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NCAC: National File Format: Identifying Student Needs

Identifying Student Needs

Step 1 in determining a Voluntary National File Format

1. Key Considerations
2. Determining Student Needs
3. Eligible Students
4. Materials Eligible for Reproduction
5. Features to Enhance Student Access

Key Considerations

• The combined Student Needs list to be developed through the collaborative efforts of the NFF Panel Members on January 7th will provide the basis for the core requirements of accessible instructional materials to be developed at the Technical Group convening on March 11, 2003. In order to achieve this goal, we ask that each organization participating as a member of the Consumer/Advocacy sub-group submit a list of desired features and functions no later than January 2nd, 2003. The document should be sent to Skip Stahl at CAST (sstahl@cast.org).
  
  
• "Accessible instructional materials" for the purpose of this first round file format determination refers to textbooks used in grades K through 12.

Determining Student Needs

In order for the technical members of the NFF Technical Panel to accurately identify a set of specifications for the National File Format, it is essential that the panel members with technicalise in consumer needs and advocacy identify the access requirements of the students for whom this format will be designed. The following information is designed to provide consumer/advocate Panel Members with the clarifying information necessary to arrive at those determinations.

Eligible Students

In the best of all circumstances, universally-designed digital curriculum resources could be made available to any and all students as an alternative to the traditional print version. A next best option would be the provision of accessible digital curriculum materials to any student whom an IEP or Section 504 Team considers to be "Print Disabled". Either of these options is potentially viable as long as authors/publishers retain intellectual property rights, the metering of content is controlled, and developers and distributors of proprietary materials are compensated for their work.

The following information concerning student eligibility reflects the current reality with respect to the qualification of students under existing copyright restrictions. It is not meant to constrain either consideration or discussion of the range of students who might benefit from the provision of accessible materials.

At the present time, the qualification of students eligible to receive material in a specialized format is determined by Section 121 of the Copyright Act (Chafee Amendment), as referenced by the Library of Congress, National Library Service statement of eligibility.

Students who are blind, low vision or have other physical disabilities that render them "unable to read or unable to use standard printed material" qualify, as do students "…having a reading disability resulting from organic dysfunction and of sufficient severity to prevent their reading printed material in a normal manner".
(NLS Factsheet, Talking Books and Reading Disabilities, Issued March 1997)

Public Law 89-522 states that materials will be loaned to readers "certified by competent authority as unable to read normal printed material as a result of physical limitations, under regulations prescribed by the Librarian of Congress for this service." The National Library Service goes on to note that students with "learning disabilities, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, chronic-fatigue syndrome, autism, functional illiteracy, or mental retardation, (are not eligible) unless there is a specific accompanying visual or physical handicap." (NLS Factsheet, Talking Books and Reading Disabilities, Issued March 1997.)

Recent advances in neuroimaging techniques studies indicate that many of the disabling conditions that result in a "print disability" have an organic and identifiable neuroanatomical basis. For the purposes of developing the Needs Statement and with the intent of not inadvertently excluding students who may be deemed eligible in the future, we are compelled to address the functional needs of any student who could possibly qualify under the existing guidelines.

Materials Eligible for Reproduction

The purpose of Section 121 of the Copyright Act is to facilitate the reproduction and distribution of proprietary published works (specifically excluding dramatic literary works, large print and standardized, secure, or norm-referenced tests and related testing material).

It is important to note that the reproduction of copyrighted materials, including textbooks, does not include the modification or significant alteration of the original print work, except as to make the digital version usable by persons with disabilities; (e.g.; through accessibility "enhancements" such as structured navigation, text equivalents for images, etc.)

Features to Enhance Student Access

The information below is only meant to serve as a guide for identifying the access features of digital materials (textbooks) required by students in your constituent group. Please feel free to expand the listing in the table below for additions and/or commentary.

For additional information relating to media types and accessibility, please see The IMS Global Learning Consortium's Guidelines for Accessible Delivery of Text, Audio, Images, and Multimedia, developed by WGBH's National Center for Accessible Media. While these guidelines have been developed with specific reference to online learning, their analysis of the benefits and liabilities of various media provide useful information that can aid decision-making. See Section 5.1 Common Types of Media Delivery and Associated Presentation Formats on the web page referenced above.