(4) to limit the authority of Federal agencies to 
issue regulations pursuant to the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act 
of 1973. 
(c) VOLUNTARY NATURE OF THE PRODUCTS OF THE 
COMMISSION.— 
(1) VOLUNTARY GUIDELINES.—It is the intent 
of the Congress that use of the voluntary guidelines 
developed pursuant to this Act is and should remain 
voluntary. The voluntary guidelines shall not confer 
any rights or impose any obligations on commission 
participants, institutions of higher education, or 
other persons. Thus, no department or agency of the 
Federal Government may incorporate the voluntary 
guidelines, whether produced as a discrete document 
or electronic resource, into regulations promulgated 
under the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with 
Disabilities Act, or any other Federal law or instru-
ment. This restriction applies only to the voluntary 
guidelines as a discrete document or resource; it im-
poses no limitation on Federal use of standards or 
resources to which the voluntary guidelines may 
refer. 
(2) ANNOTATED LIST.—It is the intent of Con-
gress that use of the annotated list of information 
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technology standards developed pursuant to this Act 
is and should remain voluntary. The annotated list 
shall not confer any rights or impose any obligations 
on commission participants, institutions of higher 
education, or other persons. Thus, no department or 
agency of the Federal Government may incorporate 
the annotated list, whether produced as a discrete 
document or electronic resource into regulations pro-
mulgated under the Rehabilitation Act, the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act, or any other Federal law 
or instrument. This provision applies only to the an-
notated list as a discrete document or resource; it 
imposes no limitation on Federal use of standards or 
resources to which the annotated list may refer. 
(3) PILOT TESTING FRAMEWORK.—It is the in-
tent of Congress that use of the model framework 
for pilot testing postsecondary instructional mate-
rials and related technologies developed pursuant to 
this Act is and should remain voluntary. The pilot 
testing framework shall not confer any rights or im-
pose any obligations on commission participants, in-
stitutions of higher education, or other persons. 
Thus, no department or agency of the Federal Gov-
ernment may incorporate the pilot testing frame-
work, whether produced as a discrete document or 
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electronic resource into regulations promulgated 
under the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with 
Disabilities Act, or any other Federal law or instru-
ment. This provision applies only to the pilot testing 
framework as a discrete document or resource; it im-
poses no limitation on Federal use of standards or 
resources to which the pilot testing framework may 
refer. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act the following definitions apply: 
(1) ANNOTATED LIST OF INFORMATION TECH-
NOLOGY STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘annotated list of 
information technology standards’’ means a list of 
existing national and international accessibility 
standards relevant to student use of postsecondary 
electronic instructional materials and related tech-
nologies, and to other types of information tech-
nology common to institutions of higher education 
(such as institutional websites and class registration 
systems), annotated by the commission established 
pursuant to section 2 to provide information about 
the applicability of such standards in higher edu-
cation settings. The annotated list of information 
technology standards is intended to serve solely as a 
reference tool to inform any consideration of the rel-
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evance of such standards in higher education con-
texts. 
(2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 3 of the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12102). 
(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101 of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(4) NONCONFORMING
POSTSECONDARY
ELEC-
TRONIC
INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS
OR
RELATED 
TECHNOLOGIES.—The term ‘‘nonconforming mate-
rials or related technologies’’ means postsecondary 
electronic instructional materials or related tech-
nologies that do not conform to the voluntary guide-
lines to be developed pursuant to this Act. 
(5) PILOT TESTING.—The term ‘‘pilot testing’’ 
means a small-scale study or project to determine 
the efficacy of a postsecondary electronic instruc-
tional material and/or related technology in a post-
secondary instructional setting to inform an institu-
tional decision about whether to implement the ma-
terial and/or technology more broadly across the in-
stitution’s instructional settings. 
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(6) POSTSECONDARY
ELECTRONIC
INSTRUC-
TIONAL MATERIALS.—The term ‘‘postsecondary elec-
tronic instructional materials’’ means digital cur-
ricular content that is required, provided, or both 
recommended and provided by an institution of high-
er education for use in a postsecondary instructional 
program. 
(7) RELATED TECHNOLOGIES.—The term ‘‘re-
lated technologies’’ refers to any software, applica-
tions, learning management or content management 
systems, and hardware that an institution of higher 
education requires, provides, or both recommends 
and provides for student access to and use of post-
secondary electronic instructional materials in a 
postsecondary instructional program. 
(8) TECHNICAL PANEL.—The term ‘‘technical 
panel’’ means a group of experts with extensive, 
demonstrated technical experience in the develop-
ment and implementation of accessibility features for 
postsecondary electronic instructional materials and 
related technologies, established by the commission 
pursuant to section 3(d), which will assist the com-
mission in the development of the voluntary guide-
lines and annotated list of information technology 
standards authorized under this Act. 
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