SB 485

Current law

Under current state law, the University of Wisconsin System (UW System) and

the Technical College System (TCS) may not deny to a student admission to,

participation in, or the benefits of, or discriminate against a student in, any service,

program, course, or facility because of the student's disability. In addition, under

current federal law, a college, university, or other postsecondary institution,

including a private postsecondary institution, may not exclude a student from

participation in, deny a student the benefits of, or subject a student to discrimination

under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Federal

regulations specify that a postsecondary institution receiving federal financial

assistance must ensure that no student with a disability is denied the benefits of,

excluded from participation in, or otherwise subjected to discrimination because of

the absence of educational auxiliary aids for students with impaired sensory,

manual, or speaking skills.

The bill

Request for instructional material in alternative or electronic format.

This bill permits an institution or college campus within the UW System, a technical

college within the TCS, or a private, nonprofit institution of higher education that

is a member of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

(institution of higher education), on behalf of a student who is blind or visually

impaired, or who has a specific learning disability or other physical condition that

prevents the student from using instructional material in standard print format, and

who needs reasonable accommodations to read (student with a disability), to request

a publisher to provide instructional material in either of the following formats:

1. Braille, large print texts, audio recordings created with the use of

text-to-speech technology, electronic formats used with screen reader devices or

other assistive technology, or digital talking books that are required by a student

with a disability to make instructional material accessible to the student (alternative

format).

2. A computer file or other digital medium embodying instructional material

that can be made into an alternative format or that is capable of serving as an

alternative format, if used with a screen reader device or other assistive technology

(electronic format).

Under the bill, a request for instructional material in alternative format or

electronic format (request) must certify: 1) that a copy of the instructional material

in a standard format has been purchased for use by a student with a disability; 2) that

the student is a student with a disability; 3) that the instructional material is for use

by the student in connection with a course at the institution of higher education in

which the student is enrolled; and 4) whether the institution of higher education has

in its possession a copy of the instructional material in electronic format and, if so,