For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Morgan Roth, RFB&D, 609-520-8095 or 609-240-1097
            David Gordon, CAST, 781-245-2212

CAST and RFB&D Announce Three Year Partnership Initiative

(Princeton, NJ) 30 September, 2005  -- Innovations to support learning among
individuals with disabilities will be the strategic focus of a partnership
announced today by two of the nation's leading nonprofit providers of
accessible educational technologies and services, Wakefield,
Massachusetts-based Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), and
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), based in Princeton, New Jersey.

CAST is a research and development organization that has earned
international recognition for its development of innovative,
technology-based educational resources and strategies based on the
principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

RFB&D is the nation's educational library for students of all ages who
cannot read standard print effectively because of a disability such as
visual impairment, learning disability or another physical disability.  Its
library of recorded textbooks in every grade level and subject area is
unique in the world.

The RFB&D-CAST partnership was formalized in a signed agreement that extends
over three years.  The partnership will initiate a series of managed
projects and programs to develop new technology-based tools, services and
strategies that students and educators can use to facilitate reading and
study skills. The goal of the partnership is to advance learning
technologies that provide students with disabilities greater access to
high-quality educational content and to ensure that these tools get into the
hands of the students who need them.

 "The missions of CAST and RFB&D are uniquely aligned," said RFB&D President
& CEO John Kelly.  "We both exist to ensure that students have opportunities
to achieve their educational potential, regardless of disability, and we
both believe that technology is the great equalizer to facilitate
educational success for students with disabilities that make reading
challenging or impossible."

"Both CAST and RFB&D come to the partnership with complementary capacities,
accomplished staff, and a commitment to expand learning opportunities for
students who struggle with printed text," explained CAST Co-Founding
Director David H. Rose.  "Working together, we hope our efforts will make
effective learning resources more widely available to students with print
disabilities and the parents and educators who support them."

For executive interviews, please contact Morgan Roth, Vice President,
Strategic Communications at RFB&D at [log in to unmask] or David Gordon,
Communications Director at CAST at [log in to unmask]   More information
about CAST is available at www.cast.org .  Read about RFB&D at www.rfbd.org.

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