[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 242 (Friday, December 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70982-70983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32722]



[[Page 70981]]

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Part VIII





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special 
Education--Technology and Media Services for Individuals With 
Disabilities Program; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 70982]]



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special 
Education--Technology and Media Services for Individuals With 
Disabilities Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting public comments.

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SUMMARY: Section 687(c)(2) of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act (IDEA), as amended, requires that, after September 30, 
2001, funds from an award made under this authority may only be used 
for video description and captioning of educational, news, and 
informational television, videos, or materials. The Secretary of 
Education invites comments and recommendations from the public on what 
the term ``educational, news, and informational'' encompasses in 
reference to the description and captioning of television, videos, and 
materials.

DATES: All comments must be received by the Department on January 18, 
2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Debra Sturdivant, 
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3527, Switzer 
Building, Washington, DC 20202-2641. FAX: (202) 205-8105 (FAX is the 
preferred method for requesting information). Telephone: (202) 205-
8038. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the 
following address: [email protected]
    You must include the phrase ``educational media activities'' in the 
subject line of your electronic message.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Sturdivant (202) 205-8038 or Jo 
Ann McCann (202) 205-8475, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Washington DC 20202-2641. If you use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact persons listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation To Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding what the term 
``educational, news, and informational''means in reference to the 
description and captioning of television, videos or materials.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments concerning this issue in Room 3512, 330 C Street SW., 
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern 
time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments. If you want to schedule an 
appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or (202) 
260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339.

Background

    On June 4, 1997, the President signed into law Public Law 105-17, 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. In 
accordance with section 687(c)(2) of the amended IDEA, after September 
30, 2001, funds from an award made under this authority may only be 
used for video description and captioning of educational, news, and 
informational television, videos, or materials. Based on this 
provision, the Secretary proposes to provide guidance to awardees as 
well as potential applicants regarding the range of television, videos, 
or materials appropriate for description or captioning under this 
program. After September 30, 2001, an awardee may be required to 
substitute some or all of the television, videos, and materials that it 
describes or captions under an award made under this authority with 
different television, videos, and materials in order to comply with the 
requirement that all videos description and captioning be of 
educational, news, or informational programming and materials.
    The Department currently provides funding for the description of 
network and cable television programming and home videos, which makes 
television programming and home videos more accessible to individuals 
who are blind or have low vision. In addition to presenting the visual 
elements of a television program or home video, description helps these 
individuals to better understand concepts such as facial expressions, 
body language, fashion, colors, shapes and relative sizes.
    The Department currently funds the description of a limited number 
of programs for PBS, Nostalgia Television, Turner Classic Movies, and 
Kaleidoscope Television. Additional hours of programming are available 
on the World Wide Web at NarrativeTV.com. Popular videos are described 
and made available for sale to individuals. Many libraries also 
purchase these described versions for their patrons. Described movies 
include such movies as Dumbo, Sneakers, The Rock, Casablanca, and 
Jurassic Park.
    The Department also provides funding for the closed captioning of 
television and videos, which provides a visual presentation of the 
audio portion and enables individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing 
to watch television or videos along with their non-disabled family 
members and peers. Individuals, who can hear, as well as those with a 
hearing loss, may also advance their literacy skills through incidental 
learning by watching captioned television or videos.
    The Department currently funds a wide range of closed captioned 
national television programming. Department funded captioned 
programming is available on the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and 
Telemundo, which broadcasts and is captioned in Spanish, as well as on 
a wide variety of cable networks such as ESPN, DISCOVERY, The History 
Channel, PAX-TV, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, SCI-FI, MSNBC, CNN Headline 
News, and Disney.
    Closed captioned news and public information programming includes 
major national broadcast news and cable news. Closed captioned 
children's programming includes Sesame Street, Saturday morning 
cartoons, nature programming and children's specials. Closed captioned 
daytime programming provides access to daytime drama, talk shows, baby 
care, and home and family programming. Closed captioning of sports 
programming provides access to major regional and national sporting 
events, including football, baseball, golf, soccer, tennis, hockey, and 
fishing. Closed captioned syndicated programs make it possible to have 
captioned versions of the reruns of programs such as ``M*A*S*H'', ``I 
Love Lucy'', ``Beverly Hillbillies'', and the ``Twilight Zone''.
    The Department provides funding for projects to close caption local 
news programming in cities across the country.
    The Department also provides funding for open captioning of 
educational videos. Open captioned videos, which include a small 
percentage in Spanish, are used by students and other individuals who 
are deaf or hard of hearing, and teachers, parents and other 
individuals directly involved in activities promoting the advancement 
of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Popular open captioned 
educational videos funded by the Department include shows on deaf

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culture, sign language, holidays, science, social studies, and history. 
Sample titles include, ``Deaf Culture Lecture'', ``Playing in the 
Park'' and ``Read Any Good Fingers Lately''.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive 
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened 
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State 
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    This document provides early notification of our specific plans and 
actions for this program.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, 
area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.327: Technology 
and Media Services for Individuals with Disabilities Program)

    Dated: December 13, 1999.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 99-32722 Filed 12-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U