[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2060 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2060
To direct the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance
Board to develop accessibility guidelines for electronic instructional
materials and related information technologies in institutions of
higher education, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2014
Ms. Warren (for herself and Mr. Hatch) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance
Board to develop accessibility guidelines for electronic instructional
materials and related information technologies in institutions of
higher education, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Technology, Equality and
Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act'' or the ``TEACH
Act''.
SEC. 2. GUIDELINES FOR ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONIC INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
AND RELATED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INSTITUTIONS OF
HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board established pursuant to section 502 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 792) (in this Act referred to as
the ``Access Board'') shall develop guidelines for the accessibility of
electronic instructional materials and related information technologies
in institutions of higher education. Such guidelines shall--
(1) include performance criteria to ensure that such
materials and technologies are accessible to covered blind
individuals and covered individuals with a disability; and
(2) be consistent with the standards for technical and
functional performance criteria issued pursuant to section
508(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
794d(a)(2)(A)(ii)).
(b) Harmonization With National and International Standards.--The
Access Board shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that the
guidelines issued under subsection (a) are consistent with national and
international accessibility standards for electronic instructional
materials and related information technologies.
(c) Review and Amendment.--Not later than 3 years after the
effective date of the guidelines described in subsection (a), and every
3 years thereafter, the Access Board shall review and, as appropriate,
amend such guidelines to reflect technological advances or changes in
electronic instructional materials and related information
technologies.
SEC. 3. SAFE HARBOR PROTECTIONS.
Institutions of higher education that use electronic instructional
materials and related information technologies that comply with the
accessibility guidelines described in section 2 shall be deemed to be
in compliance with the non-discrimination provisions in section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) and titles II and III of
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.,
42 U.S.C. 12181 et seq.) with respect to the use of such materials or
technologies.
SEC. 4. NONCOMPLIANT ELECTRONIC INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND RELATED
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require an institution of
higher education to use electronic instructional materials or related
information technologies that conform to the accessibility guidelines
described in section 2 if the institution of higher education provides
such materials or technologies, or an accommodation or modification,
that would allow covered blind individuals and covered individuals with
a disability to receive the educational benefits of such materials or
technologies--
(1) in an equally effective and equally integrated manner
as non-disabled or non-blind students; and
(2) with substantially equivalent ease of use of such
materials or technologies.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out section 2 of this Act.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Blind individual.--The term ``blind individual'' means
an individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/
200 in the better eye with correcting lenses or whose visual
acuity, if better than 20/200, is accompanied by a limit to the
field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that its
widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than 20
degrees.
(2) Covered blind individual and covered individual with a
disability.--The terms ``covered blind individual'' and
``covered individual with a disability'' mean a blind
individual or an individual with a disability whose blindness
or disability limits the ability of such individual to access
electronic instructional materials and related information
technologies.
(3) Disability.--The term ``disability'' has the meaning
given such term in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).
(4) Electronic instructional material.--The term
``electronic instructional material'' means digital curricular
content including course-assigned books, journals, articles,
and web pages, used by students, faculty, or administrative
personnel of an institution of higher education to facilitate
the teaching and learning process, including technologies used
in distance education as defined in section 103 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003).
(5) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001).
(6) Related information technology.--The term ``related
information technology''--
(A) means any electronic platform or delivery
system used by students, faculty, or administrative
personnel of an institution of higher education to
access electronic instructional materials; and
(B) includes any hardware, firmware, software, and
applications required for the manipulation, annotation,
and dissemination of such electronic instructional
materials.
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