04R-190

2004 -- S 2993

Enacted 04/22/04

S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO SPONSOR AND VIGOROUSLY SUPPORT THE ENACTMENT OF THE "INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSIBILITY ACT" IN THE 108TH SESSION OF CONGRESS

Introduced By: Senator Daniel J. Issa

Date Introduced: March 24, 2004

     WHEREAS, In the mid-nineteenth century, states established centralized schools for the

blind in order to educate blind and visually impaired students. In support of this, Congress

authorized the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) in Louisville, Kentucky, to produce

educational materials in alternative formats, including Braille. Today, APH continues to fulfill

this function, receiving annual appropriations for this purpose; and

     WHEREAS, In the 1960's blind children first began to attend schools in their home

communities in significant numbers and, today the vast majority does so. As a result, Braille,

audio, and large print books must be obtained or created by any local school district having one or

more blind children. Converting printed instructional materials into "specialized formats" such as

Braille is often time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly, taking six or more months and

several thousand dollars to complete. Relying on APH alone cannot fulfill the need. Therefore, it

is the exception--not the rule--for blind students to have access to required textbooks at the same

time as their sighted classmates; and

     WHEREAS, The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act, and other federal laws clearly establish the policy that individuals with disabilities

are entitled to equal treatment in all areas of society. However, the successful implementation of

these laws does not occur without clear, specific, and practical standards and systems in place, to

anticipate accessibility needs. Currently, there are no federal laws that create standards to

facilitate the production of textbooks in Braille; and

     WHEREAS, Twenty-six states have responded to this need by requiring publishers to

provide electronic copies of print editions of textbooks. However, there is no consistent file

format used among the states, and the electronic copies provided by publishers are frequently not

usable for Braille reproduction at all. Therefore, inconsistent and often conflicting state

requirements place burdensome obligations on publishers without efficiently facilitating more

timely production of books in accessible formats. An agreed-upon, uniform electronic file format

would reduce the burden to publishers and significantly reduce the cost of creation, while helping

to provide materials to blind students at the same time they are provided to others; and

     WHEREAS, Congress should enact the "Instructional Materials Accessibility Act," –

IMAA- that has been negotiated by textbook publishers, the National Federation of the Blind, and

other affected groups. This legislation would ensure that blind and visually impaired students

will not be left behind by having the textbooks they need and in a form they can use; and

     WHEREAS, IMAA would develop a uniform electronic file format for instructional

materials prepared by publishers, require publishers to produce a copy of each textbook in the

uniform electronic file format, and furnish it to a central repository for distribution to schools; and

     WHEREAS, The principle benefit of this legislation will be a uniform electronic file

format. This will allow rapid creation of textbooks in the desired format for each student, sighted

or blind. For students who read Braille, their books can be presented through the use of synthetic

speech or stored and read with small computers which display Braille dots; and

     WHEREAS, Without this legislation, local school districts will continue to bear the

burden and cost of converting printed books into Braille. However, modern technology can now

support shifting much of this responsibility to publishers without placing an undue burden on

them. This legislation does not remove the school's responsibility to provide materials, but will

institute a shared burden between the schools that teach the children and the publishers that create

the books. The effect will be a uniform electronic file format and national distribution center; and

     WHEREAS, One of the most chronic problems encountered by blind and visually

impaired children all across the nation is getting textbooks on time. The tales of Braille or large

print textbooks, that do not arrive until months after the start of school --or sometimes not at all--

are legion. These real-life stories cover every region of the country; urban and rural areas; all

grade levels from elementary through high school; and wealthy school districts as well as poorer

school districts. The irony is that we have the technology to solve this problem. Yet it persists;

and

     WHEREAS, The key element of this proposal is that publishers would be required to

provide school districts with a specialized electronic file of any instructional materials purchased

by the school district. The National Federation of the Blind and some three hundred citizens,

including parents and blind students, presented this concept to members of the Senate and the

House of Representatives at the Washington, D.C. Seminar in February of 2000; and

     WHEREAS, In April of 2000 the American Association of Publishers (AAP) and other

affected groups met and worked together to develop specific legislative language. This process

was completed by June of 2001, at which time all the parties had reached agreement on the bill,

now known as the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act – the IMAA. Although modifications

were made to the original proposal of the National Federation of the Blind, the key element – a

uniform electronic format provided by the publishers to school districts – remained; and

     WHEREAS, On April 24, 2002, the IMAA was introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 2246

by Christopher Dodd (D) of Connecticut and Thad Cochran (R) of Mississippi, and in the House

of Representatives as H.R. 4582, by Thomas Petri (R) of Wisconsin and George Miller (D) of

California. The bills were referred to committee. The Senate bill, S. 2246, is in the Health,

Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy (D) of

Massachusetts, and the House bill, H.R. 4582 is in the Education and Workforce Committee,

chaired by John A. Boehner (R) of Ohio; and

     WHEREAS, Around the same time some officials, in the Department of Education,

vocalized doubts about the need for the bill. They expressed the hope that publishers will provide

the electronic texts voluntarily, and therefore eliminate the need for a national federally-

supervised repository center. The American Association of Publishers (AAP), has voluntarily

participated in the formulation of IMAA, and is actively supporting its passage. Representatives

of the AAP have explained that there are legal and marketing reasons why legislation is required;

and

     WHEREAS, These points were under discussion as of the middle of August 2002, and

optimism existed about resolving them. The bills languished in committee until the session

adjourned; and

     WHEREAS, The Instructional Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA) will literally grant

blind and visually impaired students the ability to pursue their studies at the same time as their

sighted classmates. It is a national policy and is so stated in several federal laws, such as, the

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

(IDEA); however, there exists a big difference between simply stating that all people, regardless

of disability, are entitled to equal treatment and actually enacting policies that ensure that this

commendable goal is truly reached. The Instructional Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA) seeks

to bridge this gap; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby respectfully requests the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation to sponsor, and most

vigorously support, the enactment of the "Instructional Materials Accessibility Act," also known

as the IMAA in this 108th session (2003-2004) of Congress; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he is hereby authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, the

National Federation of the Blind, the American Association of Publishers, the United States

Department of Education, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, the

Perkins Institute, the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, the Rhode Island Department of

Education, the Rhode Island Board of School Committees, Massachusetts House Majority Leader

Lida E. Harkins, and the Connecticut Speaker of the House, Moira K. Lyons.

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LC03037

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