JFActivist

National Library Service Offers Accessible Materials

via The Library of Congress (6.3.11):

That All May Read . . .

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS)

The Library of Congress' NLS runs a free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail. The library also has a special music collection for people who are blind. Check your eligibility and find the closest library to sign up.

>>>For More Info...

Call for Stories: ADA Generation Putting Together A Book - Add your story

From Voices of the ADA Generation (8.6.10):

Call for Proposals: Disability in America: Voices of a New Generation

by Ari Ne’eman and Stacey Milbern, Co-Editors

*** Deadline: January 15, 2011  ***

This year, the disability community is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), civil rights law that protects the rights of disabled people. Growing up in a post-ADA America has meant that many of us have had access to more opportunities than previous generations. We know if we had been born in 1967 instead of 1987 our lives would look completely different. We know the history of our people is tainted by eugenics, ableism, lack of access and the sting of low expectations. We recognize the work that has been done by disability movements over the last century to make the current lives we live possible. We are proud to be members of this vibrant, breathing, community.

Although the struggle continues, we recognize that the realities of disabled people look vastly different in many ways. With this in mind, we are requesting proposals for chapters in a book-length anthology to document this legacy and record the stories of disabled young people talking about what it is to grow up with a disability in this day and age.

Part One of our anthology will attempt to explore how a new generation experiences these age old challenges, affording a chance to assess how far we have really come. Part Two of our anthology asks disabled young people to identify what our struggle looks like now.

We’re seeking a diversity of perspectives and topics. A few questions we pose as food for thought:

• What does it look like to navigate the medical system?

• What is it like trying to find and keep a job as a young person with a disability today?

• How are mental health challenges and psychiatric impairments approached by family members?

• Do students still have to choose between support and inclusion?

• What is the impact of pity and charity?

• How do we survive the traumas we experience by people who say they are helping us, whether this is in schools, in doctor’s offices, our places of worship, or within our support systems?

• How do people with less visible disabilities choose whether or not to disclose?

• How has the nature of “passing” changed or not changed?

• How do we fight eugenics, with its many faces?

• How do we work with personal assistant services and our support systems?

• How is disability portrayed differently in American society?

• How are media, and pop culture representations of disability viewed by the new generation of young people with disabilities?

• What do our relationships and sex lives look like?

• How do we find community?

We are seeking creative non-fiction essays from young people with disabilities ages 13-30 (some flexibility will be available for compelling submissions from individuals slightly outside our preferred age range). People with all types of disabilities are welcome to submit. Speaking from personal experience is strongly encouraged. The intent of this project is to use personal voices to capture the experience of the new generation of young people with disabilities.

Submissions should range from 2,000 to 5,000 words. Please include your address, phone number, e-mail address and a short bio on the  manuscript.

Proposals are due by e-mail to voicesoftheadageneration@gmail.com to January 15, 2011 but we encourage and will consider for approval early submissions. Please e-mail co-editors Stacey Milbern and Ari Ne’eman at voicesoftheadageneration@gmail.com with questions.

Inaccessible Electronic Book Readers are Discriminatory

From AAPD (7.2.2010):

 

White House Briefing on Inaccessible Technology for College Students  

By Jenifer Simpson

AAPD attended a White House briefing on June 29, 2010 on education and access to books and materials. The meeting, hosted by Kareem Dale, White House Disability Policy Advisor to the President, focused on the new policy guidance letter by the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Education (DOE) addressed to colleges and university presidents. This letter, issued June 29, 2010, was in follow-up to recent complaints filed at DOJ about inaccessible E-book readers required at colleges. It affirms colleges and universities non-discrimination obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to ensure electronic book readers are accessible to students with print disabilities. The joint DOJ and DOE letter asks college and university presidents to "take steps to ensure that your college or university refrains from requiring the use of any electronic book reader, or other similar technology, in a teaching or classroom environment as long as the device remains inaccessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision." The letter adds: "It is unacceptable for universities to use emerging technology without insisting that this technology be accessible to all students."

The letter expresses DOJ and DOE concern for students who are blind or have low vision and how emerging technology, such as electronic book readers, that lack accessible text-to-speech (TTS) capability, when required in classrooms, is discrimination. It also summarizes the recent DOJ settlements with colleges and universities that had used the Kindle DX, an inaccessible electronic book reader in classrooms as part of a pilot study with Amazon.  The letter is signed by Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice and Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education.

