Assistive Technology
Read more about the technology students with disabilities use, including physical devices like wheelchairs, as well as digital tools
Special Education
Seattle Settles Lawsuit Over Ed-Tech Accessibility
The National Federation of the Blind, a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, says the agreement to make the Seattle district's online materials accessible is a "model for the nation."
Special Education
Accessibility Concerns Delay $30M Amazon E-Book Contract in N.Y.C.
New York City schools postponed action on an Amazon contract for creating an online storefront where educators will buy e-books, after the National Federation of the Blind raised questions about it.
Special Education
School Boards Group Disputes Recent Guidance on Communication Supports
The federal government is using a California special education case to try to create guidance that applies to every state, says the National School Boards Association.
Special Education
S.C. Charters Agree to Accessibility Changes After Federal Investigation
The Education Department's office for civil rights said that the district needed to make courses fully accessible for the 9,000 students enrolled in online schools.
Special Education
Assistive Tech for Testing Merges Into Mainstream
The growing use of computer-based assessments is opening the door for all students to tap into accommodations once reserved primarily for students with disabilities.
Assessment
Students With Disabilities and the Common Core: Challenges, Opportunities
A recent special report from Education Week explores the common core from the perspective of students with specific educational needs.
Standards & Accountability
Smarter Balanced Adopts Accessibility Rules for Common-Core Tests
The 25-state group decided that read-aloud accommodations for text passages will be limited, for now, to students in middle and high school.
Special Education
Ed. Dept. Finds Areas to Improve in Review of Common-Core Test Accessibility
The department's technical review process also found areas that both consortia have handled well.
Special Education
'Hackathon' Yields Review Site For Autism-Friendly Businesses
Two developers won $10,000 for creating a website that allows users to post comments about businesses that accommodate people with developmental disabilities.
Special Education
Opinion
7 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Special-Needs Students
Teachers can turn things around for students with special needs by engaging them based on their strengths instead of their weaknesses.
Special Education
Common Core Test Group Seeks Comment on Writing-Support Accommodation
PARCC, one of two groups developing common core tests, wants feedback on the proposed policies for use of scribes and word-prediction software.
Special Education
Common Core Testers Unveil Proposed 'Read-Aloud' Accommodations
Two accommodations policies under consideration by an assessment consortium could narrow how many children who qualify for assistance on those tests in some states.
Special Education
Advocates for the Blind Plan Protest of Amazon's Kindle
The National Federation of the Blind protests Amazon's "massive effort" to sell Kindle e-readers and books in schools because of inaccessibility for the visually impaired.
Special Education
'Google' Ruling on Digitizing Books a Boon for Blind Readers
In the ruling, Judge Harold Baer specifically cited the benefits that digital content has for people with print disabilities. Meanwhile, Netflix agreed to provide closed captioning on 100 percent of its streaming content within two years.
