[Nfbv-announce] FW: National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind File Discrimination Suit Against Arizona State University

[Fredric Schroeder]

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From: Freeh, Jessica [mailto:JFreeh at nfb.org] 
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 3:59 PM
To: Alpidio Rolon; Amy Buresh; Anil Lewis; Art Schreiber; Beth Rival; Bob
Kresmer; Carl Jacobsen; Cathy Jackson; Charlene Smyth; Christine G. Hall;
Dan Hicks; Daniel Burke; Don Galloway; Donna Wood; Elsie Lamp; Frank Lee;
Franklin Shiner; Fred Schroeder; Fred Wurtzel; Gary Ray; Gary Wunder; J.W.
Smith; James Antonacci; James Broadnax; Jennelle Bichler; Jennifer Dunnam;
Joe Ruffalo; John Batron; John Fritz; Joyce Scanlan; Ken Rollman; Kevan
Worley; Marie Johnson; Mary Willows; Matt Lyles; Matt Lyles; Melissa
Riccobono; Michael Barber; Michael Freeman; Mika Pyyhkala; Nani Fife; Pam
Allen; Parnell Diggs; Patti Chang; Richard Bennett; Richard Gaffney; Ron
Brown; Ron Gardner; Sam Gleese; Scott LaBarre; Selena Sundling-Crawford;
Terri Rupp; Tommy Craig
Subject: National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind
File Discrimination Suit Against Arizona State University



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

 


National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind 
File Discrimination Suit Against Arizona State University


University's Amazon Kindle DX Pilot Program Discriminates Against the Blind




Baltimore, Maryland (June 25, 2009): The National Federation of the Blind
(NFB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) filed suit today against
Arizona State University (ASU) to prevent the university from deploying
Amazon's Kindle DX electronic reading device as a means of distributing
electronic textbooks to its students because the device cannot be used by
blind students.  Darrell Shandrow, a blind ASU student, is also a named
plaintiff in the action.  The Kindle DX features text-to-speech technology
that can read textbooks aloud to blind students.  The menus of the device
are not accessible to the blind, however, making it impossible for a blind
user to purchase books from Amazon's Kindle store, select a book to read,
activate the text-to-speech feature, and use the advanced reading functions
available on the Kindle DX.  In addition to ASU, five other institutions of
higher education are deploying the Kindle DX as part of a pilot project to
assess the role of electronic textbooks and reading devices in the
classroom.  The NFB and ACB have also filed complaints with the Office for
Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education and the Civil Rights
Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, asking for investigations of
these five institutions, which are: Case Western Reserve University, the
Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Pace University,
Princeton University, and Reed College.  The lawsuit and complaints allege
violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  

 

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
"Given the highly-advanced technology involved, there is no good reason that
Amazon's Kindle DX device should be inaccessible to blind students.  Amazon
could have used the same text-to-speech technology that reads e-books on the
device aloud to make its menus accessible to the blind, but it chose not to
do so.  Worse yet, six American higher education institutions that are
subject to federal laws requiring that they not discriminate against
students with disabilities plan to deploy this device, even though they know
that it cannot be used by blind students.  The National Federation of the
Blind will not tolerate this unconscionable discrimination against and
callous indifference to the right of blind students to receive an equal
education.  We hope that this situation can be rectified in a manner that
allows this exciting new reading technology to be made available to blind
and sighted students alike."

 

Darrell Shandrow, a blind student pursuing a degree in journalism at ASU,
said: "Not having access to the advanced reading features of the Kindle
DX-including the ability to download books and course materials, add my own
bookmarks and notes, and look up supplemental information instantly on the
Internet when I encounter it in my reading-will lock me out of this new
technology and put me and other blind students at a competitive disadvantage
relative to our sighted peers.  While my peers will have instant access to
their course materials in electronic form, I will still have to wait weeks
or months for accessible texts to be prepared for me, and these texts will
not provide the access and features available to other students.  That is
why I am standing up for myself and with other blind Americans to end this
blatant discrimination."

 

 

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