 

 

Photo of White House Eisenhower Office Building where Meetings take place

The White House meeting was attended also by Ms. Ali, who discussed departmental efforts in this area. Other Education department officials attending included Ms. Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Martha Kanter, Undersecretary for Education, both of whom briefed attendees on current and prospective education department activities in regard to accessibility and technology. Several DOJ officials were in attendance also, but were not briefing presenters. Representatives from other disability groups attended, including AFB, LDAA, NFB, and the NY Dyslexia Association. Representatives from stakeholder companies included Benetech and Ideal Group.

Copy of joint DOJ/DOE letter attached. PDF only until we locate website for this.

Disability Community Engages in Education Reform Efforts

From Forum on Educational Accountability (3.22.10):

 

Forum on Educational Accountability

c/o FairTest, 15 Court Sq, Ste 820, Boston, MA 02108 ; 857-350-8207

FEA@fairtest.orghttp://www.edaccountability.org
Transforming ESEA to Meet the Needs of All Learners
Please Join Us for a Free Public Discussion

Featured Speaker:
U.S. Representative Judy Chu, Ph.D., Member, House of Representatives
Committee on Education and Labor
Featured Panelists:
Douglas Fuchs, Professor, Nicholas Hobbs Chair in Special Education and
Human Development, Vanderbilt University
Jim Lyons, Esq., Legislative Counsel, Alliance for Multilingual, Multicultural Education
Moderated By:
Myrna Mandlawitz, President, MRM Associates
Lindsay E. Jones, Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy, Council for Exceptional Children

When: April 15, 2010, from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM
Where: U.S. House of Representatives, TBD
What: Join us for a discussion about the supports and services needed in public schools to appropriately include and serve students with disabilities and English language learners. Our featured speaker and panelists will consider the many opportunities to better serve these groups in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Representative Chu is a lifelong advocate for education, having served as a school board member and worked as a Community College professor for over 20 years. Professor Fuchs is a nationally-known author and researcher focusing on serving students with disabilities, and a leading expert on Response to Intervention. Jim Lyons helped author of the Bilingual Education Act of 1984, and has worked as an attorney for over 40 years in civil rights policy and legislation, with a special focus on equal educational opportunity. Myrna Mandlawitz and Lindsay Jones will present FEA's ideas for capacity needs and appropriate integration of students with disabilities and English language learners (see

www.edaccountability.org for FEA materials).
Please RSVP at http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2t3ujro109f22f6

Transforming ESEA: Helping Public Schools Improve

Transforming ESEA is a series of public discussions sponsored by FEA. Forthcoming forums will address how the federal government can help schools, districts and states build their capacity to serve all students well. FEA ideas for the new ESEA can be found at www.edaccountability.org.

You can download this flyer here: Download FEA diverse learners forum Flyer 3.

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From Council for Exceptional Children (3.15.10):

CEC pleased that ESEA blueprint addresses enhanced inclusion of students with disabilities, gifts & talents

More details needed on implementation;
concerns about incentivizing decisions based on assessments

The following is a statement from Bruce A. Ramirez, executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children, regarding the Obama Administration’s Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The release of the Obama Administration’s Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is a step forward in encouraging congressional action. 

As the largest organization of professionals dedicated to improving the academic achievement of students with disabilities and gifts and talents, CEC is encouraged that the blueprint enhances inclusion of students with disabilities and increases access to gifted and talented education programs, acknowledging the need to expand programs for this underserved population.

While the administration’s blueprint generally addresses many issues of importance to CEC and its members, it falls short on providing critical details needed to guide implementation. CEC is pleased that the administration has proposed to enhance inclusion of students with disabilities in the accountability system, including proposing alternative measures of student growth; support the creation of high-quality assessments; and address recruitment and retention challenges in special education. However, CEC is concerned that certain proposals incentivize high-stakes decision making based on assessments.

CEC believes reauthorization of ESEA provides a unique opportunity to enhance collaboration between special and general education. As we move forward, CEC is committed to working with Congress and the Obama Administration to ensure that the needs of children and youth with disabilities and gifts and talents and the professionals who work on their behalf are appropriately addressed.

For more information about CEC, visit www.cec.sped.org. You can also contact Diane Shinn, 703-264-9478, dianes@cec.sped.org.

