[Nfbc-info] regarding the lack of availability of Braille textbooks in California

[Angela Fowler]

Hello everyone,
    I am working with Kathleen Church, the president of the California
Organization of Parents of Blind Children, to gather information about the
difficulties faced in obtaining accessible textbooks in a timely manner for
blind children in California. In several counties around the state, blind
children are not receiving textbooks in Braille, receiving them very late in
the school year, receiving comparable books which don't allow them to follow
along with their classmates, or the books must be transcribed by volunteers
in order for the children to receive them at all. This problem seems
especially prevalent with math and science books, which are more difficult
to transcribe because of diagrams and Nemeth Code. 
    This was once thought to be an issue with local school districts, but we
have reason to believe it has become statewide. If you are a parent or
teacher of a blind child, or know of a student K through 12 who is a Braille
reader having difficulty obtaining textbooks, please contact Kathleen or
myself at the emails provided by the end of February. Please include your
name and contact info, and a brief description of the issue you are facing.
At this point we are gathering information so that we may take further
action to remedy this problem. 
 
Sincerely:
 
Angela Fowler (president, California Association of Blind Students)
fowlers at syix.com
 
Kathleen Church (president, California Organization of Parents of Blind
Children)
kchurchlady at charter.net