EASI NEWS FOR YOU May 1 1998

Office of civil rights Becomes Proactive

The Department of Education Office of civil Rights has conducted a survey and
made a report on the accessibility of community colleges in California for
visually impaired students.

   Community college Survey

    Review of California Community Colleges: Access of Visually Impaired
              Students to Print and Computer Based Information

   On September 18, 1996, the U.S. Department of Education, Office for
   Civil Rights (OCR), mailed to all 106 California Community Colleges a
   letter stating the applicable legal standards regarding the obligation
   of community colleges to provide students with visual impairments
   access to print and computer-based information. Attached to this
   letter was an eleven item survey to be returned to OCR by November 15,
   1996. The results of this survey were analyzed by researchers Jamie
   Dote-Kwan (CSU LA), and Jeff Senge (CSU Fullerton) in their report
   "Information Access for Students with Visual Impairments: Analysis and
   Final Report of the California Community Colleges' Survey and
   Self-Evaluation."


The material is too long to send in email.  However EASI has posted it on its
web.  Go to:
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/law.html

Move down past several civil rights cases till you see the link for community
colleges.  We hope to get the entire report posted in the near future.


Norman Coombs EASI Chair.