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NCAC: Research & Solutions: Policy: State Accessible Curriculum Policy Survey

50 State Accessible Curriculum Policy Survey

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COLORADO

Interview Notes (April, 2003)

We spoke with Lucia Hasty, Director, Instructional Materials Center at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind at (719) 578-2195. (As of 10/03, the new Director and contact person is Ann Hicks, see below).

• There are no requirements for publishers to provide files

• Colorado is not an adoption state. According to Hasty, local autonomy is of great importance to the people in Colorado

• Colorado’s Braille Bill only requires students with visual impairments to be instructed by teachers with knowledge of Braille…nothing re: textbooks

• “The IMAA would make so much of a difference for us.”

• “Right now the books come in so many different formats. It takes forever to Braille. Our braillists can’t understand their different tags and they have to start from scratch. This has to be a nationally coordinated movement. We need consistent formats and we need people trained to interpret those formats.”

• “Right now some districts do not choose their books for September until July. Those kids aren’t going to have their books!”

• Hasty notes that the file format is different for Braille than for other accessible formats. This was a concern when broadening the scope to include other special needs and modifications

Links and Contacts

Department of Education: http://www.colorado.gov/education.htm

Special Education: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/index.htm

Lorrie Harkness, Director, Special Education Services Unit
Tel. (303) 866-6695
E-mail: harkness_l@cde.state.co.us

Assistive Technology Office
Tel. (303) 315-1276

Ann Hicks, Director, Instructional Materials Center
at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind
Tel. (719) 578-2195
E-mail: ahicks@csbd.org

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