[NYABS] Legislative action requested of members related to Accessible Instruction Materials in Higher Education (AIM High) bill

[NYABS Division]

Hi All,

Hope you are enjoying the end of the semester & your December
activities!  I'm sending this message on behalf of a request made by
the National Association of Blind Students.  As of Friday, the United
States House of Representatives introduced the Accessible
Instructional Materials in Higher Education "AIM High" bill (H.R.
5312)!  This bill works to create guidelines for accessibility
standards in higher education, and now we need to share our stories
with Congress so that they know the importance of this bill to the
success of blind students everywhere!

We would really appreciate your contribution by writing a short
testimony about a time you faced an accessibility challenge with
educational materials and what the passage of AIM High would mean to
you. You can submit your statement through the following google form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf68TacBetKMAHZcMhGJLmYgeWDIjjpSm9Sz1OUwYKxzsIEAg/viewform

 The goal is to get at least 3 testimonies from every state by
December 23.  So besides me, I'm requesting at least two others submit
a paragraph telling the importance this legislation would have on you
as blind students.  NABS will be sharing these stories with our
representatives on social media, by email, and in person. To give you
an example of what the testimonies may look like, the below is from
NABS Secretary Mausam Mehta:

“Last August, I was really excited to dive into the prerequisite
coursework for my perspective program at the University of Virginia.
As a sophomore, pursuing a degree in business and economics, I quickly
discovered significant access barriers, primarily in the form of
inaccessible instructional systems in accounting that I could not use
independently with my assistive technology. This forced me to rely on
a sighted counterpart to input my work, frustrating me to not be able
to fully take charge of my academic aspirations. Unfortunately, this
issue is not unique to accounting. Inaccessible materials are a
preventable reality for blind students, and right now, our
representatives have the power to take an important step in reducing
these barriers across the country. I strongly urge Congress to pass
AIM High (HR5312) to ensure that blind students, like myself, can be
competitive applicants for top programs without the lingering question
of access slowing us down.”

This has a quick turn around time of little over a week for
submissions, but it is important Blind Students from New York voice
our opinion of how we also face learning access barriers potentially
similar to Mausam's remarks.  If you submit testimonies via the google
form, please let me know so I'm aware of the efforts all New York
blind students are making!  Thank you in advance for helping advance
our movement & helping to improve the lives of blind students in New
York State!

On behalf of NYABS, I would also like to wish you all a very Happy
Holiday season!

Thanks again,

Justin Young
President, NYABS