[Njabs-talk] NFB Commends Department of Education for New Accessible Technology Guidelines

[EVELYN E. VALDEZ]

National Federation of the  Blind Commends 

Department of Education for New Accessible Technology 

Guidelines
Urges Schools to Deploy Technology 

That Blind Students Can Use
 
Baltimore, 

Maryland (May 26, 2011): The National 

Federation of the Blind urged all elementary, secondary, and postsecondary 

schools to follow guidelines issued today by the Department of Education’s 

Office of Civil Rights and to deploy 

new or emerging technologies only if they are accessible to blind students.  The guidelines, in the form of Frequently 

Asked Questions, were issued to supplement the department’s Dear 

Colleague letter of June 29, 2010.  

That letter informed all college and university presidents that their 

institutions must be sure that emerging technologies that they plan to deploy to 

students are accessible to the blind and other students with disabilities.  A second 

Dear Colleague letter issued today made clear that the same legal 

obligations apply to elementary and secondary 

schools.
 
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the 

National Federation of the Blind, said: “The National Federation of the Blind is 

pleased that the Department of Education has issued this guidance to the entire 

education community.  If blind 

students are to succeed in the twenty-first century, they must have access to 

the same technologies as their sighted peers.  These comprehensive answers to commonly 

asked questions about the legal obligation to purchase and deploy accessible 

technology should be immensely helpful to school administrators.  We urge educators to review them 

carefully and apply them whenever they are considering the purchase or 

deployment of new educational technologies.  We will continue our efforts to hold 

accountable those institutions that ignore their legal obligations to their 

blind students.”
 
 
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