Hello, I'm writing on behalf of the ACRL Government Relations Committee. Each year, we prepare a legislative agenda for the ACRL board that gathers priority areas of interest to college and research libraries. This helps to inform ACRL leadership when required to make a statement, to support the work of another ALA division, or to partner with an external organization with mutual interests. ACRL does not do its own legislative advocacy, but our legislative agenda helps to inform the advocacy work done at the top level by ALA.
We are in the process of finalizing the draft for 2021-22 and are planning to include a section on accessibility. We welcome input from the The Universal Accessibility Interest Group.
I have appended below the draft in its current form. Because this is intended to advocate in support of federal legislation, we have anchored this with the current bill(s) for
he Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act). While it is unclear how the new administration and new Congress may/may not act in the coming months, we will submit our final legislative agenda sometime in April.
Please reply to this thread or contact me directly at enordber906@gmail.com
Thanks,
Erik Nordberg
Vice-chair, ACRL Government Relations Committee
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Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act)
Background
The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act) seeks to create a commission to develop voluntary guidelines for postsecondary electronic instruction materials and related technologies. Coursework materials are increasingly delivered in digital forms with e-books, PDF articles, and interactive web content delivered from the learning management systems, databases, and the open web. Whereas traditional tangible print items present obstacles to students with disabilities, digital content offers opportunities to expand accessibility for these students.
The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act) will establish an independent commission to:
- develop and issue voluntary accessibility guidelines for postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies,
- develop a model framework for pilot testing such materials and technologies, and
- produce an annotated list of information technology standards.
The Department of Education will review and update the voluntary guidelines, pilot testing framework, and information technology standards every five years.
This legislation has its roots in the Technology, Equality, and Accessibility in College and Higher Education (TEACH) Act, introduced in Congress in November 2013. According to proceedings of a 2017 EDUCAUSE conference, that bill was intended to foster the development of voluntary accessibility guidelines for postsecondary electronic instructional materials and related technologies. Beginning in the fall of 2014, major higher education associations worked to develop a legislative proposal that could generate sustained progress in the accessibility of postsecondary electronic instructional materials. The results of this collaboration was the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act), introduced on September 27, 2016 and subsequently reintroduced in 2017 and 2019. The Act was included in versions of the 2018 Higher Education Act reauthorization bill, but substantive differences in the details proposed by the House and Senate were not addressed.
The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act) is supported by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the Association of American Publishers (AAP), the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the American Council on Education (ACE), EDUCAUSE, and other leading higher education associations, as well as groups such as the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.
Current Status
On December 5, 2019, David Roe (R-TN) reintroduced H. 5312, the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act). More than 40 cosponsors from both parties have added their name to the Bill. On December 18, 2019, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) reintroduced S. 3095, the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act), cosponsored by Michael Bennet (D-CO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Jon Tester (D-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA). Later cosponsors have included, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Tina Smith (D-MN). The bills was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor and to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The bill creates a commission to develop voluntary guidelines for postsecondary electronic instruction materials and related technologies. The Department of Education will review and update the voluntary guidelines, pilot testing framework, and information technology standards every five years.
Impact on Academic Libraries
[Here is an area that we'd welcome language from the University Accessibility Interest Group, specifically to the impact on academic libraries}
ACRL's position
ACRL has not stated a public position on this legislation.
Links to More Information
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM High Act)
Text of H. 5312
Text of S. 3095
Brief article in Inside Higher Ed (December 2019)
Mentioned in Educause Policy Issues for 2018-2019 (December 2018)
Article in Braille Monitor (March 2017)
Article in EDUCAUSE Review (September 2016)
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Erik Nordberg
Dean of Libraries
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
He/Him/His
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