Technology, Equality and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act (TEACH Act) Legal Analysis

Published:
Government Documents, Laws, Letters, Testimonies or Reports
Author(s) and Contributors:
Source(s) and Collection(s):
Sources(s): EDUCAUSE Policy Office
ParentTopics:
Compliance Policy and Law Accessibility Digital Content Higher Education Policy Instructional Technologies

Abstract

The proposed Technology, Equality and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act (“TEACH Act”) would authorize development of accessibility guidelines for digital instructional materials and related technologies. It asserts that these guidelines would be voluntary, but that institutions could rely on them as a “safe harbor” against litigation. Alternatively, institutions could use products that do not fall within the guidelines, but only if they are “equally effective, equally integrated, with substantially equivalent ease of use” to those that do. This analysis, however, demonstrates that the TEACH Act would actually create de facto enforceable standards for digital instructional materials and related technologies, and that in the process it would severely limit the ability of colleges and universities to effectively use technology to advance learning for all students.

 

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