With their increased autonomy and flexibility, charter schools can be a promising educational option for students with disabilities. However, during the inception of the charter movement, very few people were focused on ensuring that charter school policies addressed the needs of students with disabilities. Since its creation in 2013, the Center…

Accessibility in K-12 and higher education is becoming an increasingly complex terrain to traverse as schools increase online materials and instructional delivery options. This white paper provides an overview of critical terms, legal precedents, and other considerations for course designers, instructors, and administrators as they work to improve…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how the principles of universal design can be implemented by faculty and course designers to help give all learners access to equivalent information. It describes how information communication technologies can create barriers to information access, particularly when course content is rich in…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) strives to provide every student with a positive and productive assessment experience, generating results that are a fair and accurate estimate of each student's achievement. Further, Smarter Balanced is building on a framework of accessibility for all students, including English…

For students with disabilities to have the same opportunities to succeed as their nondisabled peers, access to educational technology and digital content is critical. It is essential that higher education boards, administrators, faculty, and administrative staff understand why accessibility must be on the forefront of our educational programs,…

A document from the U.S. Department of Education intended to clarify schools' responsibility to make sure students with disabilities have access to extracurricular sports has drawn sharply different opinions. Disability-rights advocates welcome the guidance, while critics say federal officials are pushing requirements that could place new…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") focuses on current and emerging topics that are strategically important to research libraries. The articles explore issues, share information, pose critical questions, and provide examples. This special issue presents a report released by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Joint Task…

Although federal U.S. regulations require schools to provide equal access to educational opportunities for all students, many technologies used in K-12 schools present accessibility barriers for students with disabilities. Interviews assessed knowledge of educational department staff, teachers, and parents of children in K-12 schools in the…

There are a variety of different approaches to providing virtual education and significant program differences. This Issues Brief describes a process all virtual education programs should undertake to help best ensure all students have access to the educational opportunities provided by the program. The focus of this Issues Brief is to…

This report from the Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities provides Congress with vital recommendations for improving the ability of postsecondary students with disabilities to obtain accessible instructional materials in a timely and cost-effective manner. Over…

Accessibility is hardly a new problem and certainly did not originate with the Web. Lack of access to buildings long preceded the call for accessible Web content. Although it is unlikely that rehabilitation educators look at Web page accessibility with indifference, many may also find it difficult to implement. The authors posit three reasons why…

Administrators in public schools are undoubtedly familiar with their duties under federal law to serve students with disabilities in the educational program. Far fewer, however, are aware of their legal obligations to these same students in after-school athletics and extracurricular activities. Are students with disabilities entitled to…

The manual provides access to provisions of federal law and regulations concerning access by persons with disabilities to higher education programs and facilities. It also includes texts of 11 presentations given at a 1979-80 series of workshops by the American Association of University Professors. An introduction, "The Faculty Role: New…

This handbook for faculty was developed as part of the EASE (Equal Access for Students to Education and Experience) Project at Mesabi Community College in northeastern Minnesota. After an introduction stating the college's commitment to all students including those with disabilities, the guide discusses disabilities in general, and learning…

In this guide, transition is defined as the period of time when adolescents are moving into adulthood. This guide is designed to (a) help youth and the adults who work with them understand the role of assessment in transition and (b) describe ways to collect and use data that will lead to informed choices based on accurate assessment of each…