[Mn-parents] Letter about Inaccessible Kindle from Dr. Maurer

[Steve Jacobson]

During the most recent Metro Chapter meeting, a very well-documented letter from Dr. Maurer to the National Parent Teacher 
Association was discussed.  It outlines the complex problem that faces us regarding the Kindle's use by schools.  Amazon has said 
there are accessible alternatives, but this letter explains why this is really not the case.  Since many had not seen this letter, 
I am including a text copy here.  I am also attaching the PDF copy that has been widely circulated as there are some links in that 
version to supporting documentation.

Marc Maurer, President
200 East Wells Street
at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
Phone 410 659 9314 Fax 410 685 5653
www.nfb.org
Sent via first class mail and e-mail  

March 11, 2013

Betsy Landers, President
Eric Hargis, Executive Director
National Parent Teacher Association
1250 North Pitt Street
Alexandria, VA 22314 
blanders at pta.org 
ehargis at pta.org

RE:	Amazons Sponsorship of the National PTAs Family Reading Experience Program

Dear Ms. Landers and Mr. Hargis:

It has come to my attention that your organization has selected Amazon as the exclusive sponsor of your new Family Reading 
Experience program. While the aspirations of this program are noble, you should know that the use of Kindle e-books will seriously 
compromise the education of children who are blind or have other print disabilities.  This is so because, unlike other e-books, 
Kindle e-books do not afford children with print disabilities the same reading and learning experience as their fellow students.  
As a result, local PTAs that accept donations of Kindle devices or encourage the use of Kindle e-books in their schools will, as 
detailed in this letter, be helping to put those schools in violation of federal law. 

In todays world, equal opportunity requires equal access to information. Unlike print, digital information is not inherently 
visual; it can be made available visually, aurally, and tactilely all at the same time and from the same original digital source. 
Thus, digital information can be the great equalizer, offering mainstream access to all, without regard to whether the reader has a 
sensory disability.  For decades, the blind have used a variety of technologies to make e-books accessible. To read electronic 
texts, blind students use either text-to-speech software that vocalizes the words, letters, and characters on a page or a 
refreshable Braille display that renders the words, letters, and characters into Braille. Fortunately, a number of technology 
developers and content providers have designed their products and services to put sighted and blind users on an equal footing. With 
the advent of commercial e-books, some developers, including Apple iBooks and Blio books, have made their e-books and reading 
applications accessible, so that everyoneincluding blind students and others with print disabilitiescan read and use them 
effectively. 

Unfortunately, Amazon is not such a company. It has made a conscious decision to exclude the blind from reading and studying with 
its Kindle e-books. Among other barriers, blind students using Kindle e-books cannot (1) read character by character and thus learn 
to spell, punctuate and distinguish homophones; (2) navigate usefully through the text of a Kindle e-book to keep up with the rest 
of the class; (3) interact with the Kindle e-books content through the dictionary, highlighting, search, or note-taking features; 
or (4) access any content in Braille through their refreshable Braille displays.  In sum, blind students attempting to use Kindle 
e-books are effectively precluded from developing phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, or vocabulary, which are 
the stated goals of your Family Reading Experience program. 

To better illustrate the barriers Kindle e-books create, I have attached a chart to this letter showing the various functions that 
Kindle e-books offer sighted students and deny blind students. The chart reflects the best access Amazon offers, using a Kindle 
Keyboard (also called Kindle 3G) or using the Kindle for PC with Accessibility Plugin to read Kindle e-books. All other devices and 
platforms for reading Kindles are completely inaccessible. By way of comparison, the attached chart also shows other reading 
platforms, such as iBooks, that offer blind students all of the functions that Amazon reserves for the sighted. For your 
convenience, we have also tied those features to the Common Core State Standards to demonstrate specifically how the access 
barriers of Kindle e-books inhibit blind students educational opportunities.  In short, although blind readers do have 
some 
rudimentary access to Kindle e-books
 when using platforms that permit that rudimentary access, 
it is not nearly enough [access] 
to use the books for anything but the most casual reading,
 much less the intense, challenging reading that characterizes the 
academic environment. 

Hence, the implementation of Kindle e-books proposed by the Family Reading Experience program will relegate students with print 
disabilities to second class status and unnecessarily exclude them from benefiting from the programs goals and objectives. 
Moreover, the limitations of Kindle e-books will inhibit print-disabled children from developing those grade-appropriate reading 
skills that are set forth by the Common Core State Standards and that are vigorously advocated for by your organization.   

   	Not only does the use of Kindle e-books in the public school classroom inhibit the educational development of print-disabled 
students, it is also a violation of federal law. This is so because use of Kindle e-books discriminates against students with print 
disabilities by denying them equal access to educational programs. Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, public schools must not deny students with disabilities the benefits of their programs and 
activities. Therefore, public schools that choose to use Kindle e-books will be violating federal law, and PTA organizations that 
encourage the use of Kindle e-books in their local schools will be assisting those schools in that violation.  

In 2009 and 2010, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education resolved complaints against five post-secondary schools that used 
the inaccessible Kindle DX e-reader device in their classrooms with agreements that required these schools not to purchase any e-
reader device for their classrooms or require use of any device 
unless or until such electronic book reader is fully accessible to 
individuals with visual impairments . . . .
  An electronic book reader is only fully accessible if 
all uses of the device that 
are available to individuals without disabilities are available to individuals with visual impairments in a manner which ensures 
that its use in the university setting is equally as effective for individuals with visual impairments as it is for others.
  In 
2010, the Departments of Justice and Education jointly issued a letter to the post-secondary educational community, explaining that 
when it comes to e-book readers and e-book content, equal access is the law.   In 2011, the Department of Education again made 
clear that elementary and secondary schools likewise must refrain from using technology that will deny students with disabilities 
equal access.  

If we can further assist you in understanding which e-books and e-book platforms are accessible and compliant with federal and 
state law, or provide further information about the deficiencies of Kindle e-books, please do not hesitate to contact us. The 
National Federation of the Blind, whose 50,000 members comprise not only blind people of all ages and backgrounds but also parents 
of blind children and others who support equal opportunity for blind Americans, has as its ultimate goal the complete integration 
of the blind into society on an equal basis with our sighted peers. We are fortunate to live in an age in which that ideal has been 
written into law. 

Amazons deliberate choice to scorn that ideal and ignore the needs of blind readers does not give public schools a free pass to 
discriminate on the basis of disability by purchasing and using Kindle e-books in their classrooms. Nor should your organization be 
party to such discrimination. Your Position Statements emphasize 
the special needs of underserved populations including children 
with disabilities,
  and you have assumed the role of being 

a powerful voice for all children.
   We look forward to your cooperation in this matter and are confident you will raise your 
powerful voice in support of the rights of our nations blind and print-disabled students.  


Sincerely,



Marc Maurer, President
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND


Enclosures

cc:  David Zapolsky, Esq., General Counsel, Amazon, Inc.







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