The Acts of Convention

House of Bishops

The House of Bishops Committee on Social Justice and International Policy presented its Report #20 on Resolution D043 (Resolution on Best Practices for Disability Accessibility and Inclusion at All Events of The Episcopal Church) and moved adoption with amendment.

Original Text of Resolution:

(D043)

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That The Episcopal Church reaffirm and renew the Church’s commitment to welcoming all people, spiritually and physically, which includes hospitality to and accommodation of people with disabilities, acknowledging this also includes encouraging people living with disabilities to become more active church members, to take leadership roles, and to increase awareness of people in the church of the gifts that people living with disabilities contribute; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church reaffirm and renew the call to leadership of the Episcopal Disability Network and Episcopal Conference of the Deaf in helping to challenge and guide our Church’s work in this area; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognizes the many laws of the global community, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which apply to secular organizations of all sizes to ensure full and equal participation of people with disabilities; and be it further

Resolved, That the 74th Convention of The Episcopal Church reaffirm and renew its commitment to Resolution 2003-D051, which requires the Church to provide full independent accessibility to all official and ancillary events of the Church for people with disabilities; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize that much work has yet to be done to wholly achieve the goal of 2003-D051, including but not limited to: an understanding of all accommodations used to accommodate people with disabilities in work, education, events, appointments, and all life activities, including more information on how individuals may request accommodations of the Church, and having information on accommodations readily available in the Church’s event materials or on the Church’s website; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize it has efforts to undertake in the area of reconciliation to people with disabilities who, as recently as June 2015, have been denied access to Church events, including the 78th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention request that the Office of General Convention, along with leaders from the Episcopal Disability Network and the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf, compile a continually-reviewed and -revised Best Practices Guide for accommodations at all official and ancillary Church events that will include resources and policies that would otherwise comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and UN CRPD; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention request that the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget of $40,000 to support the provision of any and all requested disability accommodations for each General Convention to ensure that all persons who attend, regardless of their role at the Convention, have access to reasonable accommodation that meets their needs, so that all who desire to participate in the governance and decision-making of The Episcopal Church have a full and fair opportunity to participate and are welcomed with open arms into the Church as Christ himself welcomes all into his Body.

Committee Amendment:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That The Episcopal Church reaffirm and renew the Church’s commitment to welcoming all people, spiritually and physically, which includesto the spiritual and physical welcome of all people, including hospitality to and accommodation of people with disabilities, acknowledging this also includes encouraging people living with disabilities to become more active church members, to take leadership roles, and to increase awareness of people in the church throughout the Church of the gifts that people living with disabilities contribute; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church reaffirm and renew the call to leadership of the Episcopal Disability Network and Episcopal Conference of the Deaf in helping to challenge and guide our Church’s work in this area; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognizes the many laws of the global community, in solidarity with the civil and human rights of all persons with disabilities, renew its commitment to voluntary compliance with the disability rights protections that apply in different countries of The Episcopal Church, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, among otherswhich apply to secular organizations of all sizes to ensure full and equal participation of people with disabilities; and be it further

Resolved, That the 748th Convention of The Episcopal Church reaffirm and renew its commitment to Resolution 2003-D051, which requires the Church to provide full independent accessibility to all official and ancillary events of the Church for people with disabilities; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize that much work has yet to be done to wholly achieve the goal of 2003-D051, including but not limited to: an understanding of all accommodations used to accommodate people with disabilities in work, education, events, appointments, and all life activities, including moredevelop and make readily available information on how individuals may request the process for requesting disability accommodations of the needed to fully participate in meetings, conventions, and other activities of the Church, and having information on accommodations readily available in the Church’s event materials or on the Church’s websiteincluding placing this information in event materials, on the Church website and relevant social media platforms; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church recognize it has efforts to undertake in the area of reconciliation to people with disabilities who, as recently as June 2015, have been denied access to Church events, including the 78th General Conventionrecognize the need for reconciliation with persons with disabilities who have been denied accommodations needed to participate in Church events or who have been otherwise excluded from the activities of the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention request that the Office of General Convention Office, along with leaders from the Episcopal Disability Network and the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf, compile a continually-reviewed and -revised Best Practices Guide for providing disability accommodations at all official and ancillary Church events that will include resources and policies that would otherwise comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and UN CRPD, to be reviewed and updated at least once every triennium; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention request that the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget of $40,000 to support the provision of any and all requested disability accommodations for each General Convention to ensure that all persons who attend, regardless of their role at the Convention, have access to reasonable accommodation that meets their needs, so that all who desire to participate in the governance and decision-making of The Episcopal Church have a full and fair opportunity to participate and are welcomed with open arms into the Church as Christ himself welcomes all into his Body.That the General Convention request that the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget allocation of $80,000 ($40,000 to fulfill accommodation requests at the 79th General Convention and $40,000 to fulfill accommodations requests at ancillary meetings and events) for the implementation of this resolution.

Motion carried

Resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #272)