[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7181-7182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2833]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in
Postsecondary Education for Students With Disabilities
AGENCY: Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in
Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities, Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of an open meeting and public hearing.
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SUMMARY: The notice sets forth the schedule and agenda of the meeting
of the Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in
Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities. The notice also
describes the functions of the Commission. Notice of the meeting is
required by section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and
is intended to notify the public of its opportunity to attend.
DATES: Open Meeting: February 24-25, 2011.
Public Hearing: February 24, 2011.
TIME: February 24, 2011: The open meeting will occur from 8:30 a.m.-
3:30 p.m. and the public hearing will occur from 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
February 25, 2011: The open meeting will occur from 8:30 a.m.-4
p.m.
ADDRESSES: Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel, 225 East
Coastline Drive, Jacksonville, Florida 32202.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Shook, Program Specialist,
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, United States
Department of Education, 550 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20202;
telephone: (202) 245-7642, fax: 202-245-7638.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Commission on Accessible
Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with
Disabilities (the Commission) is established under Section 772 of the
Higher Education Opportunity Act, Public Law 110-315, dated August 14,
2008. The Commission is established to conduct a comprehensive study,
which will--(I) ``assess the barriers and systemic issues that may
affect, and technical solutions available that may improve, the timely
delivery and quality of accessible instructional materials for
postsecondary students with print disabilities, as well as the
effective use of such materials by faculty and staff; and (II) make
recommendations related to the development of a comprehensive approach
to improve the opportunities for postsecondary students with print
disabilities to access instructional materials in specialized formats
in a time frame comparable to the availability of instructional
materials for postsecondary nondisabled students.''
In making recommendations for the study, ``the Commission shall
consider--(I) how students with print disabilities may obtain
instructional materials in accessible formats within a time frame
comparable to the availability of instructional materials for
nondisabled students; and to the maximum extent practicable, at costs
comparable to the costs of such materials for nondisabled students;
(II) the feasibility and technical parameters of establishing
standardized electronic file formats, such as the National
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard as defined in Section
674(e)(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to be
provided by publishers of instructional materials to producers of
materials in specialized formats, institutions of higher education, and
eligible students; (III) the feasibility of establishing a national
clearinghouse, repository, or file-sharing network for electronic files
in specialized formats and files used in producing instructional
materials in specialized formats, and a list of possible entities
qualified to administer such clearinghouse, repository, or network;
(IV) the feasibility of establishing market-based solutions involving
collaborations among publishers of instructional materials, producers
of materials in specialized formats, and institutions of higher
education; (V) solutions utilizing universal design; and (VI) solutions
for low-incidence, high-cost requests for instructional materials in
specialized formats.''
The Commission will meet in open session on Thursday and Friday,
and will discuss the work of Commission to date. The Commission will
also discuss the structure and content of the Commission report and
review the timeline for completing the report. The Commission's
discussion will address the four areas that members have identified as
being crucial to the development of the report: Legal, Technology,
Market Model and Low Incidence/High Cost. The Commission will focus on
an analysis of Legal and Technology issues.
The purpose of the public hearing is for the Commission to receive
information from its stakeholders on issues pertaining to accessible
instructional materials in postsecondary education. The public hearing
session will address issues related to law, technology, the market
model, and low-incidence/high-cost materials. Additionally, the public
hearing will focus on individual experiences related to accessible
instructional materials in postsecondary education.
Detailed minutes of the meeting and hearing, will be available to
the public within 14 days of the meeting. Records are kept of all
Commission proceedings and are available for public inspection at the
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, United States
Department of Education, 550 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20202,
Monday--Friday during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Additional Information
Individuals who will need accommodations for a disability in order
to attend the meeting (e.g., interpreting services, assistive listening
devices, or material in alternative format) should notify Elizabeth
Shook at (202) 245-7642, no later than February 18, 2011. We will make
every attempt to meet requests for accommodations after this date, but,
cannot guarantee their availability. The meeting site is accessible to
individuals with disabilities.
[[Page 7182]]
Participants who wish to comment at the public hearing are
encouraged to register in advance by calling Janet Gronneberg at CAST
at 781-245-2212 (voice) or 781-245-9320 (TTY) or [email protected]
by February 18, 2011. The Commission requests that organizations with
multiple participants designate no more than one individual to speak on
its behalf. Participants who register in advance, including remote
participants, must report to the hearing registration desk at least
thirty minutes prior to their scheduled time. A period of time will be
reserved for individuals who choose to not register in advance.
Participation in the hearing for unregistered participants will be
subject to availability. Comments should be limited to five minutes per
person or organization, but participants have the option of
supplementing their testimony with written statements that will be part
of the official hearing record. Technology to facilitate PowerPoint
presentations will be available.
Members of the public who would like to offer comments as part of
the public hearing remotely may submit written comments to
[email protected] or by mail to Advisory Commission on Accessible
Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with
Disabilities, 550 12th St., SW., Room PCP-5113, Washington, DC 20202.
All submissions will become part of the public record. Members of the
public also have the option of participating in the open meeting and
public hearing remotely. Remote access will be provided via an internet
webinar service utilizing VoiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). Login
information will be provided via the Commission's public listserv at
[email protected] and posted at the following site: http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/aim/index.html.
Electronic Access to this Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html. To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is
available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF,
call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free at 1-866-512-
1800; or in the Washington, DC area at 202-512-0000.
Dated: February 3, 2011.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 2011-2833 Filed 2-8-11; 8:45 am]
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