[Pibe-division] US Dept of Justice's & US Dept of Education's New Accessible Technology Guidelines

Tue Aug 2 06:23:19 UTC 2011

Dear All,

If the school districts & those in charge of Special Ed (LEAs/SELPAs) aren't
aware, then the odds of compliance are very small.

How can awareness & compliance be facilitated?

Is anything being pursued at an organizational or National level?

Eric

On Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 11:08 AM, Dr. Denise M. Robinson <
dmehlenbacher at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Eric
> Thank you for the info--this is wonderful. No, schools do not know about
> this, as they are always shocked when I tell them about the laws and now we
> have even higher standards--fantastic. I will be forwarding the PDFs to them
>
>
>        Denise
>
> Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D.
> Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired
> TechVision-Independent Contractor
> Specialist in blind programming/teaching/training
> 509-674-1853     deniserob at gmail.com <deniserob at gmail.com>
>
> http://blindgeteducated.blogspot.com/
>
>
>   *From:* DrV <pumpkinracer at gmail.com>
> *To:* Professionals in Blindness Education Division List <
> pibe-division at nfbnet.org>; braille-n-teach at mlist.cde.ca.gov
> *Sent:* Friday, July 29, 2011 10:23 PM
> *Subject:* [Pibe-division] US Dept of Justice's & US Dept of Education's
> New Accessible Technology Guidelines
>
>  Hi All,
>
> I sat down & read through the documents & have to say "WOW!" Take the time
> to read these eye-opening documents – especially the FAQ (Frequently Asked
> Questions). What a powerful set of guidelines for students, parents, & TVIs!
>
> The bar of expectations set forth by the US Departments of Justice &
> Education has been set surprisingly high! I would love to know whose input
> went into composing the guidelines - for it looks like they did a Great Job!
>
> The FAQ is a MUST Read - The statements of what is expected of school
> districts & universities & the examples they use are very clear.
>
> I have attached PDFs of the 2 letters & of the FAQ & took the liberty of
> highlighting some points & examples (the links are at the end of this if you
> want clean copies).
>
> In summary, the FAQ makes the following points:
>
> Point #1: The FAQ makes the point the Dear Colleague Letters do not impose
> new legal obligations, but rather reflect long-standing law as it applies to
> new technologies.
>
> 2. Does the DCL apply in the context of students with other disabilities
> that affect the ability to use printed materials?
> Electronic Book Reader vs. Audiobook Example: The school is replacing the
> history textbooks with electronic book readers as the principal means of
> conveying curriculum content, including all homework assignments. In this
> example, the electronic book readers provide greater functionality than
> audiobooks provide, with the result that an audiobook would not afford the
> benefits of the educational program in an equally effective and equally
> integrated manner. For this reason the school may not continue to rely on
> audiobooks to provide equal access to the curriculum. (Presumably this would
> apply to embossed books as well – ie: an embossed textbook or even
> electronic file of a textbook is not the same as an electronic book reader
> file.)
>
> 3. Does the DCL mean that schools cannot use emerging technology?
> Answer: No. On the contrary, the Department encourages schools to employ
> innovative learning tools. The purpose of the DCL is to remind everyone that
> equal access for students with disabilities is the law and must be
> considered as new technology is integrated into the educational environment.
>
> 4. Does the DCL apply to elementary and secondary schools?
> Answer: Yes.
>
> 5. Does the DCL apply to all school operations and all faculty and staff?
> Answer: Yes - all faculty and staff must comply with these requirements.
> The law applies to all faculty and staff - So, for example, if an adjunct
> faculty member denies a student who is blind an equal opportunity to
> participate in a course by assigning inaccessible course content, the school
> can be held legally responsible for the faculty member's actions. Therefore,
> schools should provide, and faculty and staff should participate in,
> professional development about accessibility and emerging technology, and
> about the role of faculty and staff in helping the school to comply with
> disability discrimination laws.
>
> 6. Does the DCL apply beyond electronic book readers to other forms of
> emerging technology?
> Answer: Yes - whether in a “brick and mortar,” online, or other “virtual”
> context - must be operated in a manner that complies with Federal disability
