[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14385-14386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6089]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in
Postsecondary Education for Students With Disabilities Meeting
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 via conference call.
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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: April 1, 2011.
Time: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
ADDRESSES: The Commission will meet via conference call on April 1,
2011. Members of the public have the option of participating in the
open meeting remotely. Remote access will be provided via an Internet
webinar service utilizing VoiP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). The
login address for members of the public is https://aimpsc.ilinc.com/join/ccszfyh. This login information is also 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.
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 (a) 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 timeframe
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;
[[Page 14386]]
(V) solutions utilizing universal design; and (VI) solutions for low-
incidence, high-cost requests for instructional materials in
specialized formats.
During the meeting, task force 3 (Market Model) and task force 1
(Best Practices) will brief the entire Commission on their work and
initial recommendations. The Commission will also receive an update
from representatives of the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) on
the status of its higher education grant program for students with
disabilities. The Commission will discuss the status of the final
report and will receive updates from the other two Commission task
forces.
Given the limited meeting time, the Commission does not anticipate
that there will be an opportunity for public comment during the
teleconference meeting. Members of the public are encouraged to submit
written comments to the AIM Commission Web site at
[email protected], and the Commission will respond to the comments
if possible.
Members of the public who would like to offer comments as part of
the meeting 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 may also join the
Commission's list serv at [email protected].
Detailed minutes of the meeting, including summaries of the
activities of the closed sessions and related matters that are
informative to the public and consistent with the policy of section 5
U.S.C. 552b(c) will be available to the public. 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 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Additional Information
Individuals who will need accommodations for a disability in order
to listen to 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 March 28, 2011. We
will make every attempt to meet requests for accommodations after this
date, but, cannot guarantee their availability. The conference call
will be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
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: March 10, 2011.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services.
[FR Doc. 2011-6089 Filed 3-15-11; 8:45 am]
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