mt. Oogway Movement, we believe that this is a lesson that America needs to hear right now. Many people are scared about the future, and with a new President, a global pandemic, and an uncertain economy, who can blame them? Even still, some people are hung up on the past, i.e. elections, the blame game, etc. These people are so caught up in worrying about the past and future, that they forget to stop and enjoy today.

We believe that everyone in America should focus more on today, not the past which they can't change, or the future they can't control. The best way we can think of is naming a landmark after Master Oogway. Help us by signing our petition and change the name of Flattop Mountain, a large tourist attraction near Anchorage, Alaska, to Mt. Oogway. With your help, every tourist who climbs all 3,510 feet will be reminded that the present is to be enjoyed.

Most people understand that animal abuse and neglect is wrong and inhumane. And many of those people want to take a stand to eradicate animal cruelty. It's a terrible feeling seeing an animal cruelty case somewhere in the United States, somewhere you can't help alot with.

How would you feel knowing there is an extreme case of animal neglect and abuse happening in our community right now, and has been going on for over 10 years? The laws in Alaska against Animal Cruelty are practically nonexistent, leaving abuse and neglect going unchecked.

There is an animal rescue in the Fairbanks North Star Borough that has been reported over the years for neglecting and abusing animals. The owner has had a non profit animal rescue operating for over 10 years. They have recieved multiple grants, and also receives donations through Amazon Smile and the FNSB community, yet the rescue is constantly overwhelmed with animals. The premises of this rescue is overcrowded. 2 to 3 dogs in the same kennel with dirty water, and feces all over the place, and puppies with Parvo.

There are multiple cats crammed into one area, where disease and infections have spread, with cats having such severe eye infections that they can't even see. Their bird cages have dozens of birds in one cage, lined up next to the cage walls. There are dogs malnourished and with bed sores, and even dead cats lying around in the building. Healthy cats and dogs have entered their so called sanctuary, only to be seen later with disease and infection.

Theres a dog there by the name of Jack, who can be seen in the photo. He arrived at this shelter in 2012, healthy and beautiful. The owner deemed him unadoptable, and said that he belonged to them as a pet. He isnt allowed to be walked or outside because he has such a thin fur coat. His dog door is nailed shut and he spends his entire life inside a small kennel in the kitchen. He's covered in bed sores and his muscles are atrophied due to the lack of excercise. All he can do is lay there. What a life for a beautiful dog.

The owner has volunteers come to help at times, but when helpers mention the poor practices, the owner bans them from the premises. They also refuse help alot of the time as well. They are using these grants and donations, but it doesn't seem to benefit the animals they have in custody. The owner has been fined before, and has had multiple animal rights and rescue groups try to shut the operation down. When the rescue is notified it is in jeopardy, the place is cleaned up quickly to trick the public into thinking standards are up to par. Unfortunately the rescue doesn't stay that way for long. From a first hand experience from a former volunteer, the owner also uses expired medication.

By signing this petition, you are showing approval for the proposal to have Title 22, the statutes that regulate the FNSB Shelter, to be applied to non- profit rescues. It would be bringing forth new standards to the laws.

Not only will rescue animals be provided food, water and shelter, but also a clean and sanitary environment and plenty of space. Health check ups, medications, and veterinary practices must be done routinely for non profit rescues and borough shelters.
Any report given should be an immediate wellness check from the Fairbanks Animal Control to make sure no animal is being abused or neglected. You will be advocating to ensure that animals in the care of rescues have safe and sanitary living conditions, and treated for illness. This proposal will ensure that non-profit rescues are held accountable to higher standards of care to guarantee that contagious illnesses are not spread to healthy animals and adopters will be provided health records.

Animals are helpless and have no voice of their own. So lets be their voice, and protect them. This petition will show that community members care about the quality of life and conditions of the rescues, which we adopt from.

Chic-fil-a is widely considered to be the best overall fast food place in the country. It adheres to ethical business standards, and is simply delicious. While the rest of the world gets to experience this greatness, Anchorage, once again is left behind. If Anchorage truly wants to be a relevant modern city they need to open up its business community those businesses that are based in the lower 48. The world is too connected for Anchorage to be so far behind. Honestly, it is not fair for the rest of the country to be spoiled with such a delicacy while Alaskans go without.


We understand a Chic-fil-a isn’t going to make Anchorage a national business center. However, The principal of bringing in popular businesses will, and people will just plain be happier. How could one not be happy picking up chicki nuggies from a company with such great customer service .


