[Txabs] Fwd: [nabs-l] Call To Action: AIM-HEA

Wed Sep 28 14:30:07 UTC 2016

Fellow Tabsters,
Please see this important call to action as the AimHi Bill has dropped
in the house.

Jonathan Franks BSW
Treasurer
Texas Association of Blind Students

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Cazares, Gabe via NABS-L" <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2016 17:17:54 +0000
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Call To Action: AIM-HEA
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Cazares, Gabe" <GCazares at nfb.org>

NABSters,

I know you will turn out this week to urge your members of congress to
support our AIM HE Act, HR 6122. If you have contact information for
the relevant staffer in your representative's office, and are planning
to contact them via email, please cc me on that note. Also, President
Riccobono used the phrase "don't deny, aim high" at convention this
summer, let's make that our rallying cry for HR 6122. As you post
about our bill on your various social media channels, please use the
hashtag #Don'tDenyAimHigh. Also, please visit the AIM HE website,
www.nfb.org/aim_he, for an up-to-date fact sheet and FAQs coming soon.

Looking forward to braking down accessibility barriers alongside of
you! Thanks for all you do, and please do not hesitate to reach out if
I can be of assistance.

...Gabe

Gabe Cazares
Government Affairs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
E: gcazares at nfb.org
O: (410) 659-9314 Ext. 2206
C: (281) 965-9583
T: @gmcazares

Help remove artificial barriers for blind students in classrooms
nation-wide, click here to learn more.! #Don'tDenyAimHigh

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

Make a gift to the National Federation of the Blind and help ensure
all blind Americans live the lives they want.

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Michael D
Ausbun via NABS-L
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2016 12:40 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Cc: Ausbun, Michael
Subject: [nabs-l] Call To Action: AIM-HEA

Dear Fellow Federationists:
        The moment we, the students, have been waiting for is upon us.
The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act
(AIM-HEA) has dropped! Now the responsibility of ensuring
accessibility is on us, and we do not have a lot of time to delay!
Please call (202) 224-2131 and ask to speak to your congressional
representative (if you need assistance in locating your
congressperson, please use this site:
https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/GWDbBxTrQ9Mh3). We should be
requesting our congress people to cosponsor H.R. 6122. Remember, the
sponsor is Congressmen Phil Roe (R. TN).
        No organization moves legislation like we do; now, let us go
and show them why accessibility is important to the National
Federation of the Blind!
Yours in the movement,
Michael Ausbun, Secretary
Chair, Legislative Committee
National Association of Blind Students
A proud Division of the National Federation of the Blind "Together
with love, hope, and determination, we transform dreams into reality."

Today, the National Federation of the Blind commends Congressman Phil
Roe (R-TN) and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT) for introducing the
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HE) Act
(H.R. 6122). This act will promote instructional technology and
content that are accessible to the blind and other students with print
disabilities.

Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "The National Federation of the Blind has worked for years
toward the introduction of this much-needed legislation, which will
give postsecondary institutions guidance to help them meet their legal
obligations to students with disabilities, and also bring more
accessible instructional materials to the higher education market.
Blind students are adversely impacted daily by educational
technologies that artificially limit students because they were
designed without accessibility in mind. As a past member of the
Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials, whose work
identified this crucial need, and a father of three, including two
daughters who are blind, I am pleased to see this goal come to
fruition. We applaud Congressman Roe and Congressman Courtney for
their introduction of this legislation and urge their colleagues to
join them in supporting its swift passage."

Congressman Roe said: "No student pursuing their education should be
put at a disadvantage because they have a disability, and this bill
simply encourages higher education institutions to provide equal
access to all instructional materials. With more and more of a
student's coursework requiring digital resources, it makes sense to
encourage colleges and universities to make accessible material
available to support all their students, including those who have a
disability. I thank Rep. Courtney for partnering with me on this
important issue and I look forward to moving this bill through the
legislative process. I also thank all the stakeholders who have worked
so hard to develop a commonsense solution that can be supported on a
bipartisan basis."

Congressman Courtney said:  "As colleges and universities become more
high-tech, it is only fitting that they find ways to improve learning
opportunities for persons with disabilities. This is why I was pleased
to introduce this bipartisan legislation to help make educational
materials more accessible to the disabilities community. I want to
thank Rep. Roe for taking up this cause with me because there is
nothing more important than making sure all Americans, including those
with disabilities, have the opportunity to receive a great education."

The AIM HE Act will authorize a purpose-based commission comprised of
persons with disabilities, developers, and manufacturers, as well as
representatives from institutions of higher education. This commission
will develop voluntary accessibility guidelines for instructional
materials used in postsecondary educational programs. Additionally,
the commission will be tasked with developing an annotated list of
existing national and international information technology standards
as an additional resource for institutions of higher education and
companies that service the higher education market.

Institutions of higher education that only use 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 the use of
electronic instructional materials, giving them a safe harbor
protection from litigation. Colleges and universities will be
permitted to use material that does not conform with 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.

The AIM HE Act is a collaborative legislative initiative of the
National Federation of the Blind, the American Council on Education,
the Association of American Publishers, Educause(r), and the Software
and Information Industry Association.

###
About the National Federation of the Blind

 The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life
you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

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-- 
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create
obstacles between blind people  and our dreams. You can live the life
you want; blindness is not what holds you back.