§1474 Technology Development, Demonstration, and Utilization; Media Services; and Instructional Materials

Summary

The Secretary must award competitive grants and make contracts or cooperative agreements with eligible groups to support two kinds of work for students with disabilities: developing and using helpful technology, and creating or providing accessible educational media and instructional materials. For technology, the work can include researching and promoting new or universally designed tools, moving research into real classrooms, using internet tools for students with cognitive disabilities, and giving parents and teachers information and training about early diagnosis, intervention, and teaching reading disabilities. For media and materials, the work can include making classroom-ready educational media, adding or providing video description and open or closed captions for TV, videos, and new digital formats (news only until September 30, 2006), distributing these materials (for example, by a loan service), and supplying free accessible textbooks and other materials in usable formats for visually impaired and print-disabled students in elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and graduate schools. Captioning or description must be provided only if the producer/distributor has not already supplied it or other funds have not fully paid for it. Groups that want funding must apply as the Secretary requires. Any group applying to provide accessible textbooks must be a national nonprofit with a history of serving print-disabled students, must be able to produce and deliver up-to-date digital audio textbooks quickly, and must be able to stretch federal dollars with other funding and volunteers. The Secretary must also set up the National Instructional Materials Access Center through the American Printing House for the Blind no later than 1 year after December 3, 2004. That center must keep a catalog of electronic textbook files in the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, give free access to accessible textbooks for blind or print-disabled K–12 students, and make procedures to prevent copyright infringement for materials provided under the law. Defined terms: "eligible entity" — as in section 1461(b); "blind or other persons with print disabilities" — children under this chapter who may qualify under the Act of March 3, 1931; "National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)" — the file standard the Secretary sets; "print instructional materials" — K–12 textbooks and core printed materials required by state or local agencies; "specialized formats" — as defined in 17 U.S.C. 121(d)(3).