National Federation of the Blind and Blind Entrepreneurs File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Army-Wide Waiver of Randolph-Sheppard Act

Washington, DC (January 30, 2026): The National Federation of the Blind, the National Association of Blind Merchants, and several blind entrepreneurs today filed a federal lawsuit challenging a decision by the United States Department of Education that purports to eliminate the Randolph-Sheppard Act priority for blind vendors to operate dining facilities on United States Army installations nationwide.

The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, asks the court to set aside a December 23, 2025, action by the Secretary of Education approving what the Department described as a “limitation” on the Randolph-Sheppard Act as applied to Army dining facility contracts. Plaintiffs contend that the decision exceeds the Secretary’s statutory authority, violates required procedures, and is arbitrary and capricious.

The Randolph-Sheppard Act, passed in 1936 and strengthened by Congress in 1974, requires federal agencies to give priority to blind vendors in the operation of vending facilities, including cafeterias, on federal property. For more than thirty years, blind vendors have successfully operated Army dining facilities across the country, often winning awards from the military itself.

“The Randolph-Sheppard Act does not authorize the Secretary of Education to waive the law for an entire federal agency,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “Congress created and later enhanced this program to expand economic opportunity for blind entrepreneurs. The Department of Education cannot erase the work of America’s lawmakers through a sweeping administrative finding based on anecdote, speculation, or policy disagreement, and should not exclude blind people from shaping the future direction of the program. The National Federation of the Blind stands with the blind business owners who are providing outstanding and award-winning service to members of our nation’s armed forces every day, and we are determined to reverse this unlawful, unwarranted, and unjust action.”

The Department of Education’s action marks the first time the Secretary has approved any limitation under the Randolph-Sheppard Act and the first time such a limitation has been applied on a nationwide, categorical basis. The lawsuit says that the Act authorizes only narrowly tailored limitations on the placement or operation of specific facilities, not a wholesale elimination of the priority established by Congress.

In announcing the Army-wide waiver, the Department cited generalized claims regarding cost, delay, and performance. However, the Department did not publish any supporting documentation for those claims, despite an express statutory requirement to do so. According to the lawsuit, the decision rests on vague and anecdotal assertions that are contradicted by decades of successful performance by blind vendors operating Army dining facilities.

If allowed to stand, the Department’s action would jeopardize the livelihoods of blind vendors currently serving on Army installations, displace hundreds of employees, and undermine state programs that rely on revenue generated through Randolph-Sheppard contracts to support blind entrepreneurs nationwide.

The lawsuit follows a previously issued statement by the National Federation of the Blind expressing grave concern about the Department of Education’s decision and its implications for blind vendors and the integrity of the Randolph-Sheppard program. The plaintiffs are represented by the Baltimore law firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy.