Congress 108 - HR 490 - Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2003

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Topics

Administrative procedure Arts, Culture, Religion Blind Commerce Congress Congressional reporting requirements Copyright Department of Education Disabled Economics and Public Finance Education Educational planning Educational research Electronic publishing Elementary and secondary education Elementary education Executive reorganization Federal advisory bodies Federal aid to education Federal preemption Government Operations and Politics Government procurement Government publicity Health Intellectual property Law Local laws Nonprofit organizations Publishers and publishing Science, Technology, Communications Secondary education Social Welfare Special education Standards State education agencies State laws Teachers Teaching materials Technological innovations Textbooks Translating and interpreting

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Summary

Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2003 - Directs Secretary of Education to: (1) develop and publish instructional materials accessibility standards for the national electronic file format to be used by publishers of instructional materials in the preparation of electronic files suitable for efficient conversion into specialized formats; (2) establish a National Instructional Materials Accessibility Advisory Committee to provide technical expertise and guidance in creating such national electronic file format; (3) periodically review and amend such standards to reflect technological advances or changes; and (4) establish a National Instructional Materials Access Center.

Requires State educational agencies, as a condition for receiving Federal financial assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to develop and implement statewide plans and make contracts with publishers to ensure that instructional materials for classroom use in elementary and secondary schools are made available in specialized formats to individuals who are blind or have other print disabilities at the same time such materials are provided to individuals without such disabilities.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to provide or improve their capacity to prepare or obtain instructional materials in specialized formats, including the national electronic format.

Provides for enforcement of rights of children and parents under this Act.

Actions

Feb 21, 2003

Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform.
Jan 29, 2003

Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Jan 29, 2003

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E109)
Jan 29, 2003

Introduced in House

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