[Blindmath] What to do when a US college DS office refuses toprovide braille when requested

[Edward]

Wow, that's the most amount of useful information in one email I have come
across in a long time.
Thanks
Edward
 

-----Original Message-----
From: blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Susan Jolly
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 1:25 PM
To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Blindmath] What to do when a US college DS office refuses
toprovide braille when requested

I've contacted two experts in US disability rights and here is what I found.

Federal law applies to all colleges and universities except for private
religious schools that accept NO federal money, not even grants, student
loans, etc.

First, if you are a braille reader and want braille textbooks and materials,
that is your right.

Second, typically you need to purchase a print copy of your textbook and
give it to the DS office.  This is to cover the cost of using a copyrighted
book.  This is because publishers typically require this and in any case,
accessible materials shouldn't cost less than standard materials

(Note that in Califorrnia, the law requires colleges to use texts from
publishers that will provide e-format texts,  preferably braille-ready ones.

Any college should as a matter of course contact the publisher to see if the
text is available in e-format for blind people as that would save the DS
office money and time.  However, this is the responsibility of the office,
not the student.)

Third, if the DS office says they will only provide audio when you request
braille, you need to get this in writing.  There are two reasons.  One is
that the DS office may rethink its position if you ask for it in writing. 
(If necessary, ask a sighted person to double check that the document they
give you says what it should.) Second, it will help the Department of
Justice (DOJ) if you move forward with a legal complaint.

Fourth, call your regional ADA Center. There are 10 regional Centers listed
on this page with their phone numbers and websites.  The states in each
region are given in print as well as being shown on a map.  They should tell
you what to do next. Or they may contact the college directly themselves.
http://www.adata.org/Static/ContactUs.aspx

Fifth, if for some reason your regional ADA Center hasn't solved your
problem, contact the DOJ ADA Technical Assistance Program.
http://www.ada.gov/taprog.htm

Note that you can always call your regional ADA Center for advice even if
you don't have written documentation of the DS office's refusal to provide
braille.

Best wishes,
Susan 


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