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Access to a high-quality education is critical for empowering all Americans to lead rich and productive lives.  Every day, the U.S. Department of Education and my office, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), work to ensure that all students, including those with disabilities, have equal access to that important benefit.  OCR does this by enforcing federal nondiscrimination laws, including two that specifically protect individuals from discrimination on the basis of disability: the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504).

What: Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance through Dear Colleague Letters to elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education along with a Frequently Asked Questions document on the legal obligation to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits of technology. This guidance is a critical step in the Department’s ongoing efforts to ensure that students with disabilities receive equal access to the educational benefits and services provided by their schools, colleges and universities. All students, including those with disabilities, must have the tools needed to obtain a world-class education that prepares them for success in college and careers. Today’s guidance provides information to schools about their responsibilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The guidance supplements a June 2010 letter issued jointly by OCR and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The June letter explains that technological devices must be accessible to students with disabilities, including students who are blind or have low vision, unless the benefits of the technology are provided equally through other means. Today’s guidance highlights what educational institutions need to know and take into consideration in order to ensure that students with disabilities enjoy equal access when information and resources are provided through technology. “Technology can be a critical investment in enhancing educational opportunities for all students,” said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights. “The Department is firmly committed to ensuring that schools provide students with disabilities equal access to the benefits of technological advances.” Today’s guidance is part of a larger effort by the Department and Obama administration to better serve the needs of people with disabilities. Last month, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Kareem Dale, associate director for the White House Office of Public Engagement and special assistant to the President for disability policy, for a conference call with stakeholders to talk about some of the Department’s efforts. During the call, Duncan discussed the Department’s commitment to maintaining accountability in No Child Left Behind for all subgroups, including students with disabilities, and highlighted the Department’s proposal to increase funding for students with disabilities in the fiscal year 2012 budget. Ali will also join Dale for a stakeholder conference call where she will discuss today’s guidance and address the Department’s work to ensure that all schools are fulfilling their responsibilities under the federal disability laws that OCR enforces.

The use of optical character recognition (OCR) systems combined with speech synthesis (computer-generated speech) has become increasingly accepted as a means of compensating for reading disabilities. These OCR systems, or reading machines, convert printed text to spoken language so the user can hear and see written words. These technologies are now marketed internationally (for example, WYNN®, Kurzweil 3000®), commonly found in assistive technology centers serving individuals with learning disabilities, frequently exhibited at LD conferences, generally considered in assistive technology evaluations for students with LD, and regularly discussed in publications on LD and assistive technology.

Today, ED’s Office for Civil Rights has released guidance that clarifies existing legal obligations of schools to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate alongside their peers in after-school athletics and clubs. We make clear that schools may not exclude students who have an intellectual, developmental, physical, or any other disability from trying out and playing on a team, if they are otherwise qualified. This guidance builds on a resource document the Department issued in 2011 that provides important information on improving opportunities for children and youth with disabilities to access PE and athletics.

Today, the Department's Office for Civil Rights issued guidance clarifying school districts' existing legal obligations to provide equal access to extracurricular athletic activities to students with disabilities. In addition to explaining those legal obligations, the guidance urges school districts to work with community organizations to increase athletic opportunities for students with disabilities, such as opportunities outside of the existing extracurricular athletic program. Students with disabilities have the right, under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, to an equal opportunity to participate in their schools' extracurricular activities. A 2010 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that many students with disabilities are not afforded an equal opportunity to participate in athletics, and therefore may not have equitable access to the health and social benefits of athletic participation.

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that its Office for Civil Rights has reached a resolution agreement with the Memphis, Tenn., City Schools on aids and services to students with disabilities. The agreement resolves a compliance review initiated by the department to address whether the district is appropriately evaluating students with food allergies, asthma, diabetes, and other health impairments who have Individual Health Care Plans (IHCPs) to determine if the students are qualified students with a disability as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II). OCR also investigated whether there was a difference in the provision of services to health impaired students on the basis of race.

