Agreement on providing alternative textbooks means better access for California community college students with disabilities

From PRnewswire:

WASHINGTON -- California community college students with disabilities such as blindness and dyslexia now have quicker and easier access to alternative college textbooks, as the result of a new agreement to provide the alternative textbooks to the state's 112 community colleges.

The agreement provides the Alternative Text Production Center (ATPC), a program of the California Community College Chancellor's Office, with a membership in the AccessText Network, a national online database of alternative college materials. The AccessText Network makes it quicker and easier to get the alternative electronic textbooks to students with disabilities such as blindness, dyslexia, or physical impairments that prevent the use of traditional hardcopy textbooks.

"For years California has been a leader in the field of providing accessible materials for students," said Tom Allen, president and chief executive officer of the Association of American Publishers, who donated almost $1 million to launch the AccessText Network. "With the ATPC membership in the AccessText Network for California's community college students, the state will once again serve as an example to the nation on how to ensure all students are able to achieve their higher education goals."

The AccessText Network is operated by the Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC) in Atlanta. The Network has more than 500 colleges and universities in 49 states enrolled to participate in the system. There are more than 360,000 textbook titles available through the Network.

Christopher Lee, director of AMAC, said the new network is fulfilling orders for students in about four days on average. "In the past, the system was so slow and bureaucratic that students with disabilities were often still waiting for their alternative textbooks several weeks into the semester," Lee said. "That's an unacceptable scenario for any student striving to succeed in college."

An estimated 123,800 Californians ages 16-20 have a disability, totaling 4 percent of the state's population of young people either at or nearing college age, according to the most recent statistics compiled by Cornell University.

"Textbook publishers are dedicated to helping all students succeed," Allen said. "We are proud to see the AccessText Network being utilized in the California Community College System to make higher education a reality for thousands of students in the state with disabilities."