Alternate Formatted Materials

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A variety of Federal and California laws guarantees that all people with a print disability will have access to print formatted information. According to the Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST, there are no copyright reasons that would prevent someone with a disability affecting their ability to access printed materials from an alternate format of the information.

Differing laws, legal precedence, and common publishing practices support these claims. The following is a summary of those laws and links to websites concerning these laws and legal precedence’s:

Chaffee Amendment to the Copyright Law (more information ...)

• The Chafee amendment to chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, adds section 121, establishing a limitation on the exclusive rights in copyrighted works. The amendment allows authorized entities to reproduce or distribute copies or phonorecords of previously published nondramatic literary works in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.

California Community Colleges Guidelines (more information ...)

• Colleges should establish procedures for responding in a timely manner to requests for materials in alternate media. [2] Issues concerning requests by students should be resolved through appropriate campus procedures as defined under Title 5, Section 56027.
• Whenever possible, information should be provided in the alternative format preferred by the person making the request (i.e. braille, audio, tactile graphics, large print, electronic text).  (28 CFR § 35.160(b)(2).)

California Alternate Formatting and Print Accessibility Laws for Education (more information ...)

• Calfornia has some of the most supportive laws concerning accessibility of printed materials for people with disabilities within educational institutions.
• Differing laws address K-12 educationa and postsecondary institutions. Both require all textbooks and printed materials to be accessible in alternate formats.
• Each stipulate that people with print disabilities beyond those with vision impairments are covered under the law. This includes people with learning disabilities and mobility disabilities that affect the ability to read printed materials.

The Harvard Law School Conference on Copyright Law and Access to Information for People with  Disabilities (more information ...)

• Differences between State laws concerning the accessibility of print materials and publisher concerns of copyright infringement within the Chapee Amendment of the Copyright Law initiated two conferences hosted by the Harvard Law School.
• Support of off parties concerning expanding the use of alternate format and accessible information to include all people with print disabilities was achieved.
• California's alternate formatting initiative in both K-12 and postsecondary institutions were evaluated and discussed.

Integrating Alternate Formatted Text into Educational Processes (more information)

• Access to information is not the final goal for people with print disabilities. People want to understand and enjoy reading as any other person.