Minority students across America face harsher discipline, have less access to rigorous high school curricula, and are more often taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that its Office for Civil Rights has entered into an agreement with Virtual Community School of Ohio to ensure compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act for students with disabilities at the school. This first-of-its-kind resolution promises equal access to educational opportunities for students with disabilities in virtual charter schools. Virtual Community School of Ohio is an Internet-based, public charter school that serves approximately 1,200 students who reside throughout the state of Ohio. "Students with disabilities who attend online public charter schools are entitled to all the protections of the federal civil rights laws that their peers receive at traditional public schools, including the right to receive a free appropriate education. Online schools also must take steps to ensure that the websites and online classrooms they use to promote their services and to educate students are accessible to individuals with disabilities," said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. "Online education environments such as this in which students reside across the state and go to school together in a totally on-line environment, may present unique challenges. Nevertheless, these online schools must comply with the civil rights laws. I commend Virtual Community School of Ohio for agreeing to address these issues as part of its agreement with OCR."

As part of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today issued guidance to schools reminding them that bullying is wrong and must not be tolerated – including against America’s 6.5 million students with disabilities.

In 2009, the Civil Rights Division launched an aggressive effort to enforce the Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C., a ruling that requires states to eliminate unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities and to ensure that persons with disabilities receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. President Obama issued a proclamation launching the "Year of Community Living," and has directed the Administration to redouble enforcement efforts. The Division has responded by working with state and local governments officials, disability rights groups and attorneys around the country, and with representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services, to fashion an effective, nationwide program to enforce the integration mandate of the Department's regulation implementing title II of the ADA.

Click here to registerWhat:Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Students eligible for special education services under the IDEA are typically also eligible for services under Section 504; additionally, students not eligible under IDEA may be covered by Section 504. Therefore, it is critical that advocates for students with disabilities understand protections under Section 504 as well as ways to deal with suspected violations.    This webinar will provide an overview of the structure of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education, which enforces Section 504 with respect to entities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department. The Section 504 complaint process will be examined in depth, including who may file a complaint, when a complaint may be filed, how to file a complaint, what type of information is necessary to file a complaint and how to effectively present that information. Additional ways to address suspected violations will also be explained as well as strategies to effectively navigate procedural safeguards provided by the law. The webinar will also provide an overview of how the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act applies to Section 504. Time will be provided for questions for participants. When: Wednesday, December 7, 2011  12:00 to 1:30 PM MT Cost: $50.00

Earlier today, Secretary Duncan released new data from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that reveal unfortunate truths about our nation’s schools. The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a first-of-its kind national data tool that highlights schools that are making real progress in closing opportunity gaps, as well as educational inequities around teacher experience, discipline and high school rigor.

ZoomReader is an iPhone app that combines the iPhone’s camera with high quality OCR, flexible reading options (magnification, contrast, etc.), excellent text-to-speech, and even voice recognition for commands. Aisquared is to be commended for putting all of this together for only $20.  They’re not only making accessibility simple, they’re making it affordable!

In combination with your iPhone’s built-in camera, ZoomReader lets you magnify and read printed text by first taking a picture of an object like a book or menu, then converts the image into text using state-of-the-art Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. ZoomReader will then read the text back to you using a natural-sounding voice.

It's finally here! You have been hearing about ZoomReader for a couple of months now, and we are pleased to officially announce that our ZoomReader app is available for purchase in the iTunes App Store for just $19.99! So what exactly is ZoomReader? Using your built-in camera on the iPhone 4, you can zoom in on printed text or apply a color filter to make everything easier on your eyes. It's not just a video magnifier; you can also snap a picture of something and ZoomReader will convert it into text using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology and then read the text back to you! Many of the features in ZoomReader are available via voice control, too - just say "take picture" and seconds later it'll appear on screen. Just think - now you can read the small print on a receipt, box, menu, or pill bottle. Whether you're on the go or using ZoomReader to help you read a newspaper in the comfort of your living room, this quick and powerful program does everything a dedicated video magnifier can do and then some - from the convenience of your iPhone and at a much lower price. Get your copy today in the iTunes App Store . If you'd like more information, you can visit our mobile website where you'll find a bunch of how-to videos.