Education
Useful Publication for
Postsecondary Students with
Disabilities
More and more high
school students with disabilities are planning to
continue their education in postsecondary schools,
including vocational and career schools, two- and
four-year colleges, and universities. Students with
a disability need to be well informed about their
rights and responsibilities as well as the
responsibilities that postsecondary schools have
toward them. Being well informed will help ensure
that students have a full opportunity to enjoy the
benefits of the postsecondary education experience
without confusion or delay.
The Office for
Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of
Education has provided valuable information in a
pamphlet that explains the rights and
responsibilities of students with disabilities who
are preparing to attend postsecondary schools. This
pamphlet also explains the obligations of a
postsecondary school to provide academic
adjustments, including auxiliary aids and services,
to ensure that the school does not discriminate on
the basis of disability.
OCR enforces
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), which prohibit
discrimination on the basis of disability.
Practically every school district and postsecondary
school in the United States is subject to one or
both of these laws, which have similar
requirements.
Because both school
districts and postsecondary schools must comply
with these same laws, students and their parents
might believe that postsecondary schools and school
districts have the same responsibilities. This is
not true; the responsibilities of postsecondary
schools are significantly different from those of
school districts.
Moreover, students
will have responsibilities as a postsecondary
student that they do not have as a high school
student. It is, therefore, extremely important that
students know their responsibilities and those of
postsecondary schools under Section 504 and Title
II. Doing so will improve their opportunity to
succeed as they enter postsecondary
education.
In the pamphlet
prepared by the U. S. Department of Education and
the Office for Civil Rights titled "Students with
Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education:
Know Your Rights and Responsibilities," a series of
questions and answers provide specific information
to help ensure success. Included are:
- As a student
with a disability leaving high school and
entering postsecondary education, will I see
differences in my rights and how they are
addressed?
- May a
postsecondary school deny my admission because I
have a disability?
- Do I have to
inform a postsecondary school that I have a
disability?
- What academic
adjustments must a postsecondary school
provide?
- If I want an
academic adjustment, what must I do?
- When should I
request an academic adjustment?
- Do I have to
prove that I have a disability to obtain an
academic adjustment?
- What
documentation should I provide?
- Who has to pay
for a new evaluation?
- Once the school
has received the necessary documentation from
me, what should I expect?
- What if the
academic adjustment we identified is not
working?
- May a
postsecondary school charge me for providing an
academic adjustment?
- What can I do
if I believe the school is discriminating
against me?
Students with
disabilities are encouraged to work with the school
staff because they, too, want students to succeed.
They should seek the support of family, friends and
fellow students, including those with disabilities.
It is important that students with disabilities
know their talents and capitalize on them, and
believe in themselves as they embrace new
challenges in their education.
Please do not
confuse the information given here with the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The provisions of that law do not apply to
postsecondary schools.
To receive more
information about the civil rights of students with
disabilities in education institutions, contact:
Office for Civil Rights,
Customer Service
Team , U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC
20202-1100. Tel: 800.421.3481. TDD: 877.521.2172.
E-Mail: <ocr@ed.gov> Web:
<www.ed.gov/ocr>
Editor's
Note:
This publication is
available for downloading on our website at
<www.visionww.org/education.htm>
or at <www.ed.gov/ocr/transition.html>
Print copies may be
ordered from ED Pubs, Education Publications
Center, U.S. Department of Education, PO Box 1398,
Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Tel: 877.433.7827 or if 877
service is not available in your area, call
800.872.5327. Fax: 301.470.1244. E-Mail:
<edpubs@inet.ed.gov>
On request, this
publication is also available in alternate formats,
such as Braille, large print, audiotape or computer
diskette. For more information, please contact the
Department's Alternate Format Center at
202.260.9895 or 202.205.8113.
OnLine Computer
Training At Its Best
Through the use of
live voice-chat technology, training on the
Internet has taken a giant step into the 21st
century. Through effective use of the Internet and
cutting edge technology, Access Technology
Institute (ATI) is reaching those who have no
access to training, the home bound, and those whose
schedules prohibit travel to on-site training
centers.
