[Nfbf-l] Fw: [Nfbnet-members-list] Adoption of Google Apps Program DiscriminatesAgainst the Blind

[Sherri]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Freeh,Jessica (by way of David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>)
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 9:17 PM
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Adoption of Google Apps Program 
DiscriminatesAgainst the Blind


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




Adoption of Google Apps Program Discriminates Against the Blind


National Federation of the Blind Asks
Department of Justice to Investigate Schools Across the Country
Baltimore, Maryland (March 15, 2011): The National Federation of the Blind 
(NFB), the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind people in the 
United States, today requested that the United States Department of Justice, 
Civil Rights Division, investigate civil rights violations committed by New 
York University (NYU) and Northwestern University against blind faculty and 
students.  The NFB made the request because the schools have adopted 
technology that is not accessible to the blind.  Both universities have 
recently adopted Google Apps for Education as a means of providing e-mail 
and collaboration tools to students and faculty.  Google Apps for Education 
is a free suite of hosted communication and collaboration applications that 
includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Docs, and Google Sites. 
Each of these applications contains significant accessibility barriers for 
blind people utilizing screen access technology, which converts what is on 
the computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille.  A similar request 
for investigation has been filed against four Oregon public school districts 
that are using Google Apps.  The complaints allege violations of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 
For further illustration of this matter, please view a demonstration of 
screen access technology used by the blind and the accessibility barriers 
that a blind person experiences using Google Apps.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: 
"Given the many accessible options available, there is no good reason that 
these universities should choose a suite of applications, including critical 
e-mail services, that is inaccessible to blind students.  Worse yet, 
according to recent data more than half of the American higher education 
institutions that are outsourcing e-mail to third-party vendors plan to 
deploy this suite, even though they know that it cannot be used by blind 
students.  Nor can these universities claim ignorance of their legal 
obligations, since the United States Department of Justice and the United 
States Department of Education have specifically warned all university 
presidents against the adoption of inaccessible technology.  The National 
Federation of the Blind will not tolerate this unconscionable discrimination 
against blind students and faculty and callous indifference to the right of 
blind students to receive an equal education.  We urge these higher 
education institutions to suspend their adoption of Google Apps for 
Education until it is accessible to all students and faculty, not just the 
sighted, or to reject Google Apps entirely."



The National Federation of the Blind is represented in this matter by Daniel 
F. Goldstein of the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy.






###






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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