[il-talk] FW: [NFB of Nebraska Announce] National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of Blind Students

[Robert A.Hansen]

-----Original Message-----
From: "robertHansen1970 at gmail.com" <roberthansen1970 at gmail.com>
Sent: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:14:49 Pacific Daylight Time
To: roberthansen33 at yahoo.com
Subject: FW: [NFB of Nebraska Announce] National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of Blind Students









-----Original Message-----

From: "NFB of Nebraska" <info at ne.nfb.org>

Sent: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:32:28 Pacific Daylight Time

To: roberthansen1970 at gmail.com

Subject: [NFB of Nebraska Announce] National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of Blind Students



-------- NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND DEFENDS RIGHTS OF BLIND STUDENTS ---



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

cdanielsen at nfb.org mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org



National Federation of the Blind Defends Rights of Blind Students

Calls for Equal Access to Information and Technology in America?s  

Universities



Baltimore, Maryland (August 9, 2010): The National Federation of the Blind  

(NFB) responded today to recent attacks on the right of blind students to  

have equal access to technologies used by America?s universities and to the  

textbooks and course materials offered by institutions of higher learning.  

The NFB and the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division,  

have come under attack in recent days for reaching settlements with  

universities requiring that the universities refrain from purchasing any  

e-book technology that is not fully accessible to the blind.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:  

?Blind students must have access to the same textbooks and course materials  

and the same technology to read them as all other students. This is not only  

a matter of fairness to blind students but a requirement of federal law. For  

this reason, we applaud the United States Department of Justice, acting at  

our request and pursuant to its mandate to enforce this nation?s disability  

rights laws, for reaching landmark settlements with colleges and universities  

ensuring that e-book technologies deployed by these institutions will be  

accessible to all their students. With the announcement of a new accessible  

Amazon Kindle, the recent introduction of the Apple iPad, and the promise of  

future accessible e-book products?many of which would not have been made  

accessible without our advocacy efforts?colleges and universities will find  

it increasingly easy to procure e-book technology that benefits everyone.  

These settlements benefit not only blind students, who will now have access  

to the same books at the same time and at the same price as their sighted  

peers, but also institutions of higher learning, which will no longer incur  

the administrative burden of producing or procuring accessible books through  

separate and inferior methods. To the extent that inaccessible e-book  

technology remains a barrier to the equal education of the blind, however,  

the National Federation of the Blind will continue to fight for the  

educational and legal rights of blind students, and we will not hesitate to  

call upon the Department of Justice and other government authorities to  

assist us in doing so when necessary.?



###



About the National Federation of the Blind



With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the  

largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the  

United States. The NFB improves blind people?s lives through advocacy,  

education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and  

self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the  

voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National  

Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training  

center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.



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