Policy Search
1. General
Eastern Washington University shall assist students with a print access disability in obtaining electronic or other specialized format versions of instructional materials.
2. Definitions
- “Instructional material or materials” means textbooks and other materials that are required or essential to a student’s success in a postsecondary course of study in which a student with a disability is enrolled. The determination of which materials are “required or essential to student success” shall be made by the instructor of the course in consultation with the office of Disability Support Services. The term specifically includes both textual and nontextual information.
- “Print access disability” means a condition in which a person’s independent reading of, reading comprehension of, or visual access to materials is limited or reduced due to a sensory, neurological, cognitive, physical, psychiatric, or other disability recognized by state or federal law. The term is applicable, but not limited to, persons who are blind, have low vision, or have reading disorders or physical disabilities.
- “Structural integrity” means all instructional material, including but not limited to the text of the material, sidebars, the table of contents, chapter headings and subheadings, footnotes, indexes, glossaries, graphs, charts, illustrations, pictures, equations, formulas, and bibliographies. Structural elements, such as headings, lists, and tables must be identified using current markup and tools.
- “Specialized format” means Braille, audio, or digital text that is exclusively for use by blind or other persons with print access disabilities.
3. Structural Integrity
Eastern Washington University shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the structural integrity of specialized format instructional materials is maintained. When needed, Eastern shall work with the publisher or manufacturer regarding the structural integrity of supplemental instructional materials.
Pursuant to RCW 28B.10.916, if the publisher or manufacturer and the university are unable to come to an agreement as to an electronic format that will preserve the structural integrity of instructional materials, the publisher or manufacturer is required to provide the instructional material in a verified and valid HTML format, preserving as much of the structural integrity of the instructional materials as possible.
4. Copyright
Eastern Washington University shall take reasonable precautions to ensure that copyrighted instructional materials are protected from being copied or distributed in any manner that is a violation of the Copyright Revisions Act of 1976, as amended (17 U.S.C. Sec. 101 et seq.).
When the university develops specialized format materials locally, reasonable effort shall be made to copy-protect the resultant media, subject to the availability of appropriate technology and personnel.
In all cases, students who are provided with specialized format materials, whether developed by an external entity or through the university, shall not copy or distribute such materials in violation of federal copyright law.
The addition of captioning to video material by a Washington public or private institution of higher education does not constitute an infringement of copyright.
4. Specialized Format Copyright and Use
Specialized format versions of instructional materials that are developed by the university may be shared with other students who meet the eligibility requirements of paragraph 5. Similarly, a specialized format version of instructional materials developed at one institution in Washington State may be shared for use by an eligible student at another institution in Washington State.
5. Eligibility
Supplemental and/or specialized instructional materials may be provided to students so long as all of the following conditions are met:
- The student has a documented print access disability that substantially prevents him or her from using standard instructional materials.
- The student requires the material in connection with a course in which he or she is registered or enrolled.
- Either the student or the university has purchased the instructional material in either the standard or a specialized format. In cases where the university owns the instructional materials, the university may freely re-issue those materials to eligible students in subsequent courses.
6. Procedures
Eligible students must request supplemental and/or specialized format materials through the office of Disability Support Services (DSS). DSS will work with publishers, manufactures, agencies, or other entities to obtain or develop supplemental instructional materials.
7. Exceptions
When it is determined that an individual, firm, partnership or corporation that publishes or manufactures instructional materials is not technically able to comply with the requirements of this section, the university will work with the course instructor to identify and pursue alternatives such as selection of a different textbook or local development of specialized format materials.
