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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Dear ERic,<?xml:namespace prefix = o
ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I am blind and am a certified teacher of
the blind and visually impaired in my state. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I cannot comment if School districts
nationally <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>are aware of the
guidelines written by the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> department
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>of Justice and the U..s. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Deptartment of Education. Interestingly,
these documents focus on making accessible websites to blind and visually
impaired students. A new system for inputting student’s information to write
Ieps goals and objectives, in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York
City</st1:place></st1:City>, the SESIs system, is difficult for sighted
certified teachers of the blind as well as blind and visually impaired certified
teachers of the blind to use with thscreen readers such as Jaws for Windows. I
wonder how accessibility in this area can be addressed. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Secondly, while attending
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Dominican</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">College</st1:PlaceType> in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State>, to become a certified teacher of the
blind, the website, course assignments, quizzes and discussions for students to
participate in were accessible to me using the blackboard system when I used my
screen reader, Jaws for Windows and a Braille display. The only documents that
blind people find hard to read are PDF documents, particularly when the
documents are downloaded from the internet. When I encountered such a document,
I emailed my instructor about the accessibility issue and was told what to do.
Email was also accessible between professors and students. I had a terrific
learning experience at my college, although it used the online method. I
attended this university from 2006-2007. </SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Sara Rooz</SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Certified teacher of the blind and
visually impaired in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New
York</st1:place></st1:State></SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Independent Related Service Provider
Vision Education Services in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">New York
City</st1:City></st1:place></SPAN><o:p></o:p></P>
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