Showing posts with label Dept of Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dept of Education. Show all posts

Monday, November 2, 2009

Will Section 508 Be Taken More Seriously?

National Federation of the BlindImage via Wikipedia

from Even Grounds

Just recently, the National Federation of the Blind filed the third Section 508 related complaint in a row. Will this change how seriously Section 508 compliance will be taken?

It is rather frequent that a government agency or a contractor states Section 508 compliance because this is the law. But these statements do not always correct. There is a large number of federal sites and applications which do not meet the mandated Section 508 requirements.

The National Federation of the Blind recently filed complaints against the Department of Education, Social Security Administration, and the Small Business Administration. The first two are known to have one of the most well-known and effective Section 508 programs. It was rather unexpected that in case of a Section 508 complaint, these agencies will come to the spotlight.

While NFB filed a Section 508 complaint, they are primarily monitoring accessibility for visually impaired people. NFB is committed to continue monitoring federal sites, and filing more complaints as necessary if they find issues which interfere with accessibility for people with visual impairment.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Funding Opportunity: Technical Assistance and Dissemination To Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities

Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities program is to promote academic achievement and to improve results for children with disabilities by providing technical assistance (TA), supporting model demonstration projects, disseminating useful information, and implementing activities that are supported by scientifically based research. Eligible Applicants: SEAs; LEAs, including public charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law; IHEs; other public agencies; private nonprofit organizations; outlying areas; freely associated States; Indian tribes or tribal organizations; and for-profit organizations. Read More: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-17126.pdf

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Revision of State Plan for Assistive Technology

Section 4 of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, as amended, requires States to submit an application in order to receive funds under the State Grant for Assistive Technology Program. This information collection will be used by States to meet their application requirements. The Rehabilitation Services Administration calls this application a State Plan for Assistive Technology.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

IDEA National Assessment Study

The current reauthorization of IDEA (2004) instructs the Department of Education to carry out a National Assessment of the law to measure: (1) Progress in the implementation of IDEA 2004; and (2) the relative effectiveness of the law in achieving its purposes. The IDEA National Assessment Implementation Study (NAIS) will inform the National Assessment by providing a representative, national picture of the implementation of early intervention and special education policies and practices at the state and district levels with a focus on new provisions included in IDEA 2004. Data collection will include three surveys of state administrators: (1) All State Part B administrators responsible for programs providing special education services to school aged children with disabilities (6-21); (2) all State 619 coordinators who oversee preschool programs for children with disabilities ages 3-5, and; (3) all State IDEA Part C coordinators who are responsible for early intervention programs serving infants and toddlers. A fourth survey will collect district level data from a nationally representative sample of local special education administrators about preschool and school-age programs for children with disabilities ages 3-21. The U.S. Department of Education has commissioned Abt Associates to conduct this study.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Annual Progress Report for the Access to Telework Program

Nineteen states currently have Access to Telework programs that provide financial loans to individuals with disabilities for the purchase of computers and other equipment that support teleworking for an employer or self-employment on a full or part-time basis. These grantees are required to report annual data on their programs to the Rehabilitation Services Administration. This information collection provides a standard format for the submission of those annual performance reports and a follow-up survey to be administered to individuals who receive loans. Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be electronically mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov 202-260-9404. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.