Accessibility: Unlocking Our Potential

[John Locke]

In this post, we showcase the 2011 Florida State University suit filed in U.S.
District Court over inaccessible math courses. Design Science's article, “Blind
Students Sue Florida State University over Inaccessible Math Courses,”
<https://web.archive.org/web/20170427150640/http://accessiblemath.dessci.com/2011/07/blind-students-sue-florida-state-university-over-inaccessible-math-courses.html>
 discusses how two visually impaired FSU students sued the University,
asserting that the school disregarded government and state law by not
making math classes accessible to them.

Although there are several issues engaged with the suit, two viewpoints
include math accessibility: both the math textbook and the math e-learning
system (called eGrade, which is apparently no longer in use by FSU) were
inaccessible to blind students.

The suit claims the students did not have the option to complete math-related
courses needed for progress toward their degrees. Both had to pay to retake
the courses that, because of FSU's discrimination, they couldn't pass.

The suit further contends that FSU relied on a human reader as one of the
primary accommodations for access to math materials, but that the reader
provided was a work-study student who had no mastery of necessary advanced
math concepts needed to read or describe the course materials.

This situation could have been avoided if FSU was able to communicate
better with
disabled students, understand their needs, and work toward more effective
solutions. Fortunately, the lawsuit brought to light the difficulties that
visually impaired individuals face. Like most educational institutions, FSU
has made great strides over the past decade to resolve accessibility issues.

At SUNY Plattsburgh, *Student Accessibility Services (SAS)*
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/student-support/accessibility-services.html>
works
with students and faculty to make sure resources are accessible to all
students with disabilities. Information Technology Services (ITS) is deeply
involved. Whenever an electronic information technology solution is
warranted, our Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Unit is ready to work
with SAS in order to accommodate the student's needs.

The Electronic Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Committee, in
conjunction with Student Support Services, also plays an important role in
improving accessibility all over campus. We work to raise awareness
among students, staff, and faculty with respect to the importance of
accessibility, to help ensure that the entire campus community receives the
appropriate accommodations and full access to the college experience.

Be sure to watch the Faculty Digest every other Friday for our bi-monthly
articles, updates, and activities. For more information about our committee
and the work in which we are engaged, email Dr. John Locke at
jlock004 at plattsburgh.edu.

Regards,

John Locke, Ph.D.
EIT Accessibility Officer

Yasmina Elgendy
TEL/EIT Intern
Majors in Accounting and Management Information Systems
Minor in Finance
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