H-0798.1                  _______________________________________________

                                                      HOUSE BILL 1499

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Representatives Jacobsen, R. Fisher, Quall, J. Kohl and Anderson

Read first time 01/29/93.  Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

Requiring textbook and course materials publishers to make materials available in computer-based format for students with print disabilities.

          AN ACT Relating to higher education; adding a new section to chapter 28B.10 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW to read as follows:

          When purchasing or ordering textbooks, course materials, and library books, institutions of higher education shall strongly encourage publishers to accomplish, as rapidly as the technology becomes available, the following:

          (1) Make textbooks, library books, and course materials available in a computer-based format, which may include optical storage media, including CD ROM, for students with print disabilities enrolled at the institution;

          (2) Provide the materials in computer-based format at a reasonable and affordable price;

          (3) Ensure that the computer-based format complies with established industry guideline standards for machine readable documents for persons with print disabilities; and

          (4) Provide the materials in computer-based format in a timely manner to support the educational needs of students with print disabilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  The academic officers of the public four-year institutions of higher education and the instructional officers at the community and technical colleges shall:

          (1) Work closely with their faculty and appropriate administrators to disseminate information about the availability of materials and textbooks that have been converted to electronic formats;

          (2) Encourage faculty and appropriate administrators to, where feasible, use materials and textbooks that have been converted to electronic formats; and

          (3) Encourage the development of additional materials and textbooks in electronic formats to better serve students with disabilities.

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