> discrimination laws.
>
> 7. Does the DCL apply to … online content, such as online …. class
> assignments…?
> Answer: Yes
>
> 8. Does the DCL apply to pilot programs … ?
> Answer: Yes
>
> 9. Does the DCL apply when planning to use an emerging technology in a
> class or school where no students with visual impairments are currently
> enrolled?
> Answer: Yes - the legal obligations described in the DCL always apply. Just
> as a school system would not design a new school without addressing physical
> accessibility, the implementation of an emerging technology should always
> include planning for accessibility.
>
> 10. What questions should a school ask in determining whether emerging
> technology is accessible, or can be made accessible, to students with
> disabilities?
> Answer: Schools should begin by considering accessibility issues up front,
> when they are deciding whether to create or acquire emerging technology and
> when they are planning how the technology will be used. To that end, schools
> should include accessibility requirements and analyses as part of their
> acquisition procedures.
>
> Example: A school intends to establish a Web mail system so that students
> can: communicate with each other and with faculty and staff; receive
> important messages from the school (e.g., a message about a health or safety
> concern); and communicate with individuals outside the school. The school
> must ensure that the educational benefits, services, and opportunities
> provided to students through a Web mail system are provided in an equally
> effective and equally integrated manner. Before deciding what system to
> purchase, the school should make an initial inquiry into whether the system
> is accessible to students who are blind or have low vision, e.g., whether
> the system is compatible with screen readers and whether it gives users the
> option of using large fonts.
>
> 11. The DCL states that where accessible technology is not available, a
> school can comply with Section 504 and the ADA if it provides students with
> disabilities “accommodations or modifications that permit them to receive
> all the educational benefits provided by the technology in an equally
> effective and equally integrated manner.”
>
> Example: A high school teacher creates an online course that includes
> instruction, posting of assignments and other course content, and a forum
> where students can discuss their course work with the teacher and each
> other. The teacher would like to incorporate video clips into the course,
> but is unable to obtain the video clips with audio descriptions. As a
> modification, the teacher creates separate audio descriptions for each video
> clip that narrate what is taking place in the video, and places them in a
> separate section of the online course. The online course includes links that
> enable persons who use screen readers to bypass the video clips completely
> and instead listen to the audio descriptions. Here, the use of detailed
> audio descriptions that are a part of the online course would provide
> students with disabilities access to the same opportunities and benefits in
> an equally effective and equally integrated manner.
>
> In short:
> 1.            Each teacher's webpage, the assignments they post, &
> websites (including all video materials) they suggest or require have to all
> be accessible.
> 2.           Calendar – assignment – grade posting programs that
> schools/districts use, such as Edline,  Grade Book Wizard, and others need
> to be fully accessible.
> 3.           If a teacher refers students to textbook publisher websites
> the web-based materials such as quizzes, study guides, and videos have to be
> fully accessible.
>
> The bar has appropriately been set high by the US Dept of Justice & the US
> Dept of Education.
> I wonder how many, if any, districts are truly in compliance with these
> guidelines?
> What are VI programs doing to ensure that district personal
> (superintendents, principals, classroom teachers) are aware of the
> requirements?
> I'd love to hear VI teacher input & VI program administrator on this topic.
> Respectfully,
> Eric V
> -----
> 1.            June 29, 2010 US Department of Education Dear Colleague
> letter: www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20100629.html
> .
> 2.           Guidelines in the form of Frequently Asked Questions:
> www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/dcl-ebook-faq-201105.html.
> 3.           May 26, 2011 second US DOE Dear Colleague letter stating that
> the same legal obligations apply to elementary and secondary schools:
> www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201105-ese.html
>
>
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