[Home-on-the-range] Feds: Classes that Use E-Books Must Serve Blind

[Cindy Ray]

As I said on the Hayhawk list, this is a wonderful thing. It could help our cause.

Hope those who are going have a great convention. Wish I would be there and be able to see those of you I know. Closing for now as what I'm saying now is Off Topic.
Cindy Lou

On Jun 30, 2010, at 1:11 PM, Susan Tabor wrote:

> In case you didn't see this piece from the Wichita Eagle for today, here it is.  And good for them for printing it!
> Susan
>  
> <image001.png><image002.gif>Back to web version
> Wednesday, June 30, 2010
> Posted on Wed, Jun. 30, 2010
> Feds: Classes that use e-books must serve blind
> BY DORIE TURNER
> Associated Press
> ATLANTA — Federal officials are requiring colleges that use electronic book readers in the classroom to make sure the gadgets have accommodations for blind and vision-impaired students.
> 
> The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education sent a letter to college and university presidents Tuesday instructing them to find alternatives for blind students if the devices are required in the classroom.
> 
> Not doing so would be a violation of federal law, said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department.
> 
> "It is unacceptable for universities to use emerging technology without insisting that this technology be accessible to all students," Ali wrote in the joint letter with Thomas Perez, assistant U.S. attorney general.
> 
> The federal government began examining last year whether the use e-readers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act after a blind Arizona State University student sued the campus in June alleging that the Amazon Kindle's inaccessibility to blind students constituted a violation of federal law.
> 
> The lawsuit was settled in January with the help of the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind.
> 
> Many e-readers have text-to-speech functions, but those don't apply to menus, which means that a blind person would still need help using the device, Ali said.
> 
> © 2010 Wichita Eagle and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansas.com
> 
>  
>  
> _______________________________________________
> Home-on-the-range mailing list
> Home-on-the-range at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Home-on-the-range:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org/cindyray%40qwest.net

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/home-on-the-range_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100630/bf8c29a9/attachment.html>