CEC is an international community of educators who are the voice and vision of special and gifted education. CEC’s mission is to improve the quality of life for individuals with exceptionalities and their families through professional excellence and advocacy.

You can download here: Download ESEA reauthorization

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From National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. (3.16.10):

NASDSE STATEMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S RELEASE
OF ‘A BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM’ FOR THE REAUTHORIZATION OF
THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

Bill East, Executive Director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, released the following statement on A Blueprint for Reform, the Obama Administration's proposal for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA):

“NASDSE applauds the Administration for releasing a Blueprint for reauthorizing the ESEA that will help get the ball rolling on the long-overdue reauthorization of this important legislation. We are glad that the Blueprint recognizes the importance of ESEA working together with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that students with disabilities are held to the same high standards as their peers without disabilities...For example, it is not clear what is meant by the statement that ‘districts and schools (will) implement …locally determined curricula’ and how this would differ from ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the core curriculum that is encouraged elsewhere in the Blueprint. In addition, while we are pleased that the Administration is supportive of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), we want to encourage the Administration and Congress to incorporate these principles into the law and make them available for all students, not just students with disabilities."

You can get this statement here: Download Statement on Admin Blueprint 3 10.

Also for more information you can contact Nancy Reder (703) 519-3800, ext. 334

White House Applauds Reading Rights Action

From The White House Blog (3.09.10):

One Step Closer To Full Access

by Kareem Dale

...The Reading Rights Coalition, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers have issued a joint statement stating “that the contents of books should be as accessible to individuals with print disabilities as they are to everyone else.”  They further agreed to work together to reach this desired goal.

As a person who is blind myself and thoroughly enjoys reading, I applaud these groups and organizations for coming together to bring about needed change. We look forward to continuing to work with all Americans to support access to materials for persons with print disabilities.

>>>For more information

Reading Rights Coalition, Authors and Publishers Agree to Pursue Print Accessibility

From NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND (3.09.10):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Joint Statement on Access to Books
by Americans with Print Disabilities

Washington, D.C. (March 9, 2010): The Reading Rights Coalition, which represents thirty million Americans who cannot read print due to disabilities; the Authors Guild, with a membership of eight thousand American writers; and the Association of American Publishers, consisting of three hundred publishers representing 85 percent of all published materials in the United States, today issued the following statement regarding access to books by Americans with print disabilities:

"The growth in the number of books offered in electronic and audio formats has created tremendous opportunities for the millions of Americans who are blind or have other print disabilities that make it difficult or impossible to read printed books in the same way that other Americans typically do.  This large community constitutes a previously-untapped market that is hungry for the educational, inspirational, and recreational opportunities that books can provide, and now offers a significant commercial opportunity to the publishing industry.

“The Reading Rights Coalition, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers believe that the contents of books should be as accessible to individuals with print disabilities as they are to everyone else.  To that end, these groups agree to work together and through the communities they represent to ensure that when the marketplace offers alternative formats to print books, such as audio and electronic books, print-disabled consumers can access the contents of these alternative formats to the same extent as all other consumers."

About the Reading Rights Coalition

The Reading Rights Coalition consists of thirty-one organizations that represent the estimated thirty million Americans who can not read print.  The member organizations of the Reading Rights Coalition believe that access to the written word is the cornerstone of education and democracy, and new information technologies must SERVE individuals with disabilities rather than acting as barriers.

Just In: AAPD Joins Facebook Causes

From the JFA Moderator:

AAPD recently joined Facebook Causes as a way to get the word out about the disability rights movement and to make it easier for YOU, our dedicated activists, to contribute your support.

Take Action TODAY: Join or Donate to AAPD's Cause on Facebook and share these links with your friends.

>>> To Join the Movement

>>> To Support our Work

Student, Groups Sue Over Kindle

From The State Press (6/28/09):

By: Rheyanne Weaver

Blind students may have problems using Amazon’s Kindle DX, which is being tested in pilot group classes at ASU in fall 2009.

The National Federation of the Blind, American Council of the Blind and Darrell Shandrow, an ASU journalism student, filed a complaint against ASU in order to avoid the future use of the Kindle in the classroom until it is made accessible to blind students.

To read the article in its entirety, visit http://www.statepress.com/node/6655.

For more about the Reading Rights Coalition, visit http://www.readingrights.org/

Also in technology news, AAPD Urges Senate Action on Broadband Accessibility Bill.