HB2009 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 09464 NHT 29662 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB2009

Introduced 2/26/2007, by Rep. Michael K. Smith

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/28-21

from Ch. 122, par. 28-21

Amends the School Code. Provides that the State Board of Education shall require a publisher of a textbook to furnish an accessible electronic file set of contracted print material to the National Instructional Materials Access Center, which shall then be available to the State Board of Education or its authorized user for the purpose of conversion to an accessible format for use by a child with a disability and for distribution to local education agencies (instead of requiring a publisher to furnish to the State Board computer diskettes from which Braille versions of the textbook can be produced and a copy of the textbook to duplicate into Braille, large print, or tape). Provides that the publisher shall provide each local education agency with a confirmation that the accessible electronic file set has been furnished to the National Instructional Materials Access Center. Effective July 1, 2007.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 28-21 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/28-21) (from Ch. 122, par. 28-21)

Sec. 28-21. The State Board of Education shall require each publisher of any textbook that is listed for use by the State Board of Education under this Article or that is furnished at public expense under Sections 28-14 through 28-19 or that is provided by loan free of charge to any student under Section 18-17 to furnish, as provided in this Section, an accessible electronic file set of contracted print material to the National Instructional Materials Access Center, which shall then be available to the State Board of Education or its authorized user for the purpose of conversion to an accessible format for use by a child with a disability and for distribution to local education agencies. An "accessible electronic file" means a file that conforms to specifications of the national file format adopted by the United States Department of Education : (i) computer diskettes for literary subjects in the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) from which Braille versions of the textbook can be produced, and (ii) a copy of the textbook for those literary subjects with copyright permission to duplicate into Braille, large print, or tape. The copy of the textbook with copyright permission shall be furnished by the publisher to the State Board of Education within 15 days after the publisher receives the request of the State Board of Education for that material. The computer diskettes for literary subjects in ASCII from which Braille versions of the textbook can be produced shall be furnished by the publisher to the State Board of Education or its designee or designees, for those students identified as Braille readers, within 90 days after the publisher receives the request of the State Board of Education for those computer diskettes. Each publisher shall provide each local education agency with a confirmation that the accessible electronic file set has been furnished to the National Instructional Materials Access Center of any such textbook shall also be required to furnish to the State Board of Education or its designee or designees, for those students identified as Braille readers, computer diskettes in ASCII for nonliterary subjects, including natural sciences, computer science, mathematics, and music, when Braille specialty code translation software is available.

(Source: P.A. 87-1071.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2007.