ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOKS: US ACCESSIBILITY LAWS & ISSUES
CSUN 2004 Conference March 2004, Los Angeles, CA
Introduction
Although access to textbooks for students who are blind or who have other print
disabilities is a civil right in the U.S., the availability of accessible
electronic textbooks continues to be a challenge in both traditional learning
environments and in long-distance learning. This paper provides a general
overview of the current issues surrounding Federal and State laws and electronic
textbooks as well as proposed federal legislation seeking to improve the
situation as of the writing of this paper.
Federal Civil Rights
A number of federal civil rights laws provide for students with disabilities to
have equal access to the learning environment and the provisions vary depending
on the students and entities covered. For example, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is an anti-discrimination statute that applies to any
education program or activity as long as the program or activity receives
Federal financial assistance. Another federal law, the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), requires that public schools make available
to all eligible children with disabilities a free and appropriate public
education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual
needs. The U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights is responsible
for vigorous enforcement of Section 504 and Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). The enforcement of IDEA, however, is through a variety
of mechanisms in this complex statute.
Electronic textbooks
Providing every student with a textbook is not enough if the print medium is
inaccessible to students with various disabilities due to physical, sensory, or
cognitive barriers. For example, providing textbooks in print format is a
barrier for students who are dyslexic and are totally inaccessible to blind
students. Technology now enables these textbooks to be accessible through
conversion to accessible electronic formats. These formats provide great
flexibility for meeting the needs of all students with disabilities since the
digital format can be read out loud by a computer or screen reader or printed on
a Braille printer. However, there are many issues surrounding the delivery of
accessible electronic textbooks to every student with a disability. This paper
explores some of these issues.
Copyright Law Amendment of 1996 - The Chafee Amendment
This landmark revision of U.S. copyright law provides an exception to the
general rule that all users of copyright protected works must obtain permission
prior to reproducing or distributing a work. The amendment enables certain
authorized entities to reproduce or distribute copies of a broad range of
previously published literary works in specialized formats, such as Braille,
audio or digital text, exclusively for use by blind or other persons with
disabilities. Authorized entities must screen recipients and provide access to
their collections to qualified individuals.
Under the statute, an "authorized entity" is a nonprofit organization or a
government agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services
relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs
of blind or other persons with disabilities
State Laws and Impact on Publishers
Many States have adopted laws addressing the provision of accessible curriculum
materials in education. These laws and State processes vary in their approach to
the problem. The conversion of textbooks to accessible electronic formats can be
achieved through one of three approaches:
- Retyping the text into a computer word processor
- Scanning the text into a computer and edit the file or
- Obtaining the electronic file of the textbook from the original source.
State laws addressing the delivery system for accessible electronic textbooks
vary widely across the country and there is no consistency as to the electronic
standard or format. For example, effective July 1, 2003, the State of Kentucky
gives preferential procurement status to publishers providing alternative
formats for textbooks (with XML as the default format) and requires public
school textbook publishers to create electronic versions of their printed
textbooks. The State of California requires publishers of K-12 instructional
materials to provide the State with computer files or other electronic versions
of each state-adopted literary title as well as the right to transcribe,
reproduce, modify and distribute the material in formats for students with
disabilities. The State of Texas requires that publishers provide electronic
versions of printed textbooks upon request and the State of Maryland requires
State officials to buy from publishers providing accessible alternative formats.
In the area of long-distance learning, the State of Minnesota requires web
sites to be accessible and to comply with the federal Electronic and Information
Technology Accessibility Standards issued through the strengthening of Section
508 through the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. This requirement applies
to all State of Minnesota primary college and university Web sites, department
sites and online instructional materials.
The patchwork of State and local government requirements means that
publishers must be prepared to produce multiple electronic files in different
formats for each of their textbooks or other instructional materials. At this
time, file formats widely used by publishers in final production of
instructional materials cannot be converted for use in reproducing materials in
specialized formats. For this reason, publishers must engage in a
labor-intensive process for conversion into an electronic file. Publishers are
also subject to increased risk that their textbooks can be reproduced and
distributed without their authorization.
Standards for Electronic Textbooks
At this time there are no uniform standards for electronic file conversions. In
order to address this problem, legislation has been proposed by Senator
Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. The bill is called the Instructional Materials
Accessibility Act of 2002 (IMAA) and would dramatically improve access to
textbooks for students with disabilities. The IMAA mandates the adoption of a
standardized, national electronic file format where publishers of instructional
materials will be required to submit an electronic file of all textbooks in a
universal file format. Senator Dodd noted that approximately 26 States have
already passed laws requiring publishers to provide textbooks in electronic
formats to help in Braille conversion. But since there has been no standard to
regulate this process, schools have been receiving textbooks in a variety of
formats. The bill requires the Department of Education to develop the
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards that shall:
- define the specific technical parameters of the national
electronic file format to be used by publishers of instructional
materials in the preparation of electronic files suitable for
efficient conversion into specialized formats; and
- be consistent with and based upon existing and emerging standards
relating to electronic publishing and translation technology used to produce
specialized formats.
Since electronic textbooks would be created under this accessibility
standard, educational institutions will benefit from a consistent, high quality
and it will be easier for schools to convert instructional materials into
accessible formats.
IMAA also sets aside $1 million to create a central depository for these
files for quick access subject to copyright restrictions and provides for State
and local education agencies to develop and implement statewide plans to ensure
access for students with disabilities. Enforcement will be available through the
rights, remedies and procedures available under the IDEA and the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973.
It is possible that since the Digital Talking Book standard is already
endorsed by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO), it may be a
leading candidate for adoption under the IMAA.
The IMAA was drafted collaboratively by the American Council of the Blind,
American Foundation of the Blind (AFB), American Printing House for the Blind,
Association of American Publishers (AAP), Association for Education and
Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, National Federation of the
Blind, and Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, in concert with a number of other
national groups.
Conclusion
It is time for a national standard and process for ensuring that students with
disabilities have equal access to electronic textbooks.
References
- National Library Service Fact sheet on Copyright Law Amendment, 1996: PL
104-197
http://www.loc.gov/nls/reference/factsheets/copyright.html
- State Braille Laws
http://www.tsbvi.edu/textbooks/afb/state-laws.htm
- Erica S. Perl, "Federal and State Legislation Regarding Accessible
Instructional Materials,"
http://www.cast.org/ncac/index.cfm?I=3122
- "Blind and Print-Disabled Students Will Have Equal Access to Textbooks:
Instructional Materials Accessibility Act Introduced in Congress," AFB Press
Release at
http://www.afb.org/info_document_view.asp?DocumentID=1705
| 