To determine in
advance the scope of each course, syllabi for each
are available for viewing on the ATI website. The
live courses, as well as the independent study
programs, textbooks, and seminars are all available
on CD-ROM. ATI students have access to a special
e-mail discussion list where course-related
questions can be asked and answers quickly
obtained.
You will want to
stop by the ATI website and browse the many free
offerings. Don't miss the sample On-Line Training
Course. It will not only give you valuable
information but will demonstrate the effectiveness
of the live voice-chat sessions.
All courses are
reasonably priced and taught by a highly trained
and competent instructor, Cathy Anne Murtha. She
teaches the "concepts" not just the steps to
accomplish a given task. In that way, ATI students
gain a thorough understanding of the material and
can then apply their knowledge to other computer
tasks.
For more
information, contact: Access Technology Institute.
E-Mail: classes@accesstechnologyinstitute.com
Web: www.accesstechnologyinstitute.com
Tel: 916-922-3794
Note:
Anyone looking for
a place to provide on-line training for students,
or wish to hold a seminar for personnel or clients,
the Access Technology Institute can help meet your
goals.
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BRL: Braille Through Remote Learning
Developed with
funding from the U.S. Department of Education
Braille Literacy Program, BRL -- Braille Through
Remote Learning -- is an online instructional
program that provides teachers, parents, social
workers, and current/future braille transcribers
with a series of three integrated online courses in
braille and braille transcribing. The program is
designed to offer the braille student the right
instruction (almost all aspects of braille) at the
right time (self-paced) in the right place (home or
workplace). By combining electronic technologies,
quality materials, and expert instructors, the
program has as its goal the provision of a complete
braille instructional program to all types of
consumers nationwide who have an interest in some
or all aspects of braille codes.
The program
consists of three integrated courses:
1. Introduction to
Braille: a 12-session basic course in braille
literacy, designed for beginning students of
braille or for those who need a braille refresher.
In addition to "beginner's basics", this course
includes all Grade 2 contractions and rules.
2. Braille
Transcribers: this course focuses on the production
of braille materials, with an emphasis on the
brailling of textbooks (using the new "Formats"
braille code). Discussions of computers in braille
production and tactile graphics is also included in
this course. Prerequisite for this course is a
solid foundation in Grade 2 braille.
3. Specialized
Codes: this course provides a basic introduction to
specialized codes, such as Nemeth mathematics
braille, music braille, computer braille, and
chemistry braille. Prerequisite for this course is
a solid foundation in Grade 2 braille.
To sign up for the
program, you must register for each course to
receive a login name and a password. Registration
is free and only requires a few minutes to fill out
the registration form. When you register, you will
immediately receive a page that gives you the
password information for the course. You should
print this page out for your records.
It is important to
note that currently the materials and the exercises
are available for free. However, the courses
themselves are unsupported, meaning that there is
no instructor who will provide feedback, grade your
assignments, or answer questions. External funding
is being sought, however, to allow for online
expert instructors to help enrollees. Until that
funding is secured, the materials and exercises
will be available but with only limited on-line
help.
For those
interested in becoming certified transcribers,
following completion of this course or any other
instruction program, a 35-page trial manuscript
must be submitted to the Library of Congress for
evaluation, as it is the only agency that certifies
transcribers
To register or
secure more information, go to: http://www.brl.org/index.html.
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Tactile Cards for
Geometry Students
Geometry Tactile
Cards are 3-dimensional tactile drawings
representing the shapes used in geometry textbooks.
The 12 hand-embossed cards pair each geometrical
shape with its name and formula. The shapes
featured include: cube, triangular prism,
rectangular prism, cone, sphere, square pyramid,
and right triangle. Cost: $25.
For more
information, contact: P. Hunt, PO Box 404, Pfaff
Town, NC 27040. E-Mail: leannajo@aol.com
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Encyclopedia
Britannica Online
The
Encyclopedia Britannica is the world's most
comprehensive reference product, a distinction it
has held since its first publication in 1768. This
marvelous educational tool is now available on the
Internet and at a cost most can afford.
