Sec. 103. Accessible instructional materials and technology
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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Secretary of Education shall establish an independent commission, comprised of key stakeholders, to develop guidelines for accessible postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies in order— to ensure students with disabilities are afforded the same educational benefits provided to students without disabilities through the use of electronic instructional materials and related technologies; to improve the selection and use of such materials and technologies at institutions of higher education; and to encourage entities that produce such materials and technologies to make accessible versions more readily available in the market.
In carrying out subsection (a), the commission shall— review applicable information technology accessibility standards; and compile and annotate such accessibility standards as an additional information resource for institutions of higher education and companies that service the higher education market. The commission shall be composed of representatives from the following categories: Communities of persons with disabilities for whom the accessibility of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies is a significant factor in ensuring equal participation in higher education, and nonprofit organizations that provide accessible electronic materials to these communities.
Higher education leadership, including institution of higher education presidents, provosts, deans, vice presidents or deans of libraries, chief information officers, and other senior institutional executives. Developers of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and manufacturers of related technologies. The commission members shall be appointed as follows: 6 members, 2 from each category described in paragraph (1), shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 3 of whom shall be appointed on the recommendation of the majority leader of the House of Representatives and 3 of whom shall be appointed on the recommendation of the minority leader of the House of Representatives, with the Speaker ensuring that 1 developer of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and 1 manufacturer of related technologies are appointed.
The Speaker shall also appoint 2 additional members, 1 student with a disability and 1 faculty member from an institution of higher education. 6 members, 2 from each category described in paragraph (1), shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, 3 of whom shall be appointed on the recommendation of the majority leader of the Senate and 3 of whom shall be appointed on the recommendation of the minority leader of the Senate, with the President pro tempore ensuring that 1 developer of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and 1 manufacturer of related technologies are appointed.
The President pro tempore shall also appoint 2 additional members, 1 student with a disability and 1 faculty member from an institution of higher education. 3 members, each of whom must possess extensive, demonstrated technical expertise in the development and implementation of accessible postsecondary electronic instructional materials, shall be appointed by the Secretary of Education. 1 of these members shall represent postsecondary students with disabilities, 1 shall represent higher education leadership, and 1 shall represent developers of postsecondary electronic instructional materials.
Federal employees are ineligible for appointment to the commission. An appointee to a volunteer or advisory position with a Federal agency or related advisory body may be appointed to the commission so long as his or her primary employment is with a non-Federal entity and he or she is not otherwise engaged in financially compensated work on behalf of the Federal Government, exclusive of any standard expense reimbursement or grant-funded activities. The commission’s execution of its duties shall be independent of the Secretary of Education, the Attorney General, and the head of any other agency or department of the Federal Government with regulatory or standard setting authority in the areas addressed by the commission.
There shall be no permanent staffing for the commission. Commission members shall elect a chairperson from among the appointees to the commission. The Commission shall be provided administrative support, as needed, by the Secretary of Education through the Office of Postsecondary Education of the Department of Education. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, subject to a 6-month extension that it may exercise at its discretion, the commission shall— develop and issue guidelines for accessible postsecondary electronic instructional materials, and related technologies; and in developing the guidelines, the commission shall— establish a technical panel pursuant to paragraph
(4)to support the commission in developing the guidelines; develop criteria for determining which materials and technologies constitute postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies; identify existing national and international accessibility standards that are relevant to student use of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies at institutions of higher education; identify and address any unique pedagogical and accessibility requirements of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies that are not addressed, or not adequately addressed, by the identified, relevant existing accessibility standards; identify those aspects of accessibility, and types of postsecondary instructional materials and related technologies, for which the commission cannot produce guidelines or which cannot be addressed by existing accessibility standards due to— inherent limitations of commercially available technologies; or the challenges posed by a specific category of disability that covers a wide spectrum of impairments and capabilities which makes it difficult to assess the benefits from particular guidelines on a categorical basis; ensure that the guidelines are consistent with the requirements of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794 ) and titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act ( 42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 12181 et seq.); ensure that the guidelines are consistent, to the extent feasible and appropriate, with the technical and functional performance criteria included in the national and international accessibility standards identified by the commission as relevant to student use of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies; allow for the use of an alternative design or technology that results in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities than would be provided by compliance with the guidelines; and provide that where electronic instructional materials, or related technologies, that comply fully with the guidelines are not commercially available, or where such compliance is not technically feasible, the institution may select the product that best meets the guidelines consistent with the institution’s business and pedagogical needs. Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, subject to a 6-month extension that it may exercise at its discretion, the commission established in section 2 shall, with the assistance of the technical panel established under paragraph (4), develop and issue an annotated list of information technology standards. Issuance of the guidelines and annotated list of information technology standards shall require approval of at least 75 percent of the members of the commission. Not later than 1 month after first meeting, the Commission shall appoint and convene a panel of 12 technical experts, each of whom shall have extensive, demonstrated technical experience in developing, researching, or implementing accessible postsecondary electronic instructional materials, or related technologies. The commission has discretion to determine a process for nominating, vetting, and confirming a panel of experts that fairly represents the stakeholder communities on the commission. The technical panel shall include a representative from the United States Access Board. Not later than 5 years after issuance of the guidelines and annotated list of information technology standards described in subsections
(a)and (b), and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Education shall publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comment about whether there is a need to reconstitute the commission to update the guidelines and annotated list of information technology standards to reflect technological advances, changes in postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies, or updated national and international accessibility standards. The Secretary shall then submit a report and recommendation to Congress regarding whether the Commission should be reconstituted. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an institution of higher education to require, provide, or both recommend and provide, postsecondary electronic instructional materials or related technologies that conform to the guidelines. However, an institution that selects or uses nonconforming postsecondary electronic instructional materials or related technologies must otherwise comply with existing obligations under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 794 ) and titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act ( 42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 12181 et seq.) to provide access to the educational benefit afforded by such materials and technologies through provision of appropriate and reasonable modification, accommodation, and auxiliary aids or services. With respect to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), nothing in this Act may be construed— to authorize or require conduct prohibited under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, including the regulations issued pursuant to those laws; to expand, limit, or alter the remedies or defenses under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; to supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; or to limit the authority of Federal agencies to issue regulations pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In this section: The term annotated list of information technology standards means a list of existing national and international accessibility standards relevant to student use of postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies, and to other types of information technology common to institutions of higher education, such as institutional websites or registration systems, annotated by the commission established pursuant to this section. The annotated list of information technology standards is intended to serve solely as a reference tool to inform any consideration of the relevance of such standards in higher education contexts. The term postsecondary electronic instructional materials means digital curricular content that is required, provided, or both recommended and provided by an institution of higher education for use in a postsecondary instructional program. The term related technologies refers to any software, applications, learning management or content management systems, and hardware that an institution of higher education requires, provides, or both recommends and provides for student access to and use of postsecondary electronic instructional materials in a postsecondary instructional program. The term technical panel means a group of experts with extensive, demonstrated technical experience in the development and implementation of accessibility features for postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies, established by the Commission pursuant to subsection (e)(4), which will assist the commission in the development of the guidelines and annotated list of information technology standards authorized under this Act.
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Sec. 103
Accessible instructional materials and technology
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