[NABS-L] Legislative Update

[Young, Justin]

Dear Colleagues:

This message is to discuss the future status of the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM High) Act as a legislative priority. Since we began working on this topic more than ten years ago, our position on this legislation has evolved.

As you know, reliance on technology is not limited to just colleges and universities, it has spread into the greater public sphere. This is a fact that was made all the more clear during the pandemic when the use of websites and software became an everyday part of life to attend courses, communicate with classmates, stay connected with family, friends, employers, doctors, and communities in general.

For that reason, we have chosen to shift our focus and support to the recently introduced Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (S. 4998/H.R. 9021). Like with AIM High, the National Association of Blind Students will play a key role in gaining greater support for these bills. We need your help by building the support in Congress for this legislation in the final months of the current Congress (117th) and in the upcoming 118th Congress. We believe the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act examines the issue of accessibility in a stronger way than the previous version of AIM High in the 116th Congress.

The National Federation of the Blind was contacted by Senator Elizabeth Warren's office a few months ago regarding the reintroduction of AIM High. The text would have, as we understood it, very few and minor edits from the 2019 version. Senator Warren's education staffer began reaching out to the various organizations who originally collaborated with the National Federation of the Blind to see what our positions on the bill were. Because of our focus shift to the more comprehensive and all-encompassing Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act, the National Federation of the Blind has decided to remain neutral if Senator Warren does introduce AIM High again. This means we will not oppose AIM High, but we will not actively advocate for it either. As previously mentioned, we believe the Websites and Software Applications Act is a stronger way to accomplish the goals of AIM High, and we are hoping other organizations will support S. 4998/H.R. 9021.

We greatly appreciate the work that NABS has and will continue to do on gaining support for the legislative priorities of the Federation!


Justin T. Young, Ed.D
Government Affairs Specialist
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
410-659-9314, extension 2210 | jyoung at nfb.org<mailto:jyoung at nfb.org>


[National Federation of the Blind]<https://nfb.org/>

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