|
WASHINGTON - A proposal developed by Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) to make textbooks more accessible for visually-impaired college students was included in the Higher Education Act reauthorization reported out of the House Education and Labor Committee Thursday.
The provision would establish a strong national effort to improve the accessibility of instructional materials for post-secondary students with visual impairments and other print disabilities, so that students can get their books and materials in the format they need (such as Braille, audio, or e-text), when they need them.
The effort is an expansion of a program authored by Petri to improve services to visually-impaired students in grades K through 12. Petri's proposal became law as part of the 2004 law reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
"The previous arrangements for translating textbooks into accessible formats such as Braille, large print or audio were unnecessarily cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive. As a result, visually-impaired students often received their textbooks long after school had started and could be needlessly left behind their sighted peers," Petri said. "Expanding this effort to the college level makes good sense."
“Passage of this bill marks a significant federal investment and commitment to minimizing the educational hurdles visually impaired college students face every semester,” said Grijalva. “These provisions will enable print-disabled students to access textbooks in a comparable time frame to that of their peers."
Specifically, the Petri-Grijalva proposal would establish a Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities to study and report on the barriers to efficient and timely distribution of materials in specialized formats.
It would further provide for model demonstration programs to support and expand collaborative efforts between colleges and other entities to identify solutions and address barriers so that students with print disabilities can get their accessible materials in a timeframe that is comparable to students without disabilities.
Petri and Grijalva worked closely with the visually-impaired and publishing communities on the proposal.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said, "We appreciate the commitment of Reps. Grijalva and Petri to create equal opportunity for blind students in higher education. We have high hopes that their efforts will result in a comprehensive program that provides blind students and other students with print disabilities with textbooks on time and in the accessible format of their choice."
Patricia S. Schroeder, former Congresswoman and current AAP president and chief executive officer said, “The members of the Association of American Publishers welcome the opportunity to work with this federal Advisory Commission to develop the foundation of knowledge that will enable stakeholders to identify appropriate solutions to meet the needs of print-disabled higher education students. AAP understands that the post-secondary environment is remarkably different than the K through 12 level but, as demonstrated by publishers' successful work with disability groups to support the IDEA provisions, AAP believes this positive step forward will pave the way for continued progress.”
|
