In 2000, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a far reaching law, commonly called the Kentucky Accessible Information Technology (AIT) Act, KRS 61.980 - 61.988, which requires that all state-supported institutions utilize information technology resources that are accessible to people with disabilities. This law explicitly covers school districts, universities, and all other institutions supported with state funds. As one of the "covered entities" under this statute, school districts are required to ensure that the information technology they use will provide students with disabilities with access "that is equivalent to the access provided individuals who are not disabled" (KRS 61.982). As a means of determining conformity with this provision, Kentucky law further defines that the level of access provided by school systems and other covered entities must be in compliance with federal Section 508 access standards (36 C.F.R. 1194).
It is essential to stress that IT accessibility is a technology issue, not just a special education or disability issue. Accessibility is often a new concept to technology staff. Many times information technology accessibility will be confused as a special education issue and overlooked by technology personnel as something for the special education director or the assistive technology coordinator to handle. However, the special education director does not generally have significant expertise in IT, and no direct responsibility or authority for dealing with IT issues.
Furthermore, it is important to highlight that information technology accessibility is not an assistive technology issue. Many times both technology staff and special education staff alike will come to the inaccurate conclusion that information technology accessibility is merely a matter of purchasing the right assistive technology product after a student has been identified as unable to access the information technology through "standard" methods. To the contrary, the focus of information technology accessibility is on observing minimum technology specifications at all times, regardless if the district even has a student with a disability enrolled. Even spending tens of thousands of dollars on assistive technology for just one student after the fact will not fix inaccessible information technology. The creation of guiding policies and adherence to them, however, will help to ensure that inaccessible IT is not part of the school environment from the outset.
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KATS Network Coordinating Center
Charles McDowell Center
8412 Westport Road
Louisville, KY 40242
Local: (502) 429-4484
Toll Free: (800) 327-5287
Fax: (502) 429-7114