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

Sat Jul 30 19:43:23 UTC 2011

Where do blind parents and access to sighted children's school materials fit in all this?

Lori

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dr. Denise M. Robinson 
  To: Professionals in Blindness Education Division List 
  Sent: Saturday, July 30, 2011 2:08 PM
  Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] US Dept of Justice's & US Dept of Education'sNew Accessible Technology Guidelines

  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

  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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