The free
Britannica Encylopedia Website is now up. Although
it has been reported that some links are not
accessible, the site is still quite usable. To
check it out, go to: www.britannica.com
EB
Online, available only to subscribers and
free-trial participants, includes the complete
encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary and the Britannica Book of
the Year. You can also use EB Online to
search an Internet directory that includes more
than 130,000 links to Web sites selected, rated,
and reviewed by Britannica editors.
Through
this service, you can find more than 72,000
articles, updated and revised by EB editors and
contributors; over 10,000 illustrations, including
photographs, drawings, maps, and flags; and more
than 75,000 definitions -- including pronunciation
guides and word histories -- from Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary. Advanced search and
navigation capabilities and the power of the
Internet make the Encyclopedia Britannica an
invaluable reference and research tool.
EB
Online is available to individual and family
subscribers for just $5 per month (US$). Some state
tax may apply. Monthly subscriptions must be paid
via credit card -- American Express, Visa,
MasterCard, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover,
JCB, Optima. The subscription form and information
regarding the 30-day free trial period are
available at: http://www.eb.com/.
Site licenses are also available for educational
subscriptions for corporations, libraries, academic
institutions, and other organizations. Just fill
out and submit the information form, and a
Britannica representative will contact you with
further details. The company may also be contacted
by phone: 312-294-2123 or by Fax:
800-480-0553.
It only
takes a few minutes to apply for a Monthly
subscription -- and then you're on your way to
exploring the vast electronic archives of this
valuable resource.
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MSU Offers
Internet Master Degree Program Courses
Michigan
State University's Special Education Master Degree
Program is offering a study within the area of
Emphasis in Visual Impairment and Blindness in a
web-based format. Students will meet the same
course work, assignment, and practicum/internship
requirements as on-campus students. Practica/intern
experiences will be provided in the student's own
state of residence.
Using
the Internet and other technologically enhanced
media make it possible for the university to offer
instruction without the time and place constraints
of traditional university programs. Virtual
University offerings are designed to meet student's
learning needs when and where it is most convenient
to the student.
For
complete information on this and other Virtual
University courses, visit the MSU Website at
www.vu.msu.edu or by calling
517-353-0791.
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New IRS
Vocational Course
Lions
World Services for the Blind has been chosen to
implement a new vocational training program
designed to lead to employment with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) as a Telecommunications
Specialist/Network Monitor.
The
course will stress understanding of concepts,
principles and practices of networking, data
communications, and telecommunications. In
addition, Microsoft Word and Excel will be taught
at a general user level. Emphasis will be placed on
learning vocabulary and acronyms associated with
the subjects being taught.
A
one-month evaluation will be completed prior to the
beginning of the course. Basic skills needed
include keyboarding skills at the rate of 30 words
per minute, a good understanding of basic
arithmetic and calculator use at 90% accuracy or
better, the ability to read printed materials at
the rate of 100 words per minute with a
comprehensive level of 75% or greater on testing.
Functional knowledge of the computer and the
ability to use appropriate assistive technology is
also required. Because the employee must work with
a variety of computer servers with small screen
displays, sufficient vision is required to
distinguish color and see the small LED
readouts.
Individuals
employed as telecommunications specialists by IRS
must have a college degree or one year of related
work experience. IRS also requires that its
employees be United States citizens and they cannot
be delinquent in tax payments. The annual salary
for the position of Telecommunications
Specialist/Network Monitor is at the GS-5 level
(approximately $21,000).
For more
information about this new course offering or to
refer an individual for evaluation, contact:
Director
of Training
Lions World Services for the Blind
2811 Fair Park Blvd.
PO Box 4055
Little Rock, AR 72214
Tel: 501-664-7100
Fax: 501-664-2743
E-Mail: training@lwsb.org
Web: www.lwsb.org
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