Students with print disabilities and administrators from the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), along with library and government officials, shared their stories and progress toward improving academic equality and lifelong learning through the use of assitive technology devices and Bookshare at the DC Public Library last week.
Students can immediately download and access books with Bookshare, an online accessible library of copyrighted content federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). As a result, students who were once waiting long periods of time for books to be transcribed to Braille or large print, or those who had aides reading to them, can start reading their books independently at the same time as their non-disabled peers.
DCPS is the first large urban district to undertake such a ground-breaking project promoting independence and inclusion for students with print disabilities, said Betsy Beaumon, Vice President and General Manager of Literacy Programs at Benetech, the nonprofit organization that operates Bookshare. We congratulate the District on their reform that is improving the lives of students who may fall through the cracks, and expect other districts will be inspired to follow in their example.
DCPS students demonstrated how to read accessible books and textbooks using the technologies that best accommodate their visual impairments, learning or other physical disabilities, and commented on the changes in their lives due to the technology and Bookshare:
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