MD TAP Section 508 Grant Introduction

MD TAP takes on new responsibilities.

On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed P.L. 101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the areas of employment, public accommodations, transportation, State and local government, and telecommunications. Hailed by many as the most sweeping civil rights legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADA opened doors for persons with disabilities but at the same time raised many questions regarding the law's implementation and requirements. In response to anticipated needs, in 1991 and again in 1996, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education, awarded five-year grants to establish and operate ten regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs). Each DBTAC was charged with providing training, technical assistance, and information to businesses, consumers, and State and local governments seeking clarification on the ADA's provisions and requirements.

Since 1996, TransCen, Inc., a non-profit organization established in 1986, has successfully operated the Region III DBTAC, known as the ADA Information Center for the Mid-Atlantic Region ("the Center"). TransCen, Inc., has served as the Center's lead organization, with services provided collaboratively by six State Coalitions in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. These Coalitions provide information, materials, presentations, and resources to local communities in the Region III States.

A comprehensive plan to build on the TransCen team's significant experience in operating the Region III DBTAC proposes organizational structure, activities, and personnel to continue the DBTAC's present work and to place new, special emphasis on assisting educational entities in providing persons with disabilities with accessible, education-based information technology.

The project encompasses three overlapping activity areas: information dissemination, training, and technical assistance. To ensure that all of the project goals and objectives are met, TransCen, Inc. is expanding the Region III DBTAC to include the six Region III Assistive Technology Act grantees. The ATA grantees in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia have partnered to form the new Mid-Atlantic Accessible Education-Based Information Technology Consortium ("the Consortium").

During the life of the five-year grant, the Consortium is to:
1: Provide technical assistance and training, and disseminate information on legal obligations of educational entities to provide accessible information technology (IT) to students and employees.
2: Provide technical assistance to educational entities to enable them to conduct self-evaluations on the accessibility of their IT.
3: Provide technical assistance, either directly or through referral, on how to make existing IT accessible and to ensure that new IT acquisitions are accessible.
4: Promote best practices by encouraging educational entities to purchase IT consistent with standards issued by the Access Board under Section 508 or universal design principles, regardless of whether they have a legal obligation to do so.
5: Provide information to CILs, Parent Training Information Centers, and Regional Resource Centers on accessible education-based IT.
6: Form regional partnerships among Assistive Technology Act grantees, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs), Office of Special Education Programs' technology grantees, and other educational organizations/agencies to guide, coordinate, and carry out technical assistance activities in each State.

The writing and presentation of this article begins MD TAP's campaign to draw awareness to the effort of the DBTAC's and how TAP plans to accomplish its goals. First, we will bring to light the need to become compliant to the laws and standards. Not for the sake of legal action, but for the inclusion of all individuals in educational offerings. Second, we will help education entities realize their degree of compliance by disseminating material and guidelines for self-evaluation. Lastly, in the near future, we will begin to demonstrate proper methods of creating more accessible IT through training and technical assistance.

The process will take time and the cooperation of the targeted educational entities, but the end result will offer more individuals with disabilities better access to educational IT and create easier navigation of sites for everyone.

For more information or to participate in the process, contact us through our website, www.mdtap.org, or dial our toll free line at 800-832-4837.

Paul Rasinski
Executive Director, MD TAP