Title: AIM-HIGH Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Access to Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act of 2020 or the AIM-HIGH Act
This bill revises model demonstration programs requiring the Department of Education (ED) to award certain grants or contracts to eligible partnerships to develop systems for the timely delivery and quality of instructional materials to postsecondary students with print disabilities.
Specifically, the bill (1) revises the definition of student with a print disability, and (2) requires such instructional materials to be commercially produced or open source and in accessible formats.
Additionally, the bill requires eligible partnerships to include (1) one or more institutions of higher education with demonstrated expertise in meeting the needs of students with print disabilities, and (2) a public or private entity with demonstrated expertise in developing such materials in accessible formats. Such public or private entity must also have a demonstrated capability to partner with national consumer organizations with the capacity to engage postsecondary students with print disabilities in the development and implementation of such materials.
It also authorizes ED to complete a national expansion of such model programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3410 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3410

    To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve access to 
     postsecondary instructional materials for students with print 
                             disabilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2020

Mr. Cassidy (for himself and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve access to 
     postsecondary instructional materials for students with print 
                             disabilities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Instructional Materials in 
Higher Education Act of 2020'' or the ``AIM-HIGH Act''.

SEC. 2. PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT IMPROVED ACCESS TO POSTSECONDARY 
              INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR STUDENTS WITH PRINT 
              DISABILITIES.

    Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1133 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 771, by striking ``in nonspecialized 
        formats, including an individual described in section 121(d)(2) 
        of title 17, United States Code'' and inserting ``in 
        nonaccessible formats, including an individual who is blind, 
        has a visual or perceptual impairment, has dyslexia, or has 
        another form of reading disability that renders the individual 
        unable to read printed works to substantially the same degree 
        as an individual without an impairment or disability, or who 
        has a physical disability making the individual unable to hold 
        or manipulate a book or focus or move the individual's eyes to 
        read''; and
            (2) in section 773--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``instructional 
                materials in specialized formats'' and inserting 
                ``commercially produced or open source instructional 
                materials in accessible formats'';
                    (B) in subsection (b)(1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``an 
                        institution'' and inserting ``one or more 
                        institutions''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the 
                        following:
                            ``(i) demonstrated expertise in developing 
                        accessible instructional materials in 
                        accessible formats for postsecondary students 
                        with print disabilities;
                            ``(ii) demonstrated capability to partner 
                        with national consumer organizations that have 
                        the capacity to engage postsecondary students 
                        with print disabilities in the development and 
                        implementation of accessible instructional 
                        materials; and
                            ``(iii) the technical development expertise 
                        necessary for the efficient dissemination of 
                        such materials, including procedures to protect 
                        against copyright infringement with respect to 
                        the creation, use, and distribution of 
                        instructional materials in accessible formats; 
                        and'';
                    (C) in subsection (f)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                striking ``specialized'' and inserting 
                                ``accessible'';
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B), by 
                                striking ``instructional materials in 
                                specialized formats'' and inserting 
                                ``commercially produced or open source 
                                instructional materials in accessible 
                                formats'';
                                    (III) in subparagraph (C), by 
                                striking ``specialized'' and inserting 
                                ``accessible'';
                                    (IV) in subparagraph (D)--
                                            (aa) by striking 
                                        ``instructional materials in 
                                        specialized formats'' and 
                                        inserting ``commercially 
                                        produced or open source 
                                        instructional materials in 
                                        accessible formats''; and
                                            (bb) by striking ``may'' 
                                        and inserting ``shall'';
                                    (V) in subparagraph (E), by 
                                striking ``specialized'' and inserting 
                                ``accessible'';
                                    (VI) in subparagraph (F)--
                                            (aa) by striking 
                                        ``specialized'' and inserting 
                                        ``accessible''; and
                                            (bb) by striking ``may'' 
                                        and inserting ``shall''; and
                                    (VII) in subparagraph (G)--
                                            (aa) by striking 
                                        ``specialized'' and inserting 
                                        ``accessible''; and
                                            (bb) by striking 
                                        ``utilizing'' and inserting 
                                        ``that are born accessible and 
                                        utilize''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``and 
                        evidence'' after ``recommendations'';
                    (D) in subsection (g), by striking paragraphs (1) 
                through (3) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Approaches for the provision of commercially produced 
        or open source instructional materials in accessible formats 
        that advance the state of the art in producing instructional 
        materials used in smaller categories of postsecondary courses, 
        such as advanced topics in mathematics and science.
            ``(2) Approaches supporting a unified search for 
        commercially produced or open source instructional materials in 
        accessible formats across multiple databases or lists of 
        materials available to all postsecondary students with a 
        qualified print disability.
            ``(3) Market-based approaches for making commercially 
        produced or open source instructional materials in accessible 
        formats directly available to eligible students at prices 
        comparable to standard instructional materials.'';
                    (E) in subsection (h)(3), by striking 
                ``specialized'' and inserting ``accessible'';
                    (F) in subsection (i)--
                            (i) by inserting ``complete national 
                        expansion of the models or expand to'' after 
                        ``expand the program under this section to''; 
                        and
                            (ii) in paragraph (1), by striking 
                        ``specialized'' and inserting ``accessible''; 
                        and
                    (G) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Definition of Accessible Format.--In this section, the term 
`accessible format' has the meaning given the term in section 121 of 
title 17, United States Code.''.
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