Anchorage is awash in fast food. Without and statistical support I’d be willing to bet there is more McDonalds in anchorage than most other 300,000 person cities in the world. The fact is that McDonalds is inherently the unhealthiest of all the fast food places, and the fact there is so many of them is absurd. Can’t we replace at least one with a chic-fil-a?

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic the Walt Disney Company laid off 32,000 cast members. These cast members were hard working, dedicated employees that did nothing wrong to lose their job. Many of these cast members are loyal fans that always dreamed of working for the company and the magic that comes along with it. Not only was it hard that these cast members to understand that they are losing their job, but now they have lost their tickets to return to the parks. A simple solution for most park locals would be to purchase an annual pass. At this time, Disney has stopped the sale of passes except to very rare circumstances such as small children who’s parents are current pass members.

This situation hits home to me as my fiancé and I moved from Texas all the way to Florida to be closer to the mouse. After a year of being passholders and countless job applications filled out my fiancé finally got his dream job in construction at Magic Kingdom. When this happened we gave up our annuals for cast tickets. Fast forward to October when we received that call that he would be let go. After countless calls & emails Disney has simply stated that they will not allow us to purchase annual passes. After the hard work, dedication, and loyalty these ex cast members have put in the least you would think Disney could do is allow them to buy an annual pass. We are not asking for a hand out, or anything free just the decency of being allowed to return the a place that hold near and dear to their hearts.


Please consider signing this petition to help out these laid off cast members. To many people Walt Disney World is just a theme park but, to a lot of these cast members it’s so much more. Let’s help these hard working people regain their ability to spend time in their happy place.

I want there to be a ban on water pollution in the Lake District World Heritage Site. As a Zoologist, conservationist and wildlife advocate, my goal is simple; stop water pollution in the Lake District.

I was disgusted to find out that raw sewage was allowed to flow into Lake Windermere for 1,719 hours in 2020, as part of the overflow system at Ambleside Waste Management Plant. It is hard to comprehend that that is 71 days worth of sewage, raw sewage; unfiltered and untreated.

The impact this has on the environment is catastrophic. So much so, that I have seen: a dire reduction of freshwater vegetation, a significant impact on varies fish species and an absence of White Clawed Crayfish in Otter spraint since 2020. This sort of pollution has a disastrous impact on wildlife. Wildlife that utilise waterways. Wildlife that if absent, can lead to the eventual death of a river.

I believe that this issue requires governmental intervention, an intervention that would make law the ban of water pollution in the National Park. Sadly, my government petition was rejected due to the fact that they did not see it as 'their responsibility' to ban water pollution. Thus, I am bringing my petition to you, the people; do you want raw sewage in your rivers?

It has been brought to my attention that the UK's river health is detrimental, one of the worst in Europe. So, it has become apparent that this unfortunately does not just affect the Lake District, but the entire country!

Therefore, my plan is simple. I want to begin the ban in the Lake District and then gradually move to clean the countries water. I want the rivers and lakes to be clean for the people that utilise them and especially for the wildlife that call our rivers and lakes their home.

I am striving towards getting Lake Windermere, the River Rothay and the Brathay designated as sites of bathing. This would mean the environment agency would have to monitor it regularly and ensure it is suitably clean.

If this is achieved it will make it the second and third river in the entirety of the UK to have this status. I can confidently say that this is an achievable goal and it will be the first step in the right direction to completely stopping water pollution in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I also believe, that it raises awareness to the national scandal that is our rivers. Suffice to say, we have some of the worst rivers in Europe, if not the world...

“For high levels of surface water fecal contamination, the extent of contamination of surface waters is predicted to be massive in some countries. All of India fits into this category, as does ~70% of the United Kingdom, and ~30% of the United States, excluding Alaska” (Kiulia et al., 2015).’

I have begun the process of getting Windermere, the River Rothay and Brathay as designated bathing sites. All signatures on this petition will be added as evidence to this cause. I post regular updates on my progress with this campaign on my Instagram: @mattstaniek.

https://www.instagram.com/mattstaniek/?hl=en

Finally, if you want to see if your favourite swimming spot has raw sewage discharged into it, then head over to the Rivers Trust website.

Good on ya,
Matt

We demand Election Integrity in Alaska!

We support Senator Mike Shower's efforts to bring election integrity back to Alaska - do you?

Sign here to send a message to our legislators to put a stop to broken elections!

