[blindkid] US Dept of Justice's & US Dept of Education's New Accessible Technology Guidelines

Sat Jul 30 04:31:48 UTC 2011

Hi All,

I sat down & read through the documents & have to say "WOW!" Take the time
to read these eye-opening documents  especially the FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions). What a powerful set of guidelines for students, parents, & TVIs!

The bar of expectations set forth by the US Departments of Justice &
Education has been set surprisingly high! I would love to know whose input
went into composing the guidelines - for it looks like they did a Great Job!

The FAQ is a MUST Read - The statements of what is expected of school
districts & universities & the examples they use are very clear.

I have attached PDFs of the 2 letters & of the FAQ & took the liberty of
highlighting some points & examples (the links are at the end of this if you
want clean copies).

In summary, the FAQ makes the following points:

Point #1: The FAQ makes the point the Dear Colleague Letters do not impose
new legal obligations, but rather reflect long-standing law as it applies to
new technologies.

2. Does the DCL apply in the context of students with other disabilities
that affect the ability to use printed materials?
Electronic Book Reader vs. Audiobook Example: The school is replacing the
history textbooks with electronic book readers as the principal means of
conveying curriculum content, including all homework assignments. In this
example, the electronic book readers provide greater functionality than
audiobooks provide, with the result that an audiobook would not afford the
benefits of the educational program in an equally effective and equally
integrated manner. For this reason the school may not continue to rely on
audiobooks to provide equal access to the curriculum. (Presumably this would
apply to embossed books as well  ie: an embossed textbook or even
electronic file of a textbook is not the same as an electronic book reader
file.)

3. Does the DCL mean that schools cannot use emerging technology?
Answer: No. On the contrary, the Department encourages schools to employ
innovative learning tools. The purpose of the DCL is to remind everyone that
equal access for students with disabilities is the law and must be
considered as new technology is integrated into the educational environment.

4. Does the DCL apply to elementary and secondary schools?
Answer: Yes.

5. Does the DCL apply to all school operations and all faculty and staff?
Answer: Yes - all faculty and staff must comply with these requirements.
The law applies to all faculty and staff - So, for example, if an adjunct
faculty member denies a student who is blind an equal opportunity to
participate in a course by assigning inaccessible course content, the school
can be held legally responsible for the faculty member's actions. Therefore,
schools should provide, and faculty and staff should participate in,
professional development about accessibility and emerging technology, and
about the role of faculty and staff in helping the school to comply with
disability discrimination laws.

6. Does the DCL apply beyond electronic book readers to other forms of
emerging technology?
Answer: Yes - whether in a ³brick and mortar,² online, or other ³virtual²
context - must be operated in a manner that complies with Federal disability
discrimination laws.

7. Does the DCL apply to Š online content, such as online Š. class
assignmentsŠ? 
Answer: Yes

8. Does the DCL apply to pilot programs Š ?
Answer: Yes

9. Does the DCL apply when planning to use an emerging technology in a class
or school where no students with visual impairments are currently enrolled?
Answer: Yes - the legal obligations described in the DCL always apply. Just
as a school system would not design a new school without addressing physical
accessibility, the implementation of an emerging technology should always
include planning for accessibility.

10. What questions should a school ask in determining whether emerging
technology is accessible, or can be made accessible, to students with
disabilities? 
Answer: Schools should begin by considering accessibility issues up front,
when they are deciding whether to create or acquire emerging technology and
when they are planning how the technology will be used. To that end, schools
should include accessibility requirements and analyses as part of their
acquisition procedures.

Example: A school intends to establish a Web mail system so that students
can: communicate with each other and with faculty and staff; receive
important messages from the school (e.g., a message about a health or safety
concern); and communicate with individuals outside the school. The school
must ensure that the educational benefits, services, and opportunities
provided to students through a Web mail system are provided in an equally
effective and equally integrated manner. Before deciding what system to
purchase, the school should make an initial inquiry into whether the system
is accessible to students who are blind or have low vision, e.g., whether
the system is compatible with screen readers and whether it gives users the
option of using large fonts.

11. The DCL states that where accessible technology is not available, a
school can comply with Section 504 and the ADA if it provides students with
disabilities ³accommodations or modifications that permit them to receive
all the educational benefits provided by the technology in an equally
effective and equally integrated manner.²

Example: A high school teacher creates an online course that includes
instruction, posting of assignments and other course content, and a forum
where students can discuss their course work with the teacher and each
other. The teacher would like to incorporate video clips into the course,
but is unable to obtain the video clips with audio descriptions. As a
modification, the teacher creates separate audio descriptions for each video
clip that narrate what is taking place in the video, and places them in a
separate section of the online course. The online course includes links that
enable persons who use screen readers to bypass the video clips completely
and instead listen to the audio descriptions. Here, the use of detailed
audio descriptions that are a part of the online course would provide
students with disabilities access to the same opportunities and benefits in
an equally effective and equally integrated manner.

In short: 
1.           Each teacher's webpage, the assignments they post, & websites
(including all video materials) they suggest or require have to all be
accessible.

2.          Calendar  assignment  grade posting programs that
schools/districts use, such as Edline, Grade Book Wizard, and others need to
be fully accessible.

3.          If a teacher refers students to textbook publisher websites the
web-based materials such as quizzes, study guides, and videos have to be
fully accessible.

The bar has appropriately been set high by the US Dept of Justice & the US
Dept of Education. 
I wonder how many, if any, districts are truly in compliance with these
guidelines?
I'd love to hear VI teacher input & VI program administrator on this topic.
Respectfully,
Eric V
-----
1.           June 29, 2010 US Department of Education Dear Colleague letter:
www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100629.html.

2.          Guidelines in the form of Frequently Asked Questions:
www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-ebook-faq-201105.html.

3.          May 26, 2011 second US DOE Dear Colleague letter stating that
the same legal obligations apply to elementary and secondary schools:

www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201105-ese.html

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