[Ohio-talk] AIM HE) Act

[Jordy Stringer]

Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HE) Act

 

Until colleges and universities drive the demand for accessible
instructional materials, blind college students will be denied access to
critical course content.

 

Technology has fundamentally changed the education system. The scope of
instructional materials used at institutions of higher education has
expanded. Curricular content comes in digital books, PDFs, webpages, etc.,
and most of this content is delivered through digital databases, learning
management systems, and applications. The print world is inherently
inaccessible to students with disabilities, but technology offers the
opportunity to expand the circle of participation. Studies have found that,
of the six million plus students with print disabilities in the system, the
number who go on to pursue postsecondary education is growing.[1]

 

Blind students are facing insurmountable barriers to education. Instead of
fulfilling the promise of equal access, technology has created more problems
than the print world ever did. Data show that students with disabilities
face a variety of challenges, including matriculation failure, solely
because colleges and universities are sticking with the ad-hoc
accommodations model instead of embracing accessibility.[2] Schools deploy
inaccessible technology and then modify another version for blind students,
usually weeks or even months into class, creating a "separate-but-equal"
landscape with nearly impenetrable barriers. With only a 20 percent
employment rate[3], blind students should not be denied access by the
innovations that could have ensured full participation. 

 

Institutions of higher education need help to identify accessible material
and comply with nondiscrimination laws. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act and Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act require
schools to provide equal access, and in 2010, the US Departments of Justice
and Education clarified that the use of inaccessible technology is
prohibited under these laws.[4] In the five years since, over a dozen
institutions have faced legal action for using inaccessible technology[5],
and complaints are on the rise. Most litigation ends with a commitment from
the school to embrace accessibility, but that commitment does little in a
vast, uncoordinated higher education market[6] that mostly forgets about
blind students. 

 

Accessibility solutions are available, but guidelines are sorely needed to
guide the market. Equal access requirements have no criteria for
accessibility that schools can use when selecting technology.  Innovations
in text-to-speech, refreshable Braille, and other accessibility features are
widely available, but developers and manufacturers will incorporate only
solutions that are demanded by the market. Accessibility guidelines are
needed so that schools can streamline demand, stimulate the market, and
better identify accessible material. If schools seeking to avoid litigation
embrace this path to compliance, blind students will truly attain equal
access.

 

Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act:

 

Develops accessibility guidelines for instructional materials used in
postsecondary education. A purpose-based commission is tasked with
developing accessibility criteria for instructional materials and the
delivery systems/technologies used to access those materials. Additionally,
the commission is tasked with developing an annotated list of existing
national and international standards so that schools and developers can
identify what makes a product usable by the blind.

 

Provides incentive for institutions of higher education to follow the
guidelines. Institutions of higher education that use only technology that
conforms with the guidelines will be deemed in compliance with the
provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Titles II and III of
the Americans with Disabilities Act that pertain to schools' use of
technology.

 

Offers flexibility for schools while reiterating that pre-existing
obligations still apply. Colleges and universities are permitted to use
material that does not conform to the guidelines as long as equal access
laws are still honored. Conformity with the AIM HE guidelines is only one
path to compliance; schools can pursue a different path, but will forfeit
the safe harbor legal protection.

 

REMOVE BARRIERS TO EQUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM.

 

Sponsor the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act.

 

For more information contact:Gabe Cazares, Government Affairs Specialist,
National Federation of the Blind

 

Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2206, Email: gcazares at nfb.org