[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3410 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3410
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve access to
postsecondary instructional materials for students with print
disabilities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 5, 2020
Mr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve access to
postsecondary instructional materials for students with print
disabilities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Instructional Materials in
Higher Education Act of 2020'' or the ``AIM-HIGH Act''.
SEC. 2. PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT IMPROVED ACCESS TO POSTSECONDARY
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR STUDENTS WITH PRINT
DISABILITIES.
Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1133 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 771, by striking ``in nonspecialized
formats, including an individual described in section 121(d)(2)
of title 17, United States Code'' and inserting ``in
nonaccessible formats, including an individual who is blind,
has a visual or perceptual impairment, has dyslexia, or has
another form of reading disability that renders the individual
unable to read printed works to substantially the same degree
as an individual without an impairment or disability, or who
has a physical disability making the individual unable to hold
or manipulate a book or focus or move the individual's eyes to
read''; and
(2) in section 773--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``instructional
materials in specialized formats'' and inserting
``commercially produced or open source instructional
materials in accessible formats'';
(B) in subsection (b)(1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``an
institution'' and inserting ``one or more
institutions''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the
following:
``(i) demonstrated expertise in developing
accessible instructional materials in
accessible formats for postsecondary students
with print disabilities;
``(ii) demonstrated capability to partner
with national consumer organizations that have
the capacity to engage postsecondary students
with print disabilities in the development and
implementation of accessible instructional
materials; and
``(iii) the technical development expertise
necessary for the efficient dissemination of
such materials, including procedures to protect
against copyright infringement with respect to
the creation, use, and distribution of
instructional materials in accessible formats;
and'';
(C) in subsection (f)--
(i) in paragraph (1)--
(I) in subparagraph (A), by
striking ``specialized'' and inserting
``accessible'';
(II) in subparagraph (B), by
striking ``instructional materials in
specialized formats'' and inserting
``commercially produced or open source
instructional materials in accessible
formats'';
(III) in subparagraph (C), by
striking ``specialized'' and inserting
``accessible'';
(IV) in subparagraph (D)--
(aa) by striking
``instructional materials in
specialized formats'' and
inserting ``commercially
produced or open source
instructional materials in
accessible formats''; and
(bb) by striking ``may''
and inserting ``shall'';
(V) in subparagraph (E), by
striking ``specialized'' and inserting
``accessible'';
(VI) in subparagraph (F)--
(aa) by striking
``specialized'' and inserting
``accessible''; and
(bb) by striking ``may''
and inserting ``shall''; and
(VII) in subparagraph (G)--
(aa) by striking
``specialized'' and inserting
``accessible''; and
(bb) by striking
``utilizing'' and inserting
``that are born accessible and
utilize''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``and
evidence'' after ``recommendations'';
(D) in subsection (g), by striking paragraphs (1)
through (3) and inserting the following:
``(1) Approaches for the provision of commercially produced
or open source instructional materials in accessible formats
that advance the state of the art in producing instructional
materials used in smaller categories of postsecondary courses,
such as advanced topics in mathematics and science.
``(2) Approaches supporting a unified search for
commercially produced or open source instructional materials in
accessible formats across multiple databases or lists of
materials available to all postsecondary students with a
qualified print disability.
``(3) Market-based approaches for making commercially
produced or open source instructional materials in accessible
formats directly available to eligible students at prices
comparable to standard instructional materials.'';
(E) in subsection (h)(3), by striking
``specialized'' and inserting ``accessible'';
(F) in subsection (i)--
(i) by inserting ``complete national
expansion of the models or expand to'' after
``expand the program under this section to'';
and
(ii) in paragraph (1), by striking
``specialized'' and inserting ``accessible'';
and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Definition of Accessible Format.--In this section, the term
`accessible format' has the meaning given the term in section 121 of
title 17, United States Code.''.
<all>