The Northstar Behavioral Hospital is a “mental hospital” located in Anchorage, Alaska. In reality, it is closer a prison than a mental health facility. Children and teenagers who stay at the hospital are forced to stay longer against their family's will. The hospital plays it off by claiming they need more evaluation but no child should be locked in a facility for 6 months or even more than a year. When parents say they want to pull the child out they are threatened with charges of child neglect and abuse regardless of whether the child is well or not. Staff members abuse, neglect, starve, and drug the patients heavily. It is reported that the patients are given tranquilizers and Benadryl constantly to keep them asleep or “calm”. In reality, all this does is keep the patients in a high state in which they're more obedient towards the staff. Instead of rehabilitating the mentally ill, the staff will lock them inside rooms for days on end with little to no food at all. Staff members also heavily favor certain patients and will even go as far as giving said patients they favor extra food and give them much less restrictions. It is also reported that to restrain the patients, staff will throw them to the floor or walls which is beyond wrong and completely unnecessary for restraining CHILDREN. The staff also drink alcohol in flasks and carry cigarettes, even around patients who are recovering from addiction. This so called “hospital” is disgusting and extremely inhumane. Mentally ill people are still people and should be treated as such. We demand that the atrocity that is the Northstar Behavioral Hospital be shut down and the staff members be held accountable for their actions. The victims of Northstar deserve justice.

We are living in the age of technology, yet the State of Alaska Division of Public Assistance (DPA) still requires individuals to sign documents with a wet signature in order to receive benefits. Why can we file for the Permanent Fund Dividend, unemployment benefits, fishing licenses, and even hunting tags with an electronic signature, yet low income families cannot apply for basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare with an electronic signature?

Due the pandemic, DPA offices are closed to the public and applicants already have a barrier to enrolling in DPA programs. On top of that, many applicants rely on timely mail services in order to meet important application deadlines. Often times, mail is not delivered timely, especially in parts of Alaska where mail delivery is weather-dependent. The application process is extremely rigorous and time-consuming, although signing one's name should not be a challenge. There are obvious barriers for our fellow Alaskans getting the services they need but there is a solution: DPA can simply update their policy.

You can make a positive impact on your community. Please sign this petition to encourage the Alaska Division of Public Assistance to update their policy to allow electronic signatures for our fellow Alaskans in need.

New York State Against the 9/27 Mandate!!! United we stand! We need EVERYONE whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated to stand up. Everyone that is against this mandate, ALL New York State employees, officers, teachers, sanitation etc. We are asking that you sign this petition. We are not anti-vaccine but we are anti-mandate. *We should have the right to choose what goes in our bodies. *We should have the right to make our own medical decisions. We cannot be afraid, this should be a CHOICE not a mandate.

We live in a country where freedom is supposed to exist. We must stand up for our freedoms before we are stripped of more and more. What will be next?

*States are starting to ban mandates because WE THE PEOPLE are speaking out. Let’s stand TOGETHER let’s come TOGETHER New York ❤️

The Young Democrats Club of East Providence High School were deeply disturbed by the actions committed at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

In light of this event, we want to call on the Rhode Island Delegation and their colleagues in the House of Representatives and the Senate to;

Label those that attacked the Capitol as domestic terrorists.
Hold elected officials, at all levels of government, accountable for the words and rhetoric that stoked the riots on January 6th, 2021.
Ensure that those domestic terrorists who engaged in the attack are found and charged to the fullest extent of the law by encouraging the new Attorney General and the incoming Biden Administration to take any necessary action.
Conduct an investigation into why the National Guard was not deployed sooner and why the Capitol Police were not prepared for this event, despite advanced and legitimate intelligence of such a threat.
Encourage all elected officials, for the purpose of precedent, to support articles of impeachment against President Trump for his role in inciting the violence at our nation’s Capital.

What happened on January 6th was an attempted coup by armed insurrectionists. This was not a protest. We demand that our elected officials act swiftly in accordance with their sworn duty to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

Petition by RI Coalition of Housing Providers:

This petition is established with the intent to gather signatures of any and all vested parties in opposition to the following proposed bills:

-H5309/S0183;

-S0219;

-H5257;

-H5389;

-H5391;

-H6073;

-H6074; and

-H6087.

All who have attached signatures would implore all elected officials within the great State of Rhode Island to vote against these proposed bills in their current form and any bills proposed in the future with substantively similar language.



The texts of the bills can be found below.



http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText21/HouseText21/H5309.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText21/SenateText21/S0183.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0219.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5257aa.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5389.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5391.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6073.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6074.pdf

http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6087.pdf

Thank you for signing our petition to add barriers to Rhode Island's unprotected bridges.

