I become completely incensed when I read anything about the inaccessible Kindle. I just can't help it but thanks very much for this article, Luis. Lynne----- Original Message ----- From: "Luis Guerra" <free_speech@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org> Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:41 PMSubject: [infoshare] AP Feds say colleges using Kindles and the like need to accommodate vision-impaired students
ATLANTA (AP) - Federal officials are requiring colleges that use Kindles and other electronic book readers in the classroom to make sure the gadgets haveaccommodations for blind and vision-impaired students. The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education sent a letter to college and university presidents Tuesday instructing them to find alternatives for blind students if the devices are required in the classroom. Not doing so would be a violation of federal law, said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department. "It is unacceptable for universities to use emerging technology withoutinsisting that this technology be accessible to all students," Ali wrote inthe joint letter with Thomas E. Perez, assistant U.S. attorney general.The federal government began examining last year whether the use of Kindlesand other e-readers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act after a blind Arizona State University student sued the campus in June alleging that Kindle's inaccessibility to blind students constituted a violation of federal law.The lawsuit was settled in January with the help of the National Federationof the Blind and the American Council of the Blind. Many e-readers have text-to-speech functions, but those don't apply to menus, which means that a blind person would still need help using the device, Ali said. "The key here is fully accessible, not in-part accessible," Ali told TheAssociated Press. "Blind users cannot navigate the menu. They couldn't fastforward or even know which book they were reading." So far, four universities - including Princeton University - testing Amazon's Kindle in the classroom have struck deals with the Justice Department and agreed to shelve the e-readers until they are fully functional for blind students. The other campuses are: Pace University in New York, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and Reed College in Portland, Ore.A settlement is still being worked out with the University of Virginia, Alisaid. Amazon officials did not immediately return a request for comment. Thecompany has said it is working on expanding features of the Kindle to ensureblind people can use them independently. Ali said the policy also would apply to any K-12 schools wanting to use e-readers in the classroom, but so far only the school district in Clearwater, Fla.,has expressed such interest. She said the Education Department is monitoringthat district to be sure they meet federal requirements. ___ Online: U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov Associated Press http://hosted2.ap.org/APDefault/06b03e2f3f644f65a4610ca9d28c1e75/Article_2010-06-29-US-Blind-Students-Kindle/id-951a6804ff2440ebab9167c5f8b07d36