Legislation to create a
commission to draft voluntary guidelines for accessible college instructional
materials, which ACE has long supported, has been reintroduced by Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
The bill—known as the Accessible
Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HIGH) Act—is the result of several years of discussion between the higher
education community and the National Federation of the Blind, the Association
of American Publishers, and the Software and Information Industry Association,
and represents a consensus among all of these stakeholder communities.
In a letter to Warren Jan. 16, ACE and six other higher education groups
reiterated that equal access to higher education for students with disabilities
is a critical issue and core value on our campuses. The AIM HIGH Act will
provide colleges and universities with valuable guidance on how to incorporate
technology that increases that fundamental accessibility.
The bill has
bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, and could advance as a
standalone bill or as part of the ongoing reauthorization of the Higher
Education Act.