§1140m Model Demonstration Programs to Support Improved Access to Postsecondary Instructional Materials for Students with Print Disabilities

Summary

Funds are made available to give competitive grants or contracts to at least one partnership to build better systems for making and delivering college textbooks and other course materials in formats usable by students with print disabilities. An “eligible partnership” must include a college that has helped students with print disabilities succeed and another organization (not a college) that knows how to make accessible materials and has the tech skills to share them safely; publishers can also join. The Education Department will set application rules and will give priority to proposals that include a unified search for materials and market-based ways to sell accessible materials at prices similar to standard books. Grantees must use the money to create and test systems that find and confirm eligible students, simplify student requests (for example, a single entry point), coordinate schools, publishers, and producers, speed up delivery (including electronic delivery), stop duplicate conversions, protect against copyright problems while keeping access, and train faculty, staff, and students. They may also test focusing on certain course groups, a unified search across databases, or market approaches to pricing. Within three years after the first award, the Department must report to Congress on grants made, what was done, how many students and requests were served, and how well the programs worked. If the models prove effective and protect copyrights, the program can be expanded.