TEACH Act

Summary: Technology, Equality and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act or the TEACH Act - Directs the Access Board to develop accessibility guidelines for electronic instructional materials and related information technologies in institutions of higher education (IHEs). Requires those guidelines to: (1) include performance criteria to ensure that electronic instructional materials and related information technologies are accessible to the blind and disabled; (2) be consistent with the standards for technical and functional performance criteria issued pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and (3) be, to the extent practicable, consistent with national and international accessibility standards for those materials and technologies. Directs the Access Board to review and, as appropriate, amend the guidelines every three years to reflect technological advances or changes in electronic instructional materials and related information technologies. Deems IHEs that use electronic instructional materials and related information technologies that comply with the guidelines to be in compliance with nondiscrimination provisions under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Technology, Equality and 
Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act'' or the ``TEACH 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GUIDELINES FOR ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONIC INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS 
              AND RELATED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INSTITUTIONS OF 
              HIGHER EDUCATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers 
Compliance Board established pursuant to section 502 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 792) (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Access Board'') shall develop guidelines for the accessibility of 
electronic instructional materials and related information technologies 
in institutions of higher education. Such guidelines shall--
            (1) include performance criteria to ensure that such 
        materials and technologies are accessible to covered blind 
        individuals and covered individuals with a disability; and
            (2) be consistent with the standards for technical and 
        functional performance criteria issued pursuant to section 
        508(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
        794d(a)(2)(A)(ii)).
    (b) Harmonization With National and International Standards.--The 
Access Board shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that the 
guidelines issued under subsection (a) are consistent with national and 
international accessibility standards for electronic instructional 
materials and related information technologies.
    (c) Review and Amendment.--Not later than 3 years after the 
effective date of the guidelines described in subsection (a), and every 
3 years thereafter, the Access Board shall review and, as appropriate, 
amend such guidelines to reflect technological advances or changes in 
electronic instructional materials and related information 
technologies.

SEC. 3. 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 2 shall be deemed to be 
in compliance with the non-discrimination provisions section 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) and titles II and III of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq., 42 
U.S.C. 12181 et seq.) with respect to the use of such materials or 
technologies.

SEC. 4. 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 2 if the institution of higher education provides 
such materials or technologies, or an accommodation or modification, 
that would allow covered blind individuals and covered individuals with 
a disability to receive the educational benefits of such materials or 
technologies--
            (1) in an equally effective and equally integrated manner 
        as non-disabled or non-blind students; and
            (2) with substantially equivalent ease of use of such 
        materials or technologies.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out section 2 of this Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act the following definitions apply:
            (1) Blind individual.--The term ``blind individual'' means 
        an individual whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/
        200 in the better eye with correcting lenses or whose visual 
        acuity, if better than 20/200, 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 20 
        degrees.
            (2) 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 
        technologies.
            (3) Disability.--The term ``disability'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities 
        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).
            (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001).
            (5) Electronic instructional material.--The term 
        ``electronic instructional material'' means digital curricular 
        content including course-assigned books, journals, articles, 
        and web pages, used by students, faculty, or administrative 
        personnel of an institution of higher education to facilitate 
        the teaching and learning process, including technologies used 
        in distance education as defined in section 103 of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003).
            (6) Related information technology.--The term ``related 
        information technology''--
                    (A) means any electronic platform or delivery 
                system used by students, faculty, or administrative 
                personnel of an institution of higher education to 
                access electronic instructional materials; and
                    (B) includes any hardware, firmware, software, and 
                applications required for the manipulation, annotation, 
                and dissemination of such electronic instructional 
                materials.