Gov. Davis of CA Signs bill requiring publishers to provide elect ronic texts

As some of you have requested, here is a copy of the final language of AB
422 which is now law in California:

BILL NUMBER: AB 422     CHAPTERED  09/15/99

        CHAPTER   379
        FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
        APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
        PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 26, 1999
        PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 23, 1999
        AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 30, 1999
        AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 16, 1999
        AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 25, 1999
        AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 5, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Steinberg
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aroner, Corbett, Kuehl, and Thomson)

                        FEBRUARY 12, 1999

   An act to add Section 67302 to the Education Code, relating to
instructional materials.


        LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 422, Steinberg.  Instructional materials:  disabled students.
   Under existing law, a publisher or manufacturer of instructional
materials offered for adoption or sale in California is required to
comply with specified requirements, including providing to the state,
at no cost, the right to transcribe, reproduce, and distribute the
material in braille, large print, recordings, or other accessible
media for use by pupils with visual disabilities.  This right
includes computer diskette versions of instructional materials if
made available to any other state, and those corrections and
revisions as may be necessary.
   This bill would require every individual, firm, partnership or
corporation publishing or manufacturing printed instructional
materials, as defined, for students attending the University of
California, the California State University, or a California
Community College to provide to the university, college, or
particular campus of the university or college, for use by students
at no additional cost and in a timely manner, any printed
instructional material in unencrypted electronic form upon the
receipt of a written request, provided that the university or college
complies with certain conditions.
   This bill would require that the computer files or electronic
versions of printed instructional material maintain their structural
integrity, as defined, be compatible with commonly used braille
translation and speech synthesis software, and include corrections
and revisions as may be necessary.
   This bill would authorize the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges, the Chancellor of the California State
University, and the President of the University of California to each
establish one or more centers within their respective segments to
process requests for electronic versions of instructional materials,
as prescribed.
   This bill would also require an individual, firm, partnership or
corporation that publishes or manufactures nonprinted instructional
materials for students attending the University of California, the
California State University, or a California Community College to
provide computer files or other electronic versions of the nonprinted
instructional materials for use by students, subject to the same
conditions for printed instructional materials, when technology is
available to convert these nonprinted instructional materials to a
format that maintains the structural integrity of the nonprinted
instructional material that is compatible with braille translation
and speech synthesis software.
   This bill would provide that willful failure to comply with these
requirements would be subject to sanctions under the law relating to
full and equal access of disabled persons to public accommodations.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 67302 is added to the Education Code, to read:

