DISABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Charter
1. The Committee’s Official Designation
The official designation of this federal advisory committee is the “Disability Advisory 
Committee” (hereinafter “DAC” or “Committee”).
2. Authority
The DAC is hereby authorized at the direction of the Chairman of the Federal Communications 
Commission (hereinafter the “Commission”) and in accordance with the provisions of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. 2.
3. The Committee’s Objective and Scope of its Activities
The mission of the DAC is to make recommendations to the Commission on its full range of 
disability access issues and to suggest ways to facilitate the participation of consumers with 
disabilities in proceedings before the Commission.  This Committee is intended to provide an 
effective means for stakeholders with interests in this area to exchange ideas and develop 
recommendations to the Commission on accessibility policy, which will in turn enhance the 
Commission’s ability to effectively address disability access issues. Issues or questions to be 
considered by the DAC may include, but are not limited to the following:
? Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) (Section 225 of the Communications 
Act); 
? Closed Captioning (Sections 303(u), (z), and 713 of the Communications Act); 
? Video Description (Sections 303(u), (z), and 713 of the Communications Act);
? Access to Televised Emergency Information (Sections 303(u), (z), and 713 of the 
Communications Act);
? Accessible User Interfaces on Video Programming Apparatus/Access to Program 
Guides and Menus Provided by Navigation Devices (Sections 303(aa) and (bb) of the 
Communications Act);
? Communications Access:
? Telecommunications Services and Equipment (Section 255 of the 
Communications Act);
? Advanced Communications Services and Equipment (Sections 716 and 718 of 
the Communications Act);
? The Impact of IP and Other Network Transitions on People with Disabilities.
? Hearing Aid Compatibility (Section 710 of the Communications Act);
? Access to Telephone Emergency Services (9-1-1) (Section 106 of the Twenty-First 
Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act);
? National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (Section 719 of the 
Communications Act);
4. Description of Duties
The duties of the DAC will be to provide recommendations to the Commission on disability 
access issues as requested by the Commission.
5. Official to Whom the Committee Reports
Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
6. Support
The Commission will provide the facilities and support staff necessary to conduct meetings of 
the DAC.  DAC members will not be compensated for their services.  The Commission will, 
however, pay costs associated with the provision of reasonable accommodations for people with 
disabilities when such costs are directly associated with the conduct of the DAC’s meetings, or 
are directly associated with the conduct of subcommittee meetings. Some examples of 
reasonable accommodations include on-site sign language interpreters, meeting agendas 
produced in Braille, and computer assisted real-time transcription services (CART).  
7. Estimated Annual Operating Costs in Dollars and Staff Years
Annual operating costs associated with supporting the DAC’s functions are estimated to be 
$275,000, which includes Commission staff time equivalent to 2.25 FTEs.
8. Designated Federal Officer
A full-time or permanent part-time employee, appointed by the Chairman of the Commission, 
will serve as the Designated Federal Officer (DFO).  The DFO will approve or call all of the 
DAC’s meetings, prepare and approve all meeting agendas, attend all DAC meetings, adjourn 
any meeting when the DFO determines adjournment to be in the public interest, and chair 
meetings when directed to do so by the Chairman.
9. Committee Meetings
The DAC shall meet approximately three (3) times a year.  Meetings of the DAC shall be open to 
the public and timely notice of each meeting shall be published in the Federal Register, and shall 
be further publicized through other appropriate vehicles.    
10. Subcommittees
The DAC is authorized to facilitate its work through informal subcommittees, or other subgroups 
of the Committee, which shall report their activities and recommendations to the Committee as a 
whole.  It is anticipated that the work of subcommittees will be conducted primarily through 
telephone calls, e-mail correspondence, and e-mail discussion lists.  Recommendations of 
subcommittees must be reported to the DAC as a whole, and only as modified or ratified by the 
DAC as a whole may such recommendations be included in the official record of the DAC’s 
proceedings, and reported to the Chairman of the Commission. 
11. Duration 
The Commission will review the accomplishments and activities of the DAC to determine 
whether, after two years, this charter should be renewed and the DAC should continue as a 
Federal Advisory Committee.
12. Termination
The DAC shall terminate two (2) years from the renewal date of this charter, unless renewed 
prior to the termination date.
13. Membership
Members of the DAC shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Commission in consultation 
with the Chairperson of the DAC and appropriate Commission staff. Members will be appointed 
either as Representatives or as Special Government Employees as necessary.  Members will 
represent a wide variety of entities with interests in disability access issues that are within the 
purview of the Commission. Members will include representatives of organizations and other 
entities representing people with disabilities, including people who are blind or visually 
impaired, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with intellectual disabilities, people 
with multiple disabilities, including those who are deaf-blind, and people with speech 
disabilities. Members will also include representatives of state or local governments and industry 
and, if serving as Special Government Employees, individuals with significant expertise in the 
issues to be addressed by the DAC.  Together, these members will be selected to represent a 
balance of viewpoints that are necessary to address effectively the issues to be considered by the 
DAC.  
The Chairman of the Commission, in consultation with the Chairperson of the DAC and 
appropriate Commission staff, may appoint individuals who are not members of the DAC to 
participate as members of a DAC subcommittee or other subgroup.  These subcommittee 
members will have voting privileges within the subcommittee, subcommittees or subgroups to 
which they are assigned, but will not have voting privileges at plenary meetings of the DAC.  
These individuals will be chosen for their expertise on specific issues.
Members will have an initial and continuing obligation to disclose any interests in, or 
connections to, persons or entities who are or will be regulated by, or who have interests before, 
the Commission.
14. Recordkeeping
Records of the proceedings will be kept, as required by applicable laws and regulations.  All 
records of the DAC, its subcommittees, and any other subgroups of the Committee, shall be 
handled in accordance with General Records Item 6.2, or other approved agency records 
disposition schedule.  These records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject 
to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
15. Filing Date
December 29, 2016