[Arizona-students] Fwd: Books On-Time for Blind Students!

[David Andrews]

>From: "McCarthy, James" <JMcCarthy at nfb.org>
>Subject: Books On-Time for Blind Students!



>Dear Federationists,
>
>             I write to share great news; Congress is committed to blind 
> students getting their books on time!!  All of the provisions of the 
> Instructional Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA) were included in the 
> legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
> Act (IDEA) and it is expected that both the House and the Senate will 
> promptly pass the legislation.  Federationists, we all deserve 
> congratulations for the many years of hard work that everyone has devoted 
> to getting this important legislation adopted.
>
>  <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
>
>There are several critical provisions included in H.R. 1350, the IDEA 
>reauthorization legislation.  States must adopt the National Instructional 
>Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) in a timely manner once the NIMAS 
>is published in the Federal Register.  This legislation states that this 
>is required "for the purposes of providing instructional materials to 
>blind persons or other persons with print disabilities, in a timely 
>manner."  The National Instructional Materials Access Center (Center) will 
>be established within one year of enactment of this legislation and the 
>American Printing House for the Blind (APH) will operate it with money 
>provided to them for that purpose.  States must require publishers of 
>textbooks to provide electronic files of textbooks to the Center, 
>effective two years after the passage of this legislation.  While states 
>can choose not to coordinate with the Center, they must provide books to 
>blind children in a timely manner.  We must insist that states participate 
>with the Center, as this will make the process of providing blind children 
>their textbooks in a timely manner much easier.
>
>
>
>While passage of this legislation is a real victory for blind children, we 
>continue to have critical work ahead of us.  The Department of Education 
>will formulate regulations to carry out the IDEA provisions, which 
>includes the IMAA provisions.  We must remain diligent to ensure that the 
>regulations will accomplish the goal of providing books to blind children 
>at the same time they are provided to their sighted peers.
>
>
>
>Passage of this legislation has been a high priority of our organization 
>for many years, and many deserve credit.  Parents of blind children, NFB 
>members, and friends of the blind have written countless letters of 
>support; blind students have testified before Congress telling their 
>stories; Senator Dodd, Representative Petri, and their staffs have 
>tirelessly worked for this day and deserve thank you letters from 
>us.  This legislation will be among one of the greatest developments in 
>the education of blind children.  I thank each and every one of you for 
>your contributions to this successful campaign to provide books to blind 
>children at the same time they are provided to their sighted 
>classmates.  Passage of the IMAA provisions brings the blind one step 
>closer to the equality we deserve.
>
>
>
>Best regards,
>
>
>
>Jim McCarthy
>
>Director of Governmental Affairs
>
>NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
>1800 Johnson Street
>
>Baltimore, MD 21230
>
>(410) 659-9314, ext. 2240
>
><mailto:jmccarthy at nfb.org>jmccarthy at nfb.org
>
>