Barack Obama signed into law the Plain Writing Act in 2010, which requires that federal government documents be written in a clear and straightforward manner. It’s not always easy to find plain-language information on government policy, from the federal level down to the local. Plain-language documents can serve two purposes: they can make the information more accessible
The Plain Writing Act, which mandates that federal government documents use simple language, was signed into law by Barack Obama in 2010. Despite its passage more than ten years before, it can be difficult to obtain straightforward information about provincial to local government policy.
Plain-language documents have two uses: they can help people with cognitive and memory impairments access information more easily, but they also address how difficult it is for the majority of people to read the law, demonstrating how accessibility policies are advantageous to people without specific disabilities.
In an effort to provide handicapped people with more information about legislation that affects them, New Disabled South, a disability justice nonprofit founded in 2022, launched its Plain Language Policy Dashboard in November to cover 14 Southern states. As of right now, the bills it explains are divided into six groups: democracy, education, criminalization, poverty and care, legal rights, and accessibility.
The CEO of New Disabled South, Dom Kelly, expressed his hope that the dashboard, which uses AI to translate texts into plain language before being checked for accuracy, can even” combat myths and disinformation” that spread on social media, such as whether a bill related to mental health could actually result in more institutionalization.
I discussed the policy dashboard and the significance of accessibility in politics with Kelly and E. K. Hoffman, associate director of the nonprofit’s advocacy arm.
How can complex congressional language make it difficult for some handicapped people to comprehend bills that have a direct impact on their lives, particularly those with intellectual and developmental disabilities?
e.g. hoffman: Access barriers are the jargon, scientific, legal, and complicated language used in legislation. Complex language and laws make it harder for many handicapped people to comprehend the significance of bills and how they will affect their lives. We’re trying to remove that access barrier when we reduce that mental load.
Dom Kelly: We know that legislators can cram things into bills that they want to pass, and sometimes those are actually purposefully misleading. Occasionally, during the parliamentary session, information changes quickly, and risky portions of outdated bills are pushed under new ones. Anyone can find it challenging to obtain that information in real-time in a way that is simple to understand, let alone someone with an intellectual or evolutionary disability. We’re attempting to remove that barrier as well.
Poverty and care are two categories on this dashboard. Why is the issue of poverty in disability rights essential?
DK: In the South, we have the highest poverty rates in the nation, and disabled people live in poverty at a rate double that of non-disabled people. You are more likely to live in poverty if you combine disability with another excluded identity. The people who are behind the policy typically decide whether a handicapped person is ] living in poverty.
ekh: Particularly in the South, there are still higher rates of protected workshops, segregated workplaces, and sub-minimum wages—all of which have an impact on poverty. Many disabled people are denied actually though they meet the requirements due to the governmental, inaccessible, and burdensome process for them to actually receive disability benefits like SSI and SSDI.
DK: Home and community-based services are another important issue for us. In the nation, there are 656,000 people on waitlists for HCBS waivers [which help provide alternatives to institutionalization ] and 500,000 in the South. We are aware that those waitlists keep our community in poverty, keep them uncared for, confine them to nursing homes and organisational settings, and frequently give them little to no autonomy.
The dashboard has a warning that linked websites might not be completely visible. How can problems with policy information’s online accessibility prevent handicapped people from participating in politics?
ekh: Despite federal legislation like the Rehabilitation Act and the Plain Writing Act, which are meant to protect handicapped people by ensuring that at least government information is available, we are aware that this promise is often broken. Numerous state legislature websites are blocked. Bills are uploaded primarily as untagged scans of printed paper versions on some state legislature websites in the South, making it impossible for people who are blind or low vision to access them without a third party.
Do you see any existing laws in the dashboard that you would like to draw attention to?
SB 443, an Employment First bill to assist people with disabilities in finding employment outside of separated work environments, is available in Arkansas. Employment First bills aim to advance best practices in areas like helping younger handicapped people transition from school to employment and involving employers in the protections that already apply to them.
DK: This bill would make it possible for those with low vision or blindness to vote almost. However, Georgia has had a lot of anti-voting legislation, which has made it more challenging, especially for voters who are blind or have low vision. I hope that one day everyone will be able to vote mildly from their computers thanks to this bill.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. The Plain Writing Act, which mandates that federal government documents use simple language, was signed into law by Barack Obama in 2010. Despite its passage more than ten years ago, it is not always simple to obtain straightforward information about government policy, from the national to local levels. Plain-language documents have two uses: they can make information more visible.
