Advocacy/Legal
New York State Association Taking the lead on Open Captioning in Movie Theaters
"With the strong support of HLAA-NYSA, bills to require open movie captioning have been introduced in the current legislative session in Albany: S2269 (sponsor Hoylman-Sigal) and A4628 (sponsor Seawright). Modeled after successful legislation passed four years ago in New York City, and described in the article above, open captioning has been implemented at no cost to movie theaters and was met by a very positive response from the general community.
Please ask your senator and assembly member to become a co-sponsor of this important legislation. This will help move the bills out of committee and to the floor for passage before the legislature adjourns in June.
Here is a suggested email from our Advocacy committee you may send to your state senator or state assembly member, which should be followed up by a phone call to ask for co-sponsorship:"
Note: If possible use the sample letter below to get started. It's always better to appear as a separate entity when writing to your legislators.
Sample Letter:
Dear ________________:
I am your constituent, and one of approximately one million New Yorkers who are deaf or hard of hearing. I am writing to urge your co-sponsorship of [Senate bill S2269 or Assembly bill A4628], calling for open captioning in movie theaters during select performances. New York City has required open captions on movies since 2022, at no cost to movie theaters, and has received positive feedback from the community.
However, open captions are not just for people with hearing loss. Many people with autism, attention deficit disorder, auditory processing disorder, dyslexia, aphasia, children learning to read, adults learning English as a second language, and noise-sensitive people can also benefit from open captions in movie theaters.
How many people could benefit from open captioning in movie theaters? It is estimatated:
- Deaf/hard of hearing - almost 1 million statewide
- Autism - over 340,000 adults
- Dyslexia is thought to occur among 20% of the population; for New York, that would be an estimated 3,914,000 people
- Auditory processing disorder is estimated to affect 3-4% of the population; for New York, that would be an estimated 587,100 people
- English as a Second Language - cpations have long been proven to help English language learners, and New York has more than 245,000 ESL students
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder - The diagnosis of ADHD is rising in New York, and in 2022 more than 30% of caregivers reported that their children were diagnosed with ADHD; In addition, 4.4 percent of adults nationwide are estimated to have this condition