Framingham Disability Commission forwards draft rules to mayor’s office for review

The Framingham Disability Commission voted to send a draft set of internal rules, prepared by a small subcommittee, to the mayor's office for review and feedback.

Catherine Cuddy, the commission chair, summarized the subcommittee's work and the intent to align commission rules with citywide guidance. “We actually just had a training for chairs, vice chairs, and clerks recently in, Nevins Hall to go over some of that,” Cuddy said, noting that the mayor’s office is drafting guidance for all boards and committees.

Why it matters: The rules cover behavior, roles and presenter expectations; commissioners emphasized accessibility and the need for presenter guidance and accessible slide examples so public presentations are useful to blind and low-vision members.

Discussion and clarifications Members praised the subcommittee’s work and recommended a short pause to compare the draft to forthcoming city guidance. Dennis Moran, who served on the subcommittee, said the group reached a completed draft and sought broad feedback. Commissioners asked the mayor’s office to confirm a school-committee liaison and for the city to distribute recommended presenter rules.

Action taken The commission voted unanimously to forward the subcommittee’s draft rules to the mayor’s office for review and feedback.

Follow up Commissioners expect the mayor’s office to return comments; the subcommittee will then reconvene to incorporate city guidance and finalize the rules. Commissioners also suggested developing example accessible PowerPoint slides for boards and presenters to improve blind and low-vision accessibility.