Jessica M. Brodey January 28, 2011 Beyond Chafee: Providing Curriculum Access for Students with Disabilities Jessica M. Brodey January 28, 2011

Overview Laws Mandating Access to Education and Materials What does Chafee cover? What else do we need? How do we provide it?

Federal Laws Mandating Access to Education Two Key Laws: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Virtually all schools are subject to these statutes either because they accept federal funds, are a government service, or are a public accommodation.

Federal Laws Mandating Access to Materials Rehabilitation Act of 1973 § 504 states that "no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under" any educational program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance

Federal Laws Mandating Access to Materials ADA Title II: Public Transportation and Services Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in state and local government services by state and local governmental entities, whether or not they receive federal funds. Title III: Public Accommodations Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and services Private schools are public accommodations

Federal Laws Mandating Access to Materials Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Access to the General Curriculum “Free Appropriate Public Education” is available to all children with disabilities 3-21 residing in the State. FAPE includes special education and related services that— (A) have been provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; (B) meet the standards of the State educational agency; (C) include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State involved; and (D) are provided in conformity with the individualized education program required under section 614(d).

Federal Laws Regarding Access to Materials § 300.109 Full educational opportunity goal (FEOG). The State must have in effect policies and procedures to demonstrate that the State has established a goal of providing full educational opportunity to all children with disabilities, aged birth through 21, and a detailed timetable for accomplishing that goal.

Federal Laws Regarding Access to Materials § 300.105 Assistive technology. (a) Each public agency must ensure that assistive technology devices or assistive technology services, or both, as those terms are defined in §§ 300.5 and 300.6, respectively, are made available to a child with a disability if required as a part of the child’s— (1) Special education under § 300.36; (2) Related services under § 300.34; or (3) Supplementary aids and services under §§ 300.38 and 300.114(a)(2)(ii). (b) On a case-by-case basis, the use of school-purchased assistive technology devices in a child’s home or in other settings is required if the child’s IEP Team determines that the child needs access to those devices in order to receive FAPE.

Federal Laws Mandating Access to Materials Accessible Education Materials § 300.210(b) Nothing in this section relieves an LEA of its responsibility to ensure that children with disabilities who need instructional materials in accessible formats but are not included under the definition of blind or other persons with print disabilities in § 300.172(e)(1)(i) or who need materials that cannot be produced from NIMAS files, receive those instructional materials in a timely manner.

What does Chafee cover? Chafee Amendment is limited in scope with respect to the individuals who may be served, the types of materials that may be provided, and the people who may provide them. To understand what Chafee covers, must first understand copyrights

What is a copyright? A set of exclusive rights granted to the creator of an original work of authorship. to reproduce the copyrighted work to prepare derivative works to distribute copies to perform the copyrighted work publicly to display the copyrighted work publicly to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission

Chafee Amendment Allows for Certain Derivative Works What is a Derivative Work? Based upon one or more preexisting works (e.g., a translation, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, or any other form) from which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. Why is this important? Transcriptions, such as Braille, digital formats, and audio, are derivative works!

What is the Chafee Amendment Exception to the exclusive rights of a copyright holder that allows an authorized entity to reproduce or distribute copies or recordings of a previously published, non-dramatic literary work in specialized formats exclusively for use by Blind or other persons with disabilities Authorized Entities Nonprofit organization or government agency Primary mission to provide specialized services related to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of the Blind or other persons with print disabilities

Blind or Other Persons with Print Disabilities The Library of Congress regulations (36 CFR 701.6(b)(1)) related to the Act to Provide Books for the Adult Blind provide that “blind persons or other persons with print disabilities” include persons certified by competent authority as: Having visual acuity 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting glasses, or whose widest diameter if visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees. Having a visual disability, with correction and regardless of optical measurement that prevents the reading of standard printed material. Unable to read or unable to use standard printed material as a result of physical limitations. Having a reading disability resulting from organic dysfunction and of sufficient severity to prevent their reading printed material in a normal manner.

