Feb. 8, 2024 Council Meeting

The Members of the National Council on Disability (NCD) held a quarterly business meeting on Thursday, February 8, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST) via Zoom videoconference.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Following welcome remarks and introductions, the Council will remember Chairman Andrés Gallegos, who passed away in December; the Executive Committee will provide their report; followed by the Acting Chair’s report; Council Member community report-outs; a presentation on proposed changes to the disability questions in the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey; a break; followed by a panel on ground transportation for wheelchair users; a public comment session regarding ground transportation for wheelchair users;  policy project updates, including a summary and vote on NCD’s Germline Editing report; Council Member training on time records; and convening a short closed session, before adjourning. The end of the meeting will be closed to the public and will be conducted to discuss internal personnel rules and practices, pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of the Sunshine Act, and in accordance with a determination made by the NCD Acting Chair.

AGENDA: The times provided below are approximations for when each agenda item is anticipated to be discussed (all times Eastern Standard Time):

Thursday, February 8, 2024

1:00 – 1:05 p.m. – Welcome and Call to Order

1:05 – 1:20 p.m. – Remembering Chairman Andrés Gallegos

1:20 – 1:35 p.m. – Executive Committee Report

1:35 – 1:45 p.m. – Acting Chair Report

1:45 – 2:15 p.m. – Council Member Community Report Outs

2:15 – 2:45 p.m. – Proposed Changes to the Disability Questions in the American Community Survey (Slides)

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. – BREAK

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Ground Transportation for Wheelchair Users Panel (Slides)

4:00 – 4:30 p.m. – Ground Transportation Experiences Public Comment

4:30 – 5:00 p.m. – Policy Update

5:00 – 5:10 p.m. – Council Member Time Records

(End of the public meeting announced; formal adjournment to occur in closed session)

5:10 – 5:30 p.m. – CLOSED SESSION

5:30 p.m. – Adjournment from the closed session

PUBLIC COMMENT: Your participation during the public comment period provides an opportunity for us to hear from you – individuals, businesses, providers, educators, parents and advocates. Your comments are important in bringing to the Council’s attention and issues and priorities of the disability community.

For the February 8 Council meeting, NCD will have a public comment session to receive input on experiences with ground transportation.

Please share your experience(s) in obtaining wheelchair accessible taxis or rideshares (e.g. Uber, Lyft).

• If you requested a wheelchair accessible van (WAV) through a taxi company, did the company have a WAV? If the company did not have WAVs in its fleet, did the taxi service offer to provide you a WAV through a different company? Was the price comparable to a non-accessible taxi?
• If you requested a WAV from a rideshare company, did the company have a WAV? If not, were you referred to a service that did? Was the price comparable to a non-accessible rideshare?
• Have you filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Department of Transportation about discrimination by a taxi company or a rideshare regarding lack of WAVs? If so, what was the result?
• Is paratransit available in your neighborhood? What are the pros and cons of using this service? What should be changed?

Additional information on specifics of the topic and guidelines are available on NCD’s public comment page at https://www.ncd.gov/public-comment/.

Because of the virtual format, the Council will receive public comment by email or by video or audio over Zoom. To provide public comment during an NCD Council Meeting, NCD now requires advanced registration by sending send an email to PublicComment@ncd.gov with the subject line “Public Comment” and your name, organization, state, and topic of comment included in the body of your email. Deadline for registration is February 7, 8:00 p.m. EDT.

While public comment can be submitted on any topic over email, comments during the meeting should be specific to ground transportation experiences, as the input is needed for an upcoming report.

If any time remains following the conclusion of the comments of those registered, NCD may call upon those who desire to make comments but did not register.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Nicholas Sabula, Public Affairs Specialist, NCD, 1331 F Street NW, Suite 850, Washington, DC 20004; 202-272-2004 (V), or nsabula@ncd.gov.

ACCOMMODATIONS:  An ASL interpreter will be on-camera during the entire meeting, and CART has been arranged for this meeting and will be embedded into the Zoom platform as well as available via streamtext link. The web link to access CART (in English) is: https://www.streamtext.net/player?event=NCD

If you require additional accommodations, please notify Stacey Brown by sending an email to sbrown@ncd.gov as soon as possible, no later than 24 hours before the meeting.

Due to last-minute confirmations or cancellations, NCD may substitute items without advance public notice.