Barack Obama signed into law the Plain Writing Act in 2010, which requires that federal government documents be written in a clear and straightforward manner. It’s not always easy to find plain-language information on government policy, from the federal level down to the local. Plain-language documents can serve two purposes: they can make the information more accessible
Rudzhan Nagiev/Getty. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.. In 2010, Barack Obama signed the Plain Writing Act into law, requiring that federal government documents use clear, straightforward language. Despite its passage more than a decade ago, though, getting plain-language information about government policy—ranging from the federal to local level—isn’t always easy.. Plain-language documents serve a dual purpose: they can make information more accessible to people with disabilities that affect cognition and memory, but also address the fact that legislation is already complicated for most people to read—a case in point of how accessibility practices benefit even those without a particular disability.. New Disabled South, a disability justice nonprofit founded in 2022, is trying to make more information available to disabled people on legislation that affects them, launching its Plain Language Policy Dashboard in November to cover 14 Southern states. As of now, the bills it explains fall into six categories: accessibility, civil rights, criminalization, poverty and care, democracy, and education.. Dom Kelly, New Disabled South’s CEO, told me that he hopes the dashboard—which uses AI to translate texts into plain language, which is then checked for accuracy—can also help “combat myths and disinformation” that spread on social media, like whether a mental health–related bill could actually lead to more institutionalization.. I spoke to Kelly and e.k. hoffman, associate director of the nonprofit’s advocacy arm, about the policy dashboard and the importance of accessibility in politics.. How can complicated legislative language make it hard for some disabled people, especially those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to understand bills that directly impact their lives?. e.k. hoffman: The jargon, academic, legal, and complex language used in legislation are forms of access barriers. To a lot of disabled people, complicated language and legislation increase the cognitive load necessary to understand both the meaning of bills and how they will impact [their] lives. When we reduce that cognitive load, we’re seeking to remove that access barrier.. Dom Kelly: Sometimes, those are even intentionally confusing, and we know that legislators can squeeze things into bills that they want to get passed. Sometimes information is changing rapidly during the legislative session, and dangerous parts of old bills are pushed under new bills. It’s hard for anyone, let alone somebody with an intellectual [or] developmental disability, to get that information in real-time in a way that’s easy to understand. That’s another barrier that we’re trying to tear down.. One of the categories on this dashboard is poverty and care. Why is poverty an important disability rights legislation issue?. DK: Disabled people live in poverty at twice the rate of non-disabled people, and we have the highest poverty rates in the country here in the South. If you are at an intersection of disability and another marginalized identity, you are more likely to live in poverty. [Whether a disabled person is] living in poverty is usually determined by the people who are behind the policy.. ekh: Especially in the South, there remain high rates of segregated workplace settings, sheltered workshops, sub-minimum wages—and all of these things impact poverty. The process for disabled people to even receive disability benefits like SSI, SSDI, and Medicaid is inaccessible, bureaucratic, and full of barriers, and many disabled people are denied even though they meet the criteria.. DK: One more critical issue for us is home and community-based services. In the country, we have 656,000 people on waitlists for HCBS waivers [which help provide alternatives to institutionalization], and in the South, we have 500,000 of them. We know [those waitlists] keep our community in poverty, keep them without care, keep them relegated to nursing homes and institutional settings, which leaves them with often little to no autonomy.. There’s a note on the dashboard that websites linked may not be fully accessible. How can online accessibility issues with policy information be a barrier to disabled people’s participation in politics?. ekh: Even though on the federal level we have legislation like the Plain Writing Act [and] the Rehabilitation Act, and these are supposed to protect disabled people through the guarantee that at least government information is accessible, we know that very frequently this promise is broken. A lot of state legislature websites are inaccessible. On several state legislature websites in the South, bills are uploaded largely [as] untagged scans of printed paper versions, [which] means that they cannot be accessed at all by blind and low-vision folks without reliance on someone else.. Is there any current legislation in the dashboard that you would highlight?. ekh: Arkansas has SB 443, which is an Employment First bill to help people with disabilities get jobs [outside] segregated work settings. Employment First bills seek to promote good practices in areas like transitioning young disabled people from school into work, and getting employers involved and educated about existing protections for disabled people.. DK: It’s a bill that would allow people who are blind or low vision to vote virtually. We’ve had a lot of anti-voting legislation in Georgia, and unfortunately, that’s made it more difficult—especially for blind and low-vision voters. This bill would allow these voters to vote remotely from their own computers, which I would hope we could get to one day for everyone.. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
