Testimony: Hearing on Education Technology

Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Hearing on Education Technology
July 25, 2001

Testimony of David H. Rose, Ed.D., Co-Executive Director, CAST

Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee, it is an honor to be asked to testify at this important hearing on Education and Technology. My name is David Rose and I am the co-executive director of CAST, the Center for Applied Special Technology and principal investigator of the National Center for Access to the General Curriculum, an OSEP-funded cooperative agreement. I welcome the opportunity to speak with you today. The fact that I have been asked to testify on the educational technology needs of students with disabilities demonstrates that Congress understands the critical importance of education technology for all learners.

Members of this Committee were central to the passage of numerous pieces of landmark legislation over the past 30 years, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1988 and 1998, and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Because of these laws, many things formerly thought to be impossible for individuals with disabilities are now commonplace.

Now, individuals with disabilities have a right to a free appropriate public school education, and can expect to find physically accessible educational buildings Tragically, however, most curricula- the materials and methods for learning found inside these newly accessible buildings -are in fact not available or accessible to students with disabilities.

This moment in history, when innovative new educational technologies are proliferating, presents a unique and urgent opportunity to right this injustice. If we seize this opportunity, we will see people with disabilities making the contributions to our society envisioned and supported by past landmark legislation. Further, the strategic appropriation of funds at this time will result in more effective use of educational dollars and a subsequent reduction in the number of people entering SSI and SSDI programs because they are not qualified to work in the jobs of the future. Very significant benefits will accrue not only to children with disabilities, but to all children.

I will describe three key areas in educational technology significant for students with disabilities:

• assistive technology
• digital curricula
• universal design

In each area, I offer specific recommendations for Congress.