[nabs-l] AIM High?

Mon May 15 00:01:23 UTC 2017

Howdy Nabsters,

Nesma, thank you for sparking this discussion! The AIM HIGH Act seeks to address the issue of digital accessibility, or better yet, the lack there of at institutions of higher education in the U.S. As technology becomes more integrated in college classrooms, oftentimes the very technology that has the potential of leveling the playing field for blind and other students with print disabilities, is leaving us behind. Why? Because developers and manufacturers of these educational technologies lack the technical criteria necessary to guide them in the production of mainstream accessible technologies. Likewise, schools often don't know what to demand of the marketplace to ensure that the products they are purchasing are accessible to blind students.

Our bill seeks to tackle this problem by constituting a purpose-based commission that will be responsible for producing voluntary accessibility guidelines both the tech and higher education communities can use to ensure that the products they are producing/purchasing are fully accessible to students with disabilities. In addition, the bill tasks the commission with developing an annotated list of existing national and international accessibility IT standards, so institutions of higher education know how they can apply them to the higher ed setting.

For a list of court cases on this issue, I highly encourage you to check out the "Landmark Decisions" section of our Self-Advocacy in Higher Education Toolkit. (https://nfb.org/self-advocacy-higher-education) I also encourage you to refer to our AIM HIGH Act fact sheet and frequently asked questions, you can find both on our AIM HIGH Act website. (https://www.nfb.org/aim_high)

I hope this information is useful!
Thanks,

...Gabe

Gabe Cazares
Government Affairs Specialist
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314, extension 2206 | gcazares at nfb.org
Twitter: @gmcazares

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kendra Schaber via NABS-L
Sent: Friday, May 12, 2017 9:50 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Kendra Schaber <redwing731 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] AIM High?

Hi all! 
When I attended the Oregon School for the Blind, we had a blind student in my transition class who dropped out. They just stopped going to class one day. I don't know much about why the drop out but that's what happened. No, I'm not that student!!! 

Blessed be!!! 
Kendra Schaber
National Federation of the Blind
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear" Author Unknown 

 Sent From My GMail EMail account On My IPhone Se.

> On May 12, 2017, at 18:25, Jamie P. via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> There are absolutely blind dropouts. I am not one myself, but I know quite a few personally and have heard stories of others. We still have a long, long way to go. 
> 
> That being said, I don't have a percentage. I don't think such data is being gathered by any authoritative entity. 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On May 12, 2017, at 17:53, Mariya Vasileva via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> I highly doubt that in today's society, there are blind dropouts, 
>> that act is addressing that there are specific guidelines towards 
>> universities to keep them in line when it comes to accessibility 
>> issues across all online platforms and situations, and congress and 
>> us are working on getting this bill in to an official law to be in 
>> affect, that way we could finally have a more equal college and work 
>> life as equal individuals. Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On May 12, 2017, at 18:08, Nesma Aly via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>>              Hi all,
>>> 
>>> I have an assignment in English that requires me to give some info 
>>> on the AIM High act.
>>> 
>>> So, my first question is What is the issue that the bill is trying 
>>> to address in details?
>>> 
>>> 2 what percentage of college students are blind? What is the dropout rate?
>>> Have there been any court cases about blind people trying to gain 
>>> accessibility?
>>> 
>>> 3. What solutions are given in the legislation to address the issue? 
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> 
>>> Nesma
>>> 
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