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SPONSOR: |
Vigil, R. |
DATE TYPED: |
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HB |
349/aHEC/aHJC |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Braille Access Act |
SB |
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ANALYST: |
L. Baca |
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APPROPRIATION
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Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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NFI |
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates SB 301
Responses
Received From
Commission
for the Blind
Commission
of Higher Education (CHE)
State
Department of Education (SDE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of HJC Amendments
The amendments adopted by the House Judiciary Committee:
·
strike HEC amendments 1 through 3;
·
redefine eligible materials adopted by
the State Board of Education as “workbooks, teacher manuals or editions,
blackline masters, transparencies, test packets, software, CD-ROMS, videotapes
and cassette tapes;” and
·
make technical language additions, such
as adding or deleting “a” or “an.”
Synopsis
of HEC Amendments
The amendments adopted by the House Education
Committee add language to allow the use of printed instructional materials
purchased for a student to be copied and used by the original student “and
other qualifying students” as permitted by federal law.
Synopsis
of Original Bill
House Bill 349 repeals
the Braille Literacy Act (sections 22-15-21 through 22-155 NMSA 1978) and
enacts the Braille Access Act (BAA), an Act intended to improve access to
printed instructional materials used by visually impaired and blind persons
attending a public school or postsecondary educational institution. The bill requires publishers to provide any
printed materials in an electronic format, stipulates that the SDE shall adopt
guidelines for implementation and administration of the Act, and provides a
private right of action for students who contend the Act has been violated.
Significant Issues
Braille textbooks are extremely expensive. According to the CHE analysis, school districts are paying between $800 and $1,200 per Braille textbook, and one school district has paid up to $25,000 for a Braille textbook. The SDE reports the costs of translating materials into Braille are estimated at between $3 and $4 a page. Enacting this bill would provide greater access to and reduce the cost of obtaining materials for visually impaired and blind students and enhance their opportunities for academic success and employability.
DUPLICATION
HB 349 duplicates SB
301, Braille Access Act.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
In its analysis, suggestions made by the SDE include the following:
· Page 5, lines 19-21: The educational use of materials is not the responsibility of publishers but of educational institutions. Inasmuch as publishers are funded according to purchased materials, the author of this bill may wish to strike “the student’s educational purposes” and replace it with “students for whom the material has been purchased in original format as adopted by the State Board of Education.” · Delete lines 22-25 on page 5 and lines 1-4 on page 6. This language seems to conflict with existing practice of using materials during multiple years for multiple students. · On page 6, line 24, replace “deemed required or essential for student success” with “adopted by the State Board of Education |
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
The purposes of the
Braille Access Act are to:
LRB/prr/njw