   67302.  (a) An individual, firm, partnership or corporation that
publishes or manufactures printed instructional materials for
students attending the University of California, the California State
University, or a California Community College, shall provide to the
university, college, or particular campus of the university or
college, for use by students attending the University of California,
the California State University, or a California Community College,
any printed instructional material in an electronic format mutually
agreed upon by the publisher or manufacturer and the college or
campus.  Computer files or electronic versions of printed
instructional materials shall maintain the structural integrity of
the printed instructional material, be compatible with commonly used
braille translation and speech synthesis software, and include
corrections and revisions as may be necessary.  The computer files or
electronic versions of the printed instructional material shall be
provided to the university, college, or particular campus of the
university or college at no additional cost and in a timely manner,
upon receipt of a written request that does all of the following:
   (1) Certifies that the university, college, or particular campus
of the university or college has purchased the printed instructional
material for use by a student with a disability or that a student
with a disability attending or registered to attend that university,
college, or particular campus of the university or college has
purchased the printed instructional material.
   (2) Certifies that the student has a disability that prevents him
or her from using standard instructional materials.
   (3) Certifies that the printed instructional material is for use
by the student in connection with a course in which he or she is
registered or enrolled at the university, college, or particular
campus of the university or college.
   (4) Is signed by the coordinator of services for students with
disabilities at the university, college, or particular campus of the
university or college or by the campus or college official
responsible for monitoring compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) at the university,
college, or particular campus of the university or college.
   (b) An individual, firm, partnership or corporation specified in
subdivision (a) may also require that, in addition to the conditions
enumerated above, the request shall include a statement signed by the
student agreeing to both of the following:
   (1) He or she will use the electronic copy of the printed
instructional material in specialized format solely for his or her
own educational purposes.
   (2) He or she will not copy or duplicate the printed instructional
material for use by others.
   (c) If a college or university permits a student to directly use
the electronic version of an instructional material, the disk or file
shall be copy-protected or the college or university shall take
other reasonable precautions to ensure that students do not copy or
distribute electronic versions of instructional materials in
violation of the Copyright Revisions Act of 1976, as amended (17
U.S.C. Sec. 101 et seq.).
   (d) An individual, firm, partnership or corporation that publishes
or manufactures nonprinted instructional materials for students
attending the University of California, the California State
University, or a California Community College shall provide computer
files or other electronic versions of the nonprinted instructional
materials for use by students attending the University of California,
the California State University, or a California Community College,
subject to the same conditions set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b)
for printed instructional materials, when technology is available to
convert these nonprinted instructional materials to a format that
maintains the structural integrity of the nonprinted instructional
materials that is compatible with braille translation and speech
synthesis software.
   (e) For purposes of this section:
   (1) "Instructional material or materials" means textbooks and
other materials written and published primarily for use by students
in postsecondary instruction that are required or essential to a
student's success in a course of study in which a student with a
disability is enrolled.  The determination of which materials are
"required or essential to student success" shall be made by the
instructor of the course in consultation with the official making the
request pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) in accordance
with guidelines issued pursuant to subdivision (i).  "Instructional
material or materials" does not include nontextual mathematics and
science materials until the time software becomes commercially
available that permits the conversion of existing electronic files of
the materials into a format that is compatible with braille
translation software or alternative media for students with
disabilities.
   (2) "Printed instructional material or materials" means
instructional material or materials in book or other printed form.
   (3) "Nonprinted instructional materials" means instructional
materials in formats other than print, and includes instructional
materials that require the availability of electronic equipment in
order to be used as a learning resource, including, but not
necessarily limited to, software programs, video disks, and video and
audio tapes.
   (4) "Structural integrity" means all of the printed instructional
material, including, but not limited to, the text of the material,
sidebars, the table of contents, chapter headings and subheadings,
footnotes, indexes, glossaries, and bibliographies.  "Structural
integrity" need not include nontextual elements such as pictures,
illustrations,  graphs, or charts.  If good faith efforts fail to
produce an agreement pursuant to subdivision (a) between the
publisher or manufacturer and the university, college, or particular
campus of the university or college, as to an electronic format that
will preserve the structural integrity of the printed instructional
material, the publisher or manufacturer shall provide the
instructional material in ASCII text and shall preserve as much of
the structural integrity of the printed instructional material as
possible.
   (5) "Specialized format" means braille, audio, or digital text
that is exclusively for use by blind or other persons with
disabilities.
   (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a
university, college, or particular campus of the university or
college from assisting a student with a disability by using the
electronic version of  printed instructional material provided
pursuant to this section solely to transcribe or arrange for the
transcription of the printed instructional material into braille.  In
the event a transcription is made, the campus or college shall have
the right to share the braille copy of the printed instructional
material with other students with disabilities.
   (g) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the
Chancellor of the California State University, and the President of
the University of California may each establish one or more centers
within their respective segments to process requests for electronic
versions of instructional materials pursuant to this section.  If a
segment establishes a center or centers, each of the following shall
apply:
   (1) The colleges or campuses designated as within the jurisdiction
of a center shall submit requests for instructional material made
pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) to the center, which
shall transmit the request to the publisher or manufacturer.
   (2) If there is more than one center, each center shall make every
effort to coordinate requests within its segment.
   (3) The publisher or manufacturer of instructional material shall
be required to honor and respond to only those requests submitted
through a designated center.
   (4) If a publisher or manufacturer has responded to a request for
instructional materials by a center, or on behalf of all the centers
within a segment, all subsequent requests for these instructional
materials shall be satisfied by the center to which the request is
made.
   (h) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorize any use
of instructional materials that would constitute an infringement of
copyright under the Copyright Revision Act of 1976, as amended (17
U.S.C. Sec. 101 et seq.).
   (i) The governing boards of the California Community Colleges, the
California State University, and the University of California shall
each adopt guidelines consistent with this section for its
implementation and administration.  At a minimum, the guidelines
shall address all of the following:
   (1) The designation of materials deemed "required or essential to
student success."
   (2) The determination of the availability of technology for the
conversion of nonprinted materials pursuant to subdivision (d) and
the conversion of mathematics and science materials pursuant to
paragraph (4) of subdivision (e).
   (3) The procedures and standards relating to distribution of files
and materials pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b).
   (4) Other matters as are deemed necessary or appropriate to carry
out the purposes of this section.
   (j) Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall
be a violation of Section 54.1 of the Civil Code.




---------------------------------------------------
Cynthia D. Waddell   
ADA Coordinator
City Manager Department
City of San Jose, CA USA
801 North First Street, Room 460
San Jose, CA  95110-1704
(408)277-4034
(408)971-0134 TTY
(408)277-3885 FAX
http://www.rit.edu/~easi/webcast/cynthia.htm
http://www.aasa.dshs.wa.gov/access/waddell.htm

Received on Friday, 17 September 1999 14:27:47 UTC