[school-discuss] Fwd: Blind Students Call for Accessible Textbooks Law

[William Abernathy <william@inch.com>]

This looks (to my not nearly educated enough eye) like one potential use for an 
open educational XML standard. Is this someplace where EduML could help out?

--WA

(Forwarded from New Yorkers for Fair Use, fairuse-discuss@mrbrklyn.com)

-------- Original Message --------

(Forwarded from Accessible Technology list,
access-l@icomm.ca)

-------- Original Message --------
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 22:57:12 +1100
From: "Steve Pattison" <srp@bigpond.net.au>

From: William Jolley wjolley@bigpond.net.au
To: vip-l@softspeak.com.au

Hello Everyone

The following message describes the mounting pressure for a
law in the United States that would lead to consistently
marked-up publishers files being made available for
production in accessible formats.

Cheers

Bill

From: James Allan allan_jm@tsb1.tsbvi.edu
To: afb-solutions@topica.com

  From:

http://www.austin360.com/auto_docs/epaper/editions/thursday/news_20.html


  Blind students want faster access to books

  Federal law is sought to speed up the process of adapting
textbooks for  visually impaired people

  By Andrew Mollison
  February 7, 2002

  WASHINGTON -- Blind students from across the country
lobbied members of  Congress this week to support a new plan
to give the next generation of  blind students faster access
to usable versions of textbooks.

  "I use Braille and recorded books and readers," said Angela
Wolf, a  senior at the University of Texas, who is president
of the National  Association of Blind Students.

  But she recalled having to wait two to four weeks for taped
or digitally  recorded versions and months for Braille
versions of textbooks that  sighted students could use in
print versions on the first day of school.


  "And sometimes there simply isn't an accessible version,"
Wolf said.  "It's not always easy to find and schedule time
with people to be  readers (of the print version). That can
be a real pain."

  The students were seeking a federal law that would require
all  publishers of new K-12 textbooks to send an electronic
file of each  textbook in a uniform national format to a
newly created nonprofit  center. The center would assist
state and local educators in helping  students and their
parents obtain those files, which can be used  instantly for
large-print, audible or Braille-machine versions. The  usual
six-month delay in obtaining regular Braille versions of
textbooks  could be cut in half.

  The plan would cost the federal government $6 million a
year. It was  crafted during two years of negotiations by
about 20 groups, including  the schools division of the
American Association of Publishers, state  education and
rehabilitation departments, the American Foundation for  the
Blind and the National Federation of the Blind.

  "It would be more cost-efficient for the publishers,
students would have  more access, schools would have fewer
headaches finding accessible  material and society would
have more educated workers," Wolf said.

  The proposal would apply only to elementary and secondary
textbooks,  because only those publishers agreed to the
plan.

  But its advocates anticipate that if the system is created
and works  smoothly, it would attract support from all other
U.S. publishers,  including those who supply college
textbooks.

  Federal laws already require colleges and schools to supply
students  with accessible textbooks and other instructional
materials. And just  over half the states require publishers
to provide electronic copies of  print editions of K-12
textbooks.

  "However, there is no consistent file format used among the
states, and  creating one to meet each state's standards
takes time and can cost a  publisher thousands of dollars,"
said Marc Maurer, president of the  National Federation of
the Blind. "The delay and uncertainty can be  totally
frustrating for the student."

  At the publishers' association, Steve Driesler, executive
director of  the schools division, said, "The financial
advantage for our publishers  would come from dealing with
one standard, as opposed to dealing with 26  state
formatting rules, and from the nonprofit center's use of the
files  in a way that would protect our intellectual property
rights."


  Federal laws already require colleges and schools to supply
students  with accessible textbooks and other instructional
materials. And just  over half the states require publishers
to provide electronic copies of  print editions of K-12
textbooks.

  "However, there is no consistent file format used among the
states, and  creating one to meet each state's standards
takes time and can cost a  publisher thousands of dollars,"
said Marc Maurer, president of the  National Federation of
the Blind. "The delay and uncertainty can be  totally
frustrating for the student."

  At the publishers' association, Steve Driesler, executive
director of  the schools division, said, "The financial
advantage for our publishers  would come from dealing with
one standard, as opposed to dealing with 26  state
formatting rules, and from the nonprofit center's use of the
files  in a way that would protect our intellectual property
rights."

Regards Steve,
mailto:srp@bigpond.net.au.
MSN Messenger:  internetuser383@hotmail.com.

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