Technology Access Bill Provides Americans with Disabilities Equal Access

We posted anarticle in August of 2010 concerning the inaccessibility of college websites to people with disabilities. Accessibility was deemed "strikingly low" by a study which tested the accessibility of many college homepages and websites.

In October 2010, President Obama signed a Technology Access Bill which guarantees improvements and advanced accessibility to Americans with disabilities and other special education needs. Because of the bill, people with disabilities will be able to more easily use technologies like the internet, smart phones and even online education programs that other Americans rely upon so heavily.

President Obama celebrated the occasion as another "step in guaranteeing equal technology access, opportunity, and respect for all Americans," but was quick to note that, "we've come a long way but even today, after all the progress that we've made, too many Americans with disabilities are still measured by what folks think they can't do, instead of what we know they can do."

The President hopes that the new bill will allow those with disabilities to easily access and utilize the technology that so many take for granted. The Technology Access Law will require the telecommunications industry to:

"Make getting to the internet easier by improving the user interfaces on smart phones." "Provide audible descriptions of on-screen action to help the blind more fully enjoy television." "Add captions to online TV programming to help the deaf." "Make the equipment used for internet telephone calls compatible with hearing aids." "Add a button or other switch to television remote controls for simpler access to closed captioning on television."

This has been a major priority of advocates of the millions of Americans with disabilities and a long-awaited victory for those who have disabilities like blindness or hearing impairments

Ultimately, the newly implemented technology access law, says Obama, "sets new standards so that Americans with disabilities can take advantage of the technology our economy depends on, and that's especially important in today's economy when every worker needs the necessary skills to compete for the jobs of the future."

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