Important Note: All donations requested by Change.org are to boost this petition and is paid directly to Change.org and do NOT directly benefit Bridging the Gap for Safety and Healing nor The Samaritans of Rhode Island.

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The time is now! Take the means for suicide away!

"We don't want to lose anymore people to these bridges."

It is time to say enough! No more suicides from Jamestown-Verrazzano, Claiborne Pell, Mt. Hope and Sakonnet River Bridges.

Join RI's Bridging the Gap for Safety and Healing as we work to support legislation sponsored by RI Legislators Sen. Lou DiPalma (21S-117) and Rep. Joe Solomon (21H-5053) to install physical barriers on our unprotected bridges.

Let our Congressional Delegation, Governor, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, our legislators, the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the RI Health Department and the citizens of our state know that you care and support this cause!

Do barriers work? Yes!

According to information reported by the Army Corp of Engineers, managers of the Cape Cod Canal and the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges “during a 28-year period after the fencing was installed, between 1984 and 2012, a total of 7 persons committed suicide from the bridges. A far lower rate of incidence than what was recorded for the years before the fencing was installed as part of the major rehabilitation project started in 1979.”

From 2013 – April 2021, the Army Corp is aware of “two attempts that were prevented thanks to the quick actions of state and local law enforcement officers. The presence of fencing may not only deter attempts from occurring, it can also delay an attempt long enough to give law enforcement a chance to successfully respond to an incident when one does occur. “ (Note: This is not conclusive information as reports may have gone to state or local police.)

In RI, from 2009-2018, we know of at least 33 deaths from our bridges and from November 2020 to July 2 2021 we are aware of at least 8 persons lost from the bridges.

Kudos to the Bourne/Sagamore Bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Tampa Skyway and bridge protectors around the world for installing barriers! We need them here!

Sign our petition and share!

We, the Blind and Visually Impaired Students of RI, the Parents of the Blind and Visually Impaired Students and other Concerned Citizens are appalled that our team of TVI's (Teachers of the Visually Impaired) and O&M (Orientation and Mobility) Specialists provided through the Sherlock Center have been laid off. These teachers provide Braille instruction, advise on accommodations including technology needs, and teach skills necessary for navigating the environment. Our children are distraught to know that their beloved and qualified teachers will not be with them for their summer programs or the next school year. This seems particularly cruel in the throes of a pandemic that has already severely impacted our children's education.

The State has offered no clear plan about how they will continue the quality of services for our children. The Sherlock Center TVI's and O&M specialists hold advanced degrees and have decades of experience among them. There is no assurance that a bidding war will replace them with qualified people. Yet, this is what the State is proposing.

Under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), students with disabilities are guaranteed equal access to education under the law. Deaf students in RI benefit from a secure, established program with wonderfully qualified educators to meet their needs, funded 99% by the State. Unfortunately, Blind and VI Students in RI have never been given the same consideration. Now, with as little forethought as one would have for changing the office paper vendor, RI has fired our teachers and only has a vague plan for accepting bids to replace them.

1) We are asking the State of RI to create a permanent line item in the State Budget to sustain quality programs and highly qualified educators for blind children, just as they have for the School for the Deaf. We believe the most direct and successful way to achieve this is to structure a permanent solution using the TVI's and O&M Specialists from the Sherlock Center. These education specialists are highly qualified, already have a lengthy rapport with our children, and they are Rhode Island teachers. This keeps RI jobs in Rhode Island.

2) We believe the proposed creation of a Master Price Agreement for Blind and VI services disregards our children and their success entirely. There is no way to guarantee continuity of a high level of service in such a plan. Rhode Island needs to provide highly qualified instructors to Blind and Visually Impaired students in order to meet the requirements of equal access to education under IDEA. The TVI's and O&M specialists from the Sherlock Center have been successfully providing these services for decades and should not be discarded.

3) Finally, we are asking Governor Dan McKee, the RI Legislature and the Rhode Island Department of Education to establish a plan and an avenue of communication with all of the stakeholders in education for the Blind and Visually Impaired. We, the students and parents, had no notice for this devastating change to vision services in the State. We learned that our beloved Sherlock Center TVI's and O&M Specialists were being laid off from a Providence Journal Article. Furthermore, we have spoken to Special Education Directors from various districts who only learned about this either from our advocacy or the newspaper. We cannot imagine that any other subgroup in Rhode Island's schools are treated with such nonchalance. We want to be at the table when serious changes are discussed that will impact the education and future of our children.