Competent Authority Competent authority is defined in 36 CFR 701.6(b)(2) as follows: (i) In cases of blindness, visual disability, or physical limitations: doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, registered nurses, therapists, professional staff of hospitals, institutions, and public or welfare agencies (e.g., social workers, case workers, counselors, rehabilitation teachers, and superintendents). (ii) In the case of a reading disability from organic dysfunction: doctors of medicine who may consult with colleagues in associated disciplines.

Specialized Formats Digital text Audio Braille Large print** (ONLY FOR PRINT INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS)

What else do we need? Some students need access, but are not considered eligible for services under Chafee. Some students need access, but they need materials in formats other than the specified “specialized formats.” Scaffolding/Abridged versions Sign Language Accessible Multimedia material (video, audio, etc.) Providers of accessible materials *may* not qualify as authorized entities.

How Do We Provide it? Request/purchase accessible versions If that fails, Copyright Law still governs for making accessible versions Get permissions! Use other exceptions…Chafee Amendment is only one exception Fair Use and Educational Use are other key exceptions

Fair Use and Copyright The fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —  (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Educational Use and Copyright The performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made.

How do we make accessible materials? Excellent resources, including tools and guidelines http://ncam.wgbh.org/ Video (digital content easier) Tools like MAGpie Print Materials (including ancillary and supplemental) Convert into electronic formats (either acquire, re-enter, or scan) Use tools/assistive technology Add supports…consider partnering with vendors Other Media

Considerations for Improving Accessibility of Media Users who are Blind or Visually impaired High contrast color schemes Navigation using the keyboard Feedback in audio Compatibility with screen readers and magnifiers Description of complex visual images Users who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing Adjustable sound levels Visual feedback in addition to audio Captioned audio and video Users with Mobility Impairments Adjustable time delays Compatibility with non-standard input

Tips for Assessing Accessibility of Media Visual information should be available in auditory and text form. Audio should be captioned and contain a text transcript. Video or animated presentations should include audio descriptions of visual information. Software should have the capability for increasing or reducing the speed of presentation, or pausing the presentation, to allow for different levels of comprehension.

Tips for Assessing Accessibility of Media Keyboard commands for all important functions. Text should be user adjustable for font, size, and color. Users should be able to zoom in to view portions of the screen in more detail. Use established "standard" encodings such as HTML and XML for text, GIF and JPEG for images, WAVE, QuickTime, MPEG, and AVI for sound/video. For online media, follow the content design principles established by the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines http://www.w3c.org/wai.

Examples of Assistive Technology Captioning Provides text subtitles for spoken dialogue. Available for television broadcast, video, DVD, and streaming media. Descriptive Video Provides spoken description in the natural dialogue pauses of visual elements in video. Screen Readers Computer interface for non-visual access to computer screens. Digital Talking Book Players Allow digital versions of printed text to be displayed and accessed in a variety of formats (large print, refreshable Braille display, talking book)

Troubleshooting For many IT products, accessibility options may be built-in, but the users are unaware of these features, or do not know how to activate them. Current media players such as QuickTime, RealPlayer, and Windows Media Player have the capacity to display captions and audio description for video that has been captioned or described. Windows and MacOS both have basic accessibility features built into the operating systems.

Resources Captioning/Video Description: National Center on Accessible Media (tools and guidelines) http://ncam.wgbh.org/ MAGPie QuickTime Captions SageStream Screen Readers/Magnifiers Jaws for Windows Outspoken for Macintosh or Windows Window-Eyes ZoomText Xtra (magnifier for Windows) inLARGE (magnifier for Macintosh)

Resources World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines http://www.w3c.org/wai. Assistive Technology Industry Association: http://www.atia.org National Center on Accessible Media: http://ncam.wgbh.org Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)/National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials: http://aim.cast.org Trace Center: http://www.trace.wisc.edu/

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Contact Info Jessica Brodey jbrodey@jmbpolicy.com (301) 770-1127

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