,,ii #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bjfj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #bg1 #bjad ,ms4 ,warren 7for herself and ,mr4 ,hatch7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,architectural and ,transportation ,barriers ,compliance ,board to develop accessibility guidelines for electronic instructional materials and related information technologies in institutions of higher education1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,technology1 ,equality and ,accessibility in ,college and ,higher ,education ,act or the ,,teach ,act4 #b4 ,guidelines for accessible electronic instructional materials and related information technologies in institutions of higher education 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,architectural and ,transportation ,barriers ,compliance ,board established pursuant to section #ejb of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #gib7 7in this ,act referred to as the ,access ,board7 shall develop guidelines for the accessibility of electronic instructional materials and related information technologies in institutions of higher education4 ,such guidelines shall-- 7#a7 include performance criteria to ensure that such materials and technologies are accessible to covered blind individuals and covered individuals with a disability2 and 7#b7 be consistent with the standards for technical and functional performance criteria issued pursuant to section #ejh7;a77#b77;,a77ii7 of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #gid;d7a77#b77;,a77ii774 7b7 ,harmonization with national and international standards ,the ,access ,board shall1 to the extent practicable1 ensure that the guidelines issued under subsection 7a7 are consistent with national and international accessibility standards for electronic instructional materials and related information technologies4 7c7 ,review and amendment ,not later than #c years after the effective date of the guidelines described in subsection 7a71 and every #c years thereafter1 the ,access ,board shall review and1 as appropriate1 amend such guidelines to reflect technological advances or changes in electronic instructional materials and related information technologies4 #c4 ,safe harbor protections ,institutions of higher education that use electronic instructional materials and related information technologies that comply with the accessibility guidelines described in section #b shall be deemed to be in compliance with the non-discrimination provisions in section #ejd of the ,rehabilitation ,act of #aigc 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #gid7 and titles ,,ii and ,,iii of the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaca et seq41 #db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaha et seq47 with respect to the use of such materials or technologies4 #d4 ,noncompliant electronic instructional materials and related information technologies ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to require an institution of higher education to use electronic instructional materials or related information technologies that conform to the accessibility guidelines described in section #b if the institution of higher education provides such materials or technologies1 or an accommodation or modification1 that would allow covered blind individuals and covered individuals with a disability to receive the educational benefits of such materials or technologies-- 7#a7 in an equally effective and equally integrated manner as non-disabled or non-blind students2 and 7#b7 with substantially equivalent ease of use of such materials or technologies4 #e4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out section #b of this ,act4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,blind individual ,the term blind individual means an individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed #bj_/bjj in the better eye with correcting lenses or whose visual acuity1 if better than #bj_/bjj1 is accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such a degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than #bj degrees4 7#b7 ,covered blind individual and covered individual with a disability ,the terms covered blind individual and covered individual with a disability mean a blind individual or an individual with a disability whose blindness or disability limits the ability of such individual to access electronic instructional materials and related information technologies4 7#c7 ,disability ,the term disability has the meaning given such term in section #c of the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abajb74 7#d7 ,electronic instructional material ,the term electronic instructional material means digital curricular content including course-assigned books1 journals1 articles1 and web pages1 used by students1 faculty1 or administrative personnel of an institution of higher education to facilitate the teaching and learning process1 including technologies used in distance education as defined in section #ajc of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjc74 7#e7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja74 7#f7 ,related information technology ,the term related information technology-- 7,a7 means any electronic platform or delivery system used by students1 faculty1 or administrative personnel of an institution of higher education to access electronic instructional materials2 and 7,b7 includes any hardware1 firmware1 software1 and applications required for the manipulation1 annotation1 and dissemination of such electronic instructional materials4