LRB-0169/2
GMM:wlj:nwn
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
July 26, 2007 - Introduced by Representatives Seidel, Berceau, Grigsby, Hebl,
Hintz, Sheridan
and Zepnick, cosponsored by Senators Roessler, Schultz
and Wirch. Referred to Committee on Colleges and Universities.
AB469,1,4 1An Act to amend 106.52 (1) (e) 1.; and to create 106.52 (3) (a) 6. and 106.57 of
2the statutes; relating to: accessible instructional materials for students with
3disabilities enrolled in the University of Wisconsin System or the technical
4college system.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current state law, the University of Wisconsin System (UW System) and
the Technical College System (TCS) may not deny to a student admission to,
participation in, or the benefits of, or discriminate against a student in, any service,
program, course, or facility because of the student's disability. In addition, under
current federal law, a college, university, or other postsecondary institution,
including a private postsecondary institution, may not exclude a student from
participation in, deny a student the benefits of, or subject a student to discrimination
under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Federal
regulations specify that a postsecondary institution receiving federal financial
assistance must ensure that no student with a disability is denied the benefits of,
excluded from participation in, or otherwise subjected to discrimination because of
the absence of educational auxiliary aids for students with impaired sensory,
manual, or speaking skills.
This bill directs the TCS Board and the Board of Regents of the UW System
jointly to do all of the following:
1. Subject to the availability of funds, establish at a location that best meets
the needs of students with disabilities enrolled at institutions or college campuses

within the UW System or at technical colleges within the technical college system
(institutions of higher education) a state repository for the purpose of collecting
instructional materials in electronic and alternative formats and facilitating timely
access to those materials by students with disabilities. "Student with a disability"
is defined in the bill as a student who is blind or visually impaired, or who has a
specific learning disability or other disability affecting the activity of reading, and
who needs reasonable accommodations to read. "Alternative format" is defined in
the bill to mean Braille, large print texts, audio recordings, digital texts, digital
talking books, or any other medium or format for the presentation of instructional
materials, other than standard print, that a student with a disability needs to make
those materials accessible to the student.
2. Develop policies and procedures to ensure to the maximum extent possible
that a student with a disability has access to instructional material in an appropriate
alternative format within the first week of the class for which the material is
required.
Under the bill, if a state repository is established, the state repository is
required to serve as the central point for processing all requests for instructional
materials in electronic format or alternative format from institutions of higher
education and, in performing that function, to do all of the following:
1. Compile and maintain a collection of instructional materials in electronic
format and alternative format received from publishers, institutions of higher
education, and other sources.
2. Receive requests for instructional materials in electronic format or
alternative format from institutions of higher education.
3. If the instructional material requested is available in the state repository's
collection or is otherwise available to the state repository, provide a copy of the
instructional material to the requester.
4. If the instructional material requested is not available in the state
repository's collection or is otherwise not available, request the publisher to provide
the instructional material in electronic format and obtain permission from the
publisher to convert or arrange for the conversion of that instructional material into
an alternative format.
5. Receive instructional material in electronic format from publishers, convert
or arrange for the conversion of that instructional material into an alternative
format, and provide that alternative format version to the requesting institution of
higher education at no additional cost.
If a state repository is established, the bill permits an institution of higher
education, on behalf of a student with a disability, to request the state repository to
provide instructional material in electronic format or alternative format by
submitting a request to the state repository. The bill requires the state repository
to satisfy the request either by providing a copy that is available in the state
repository's collection or is otherwise available to the state repository or, if a copy is
not available from those sources, by requesting the publisher to provide the material
in electronic format. If it is necessary for the state repository to request instructional
material in electronic format from the publisher, within 15 working days after

receipt of the request the publisher must provide the instructional material to the
state repository at no additional cost.
Under the bill, a request for instructional material in electronic format must
certify that: 1) a copy of the instructional material in a standard format has been
purchased for use by a student with a disability; 2) the student has a disability that
prevents the student from using instructional material in a standard format; and 3)
the instructional material is for use by the student in connection with a course at the
institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled. In addition, the
publisher may require the student to sign a statement agreeing that the student will
use the electronic copy of the instructional material solely for his or her own
educational purposes and that the student will not copy or distribute the
instructional material for use by others.
Under the bill, instructional material provided by a publisher in electronic
format must: 1) maintain the structural integrity of the original instructional
material, which means that all of the information provided in printed instructional
material, including the text of sidebars; the table of contents; chapter headings and
subheadings; footnotes; indexes; glossaries; bibliographies; nontextual elements,
such as pictures, illustrations, graphs, charts, and screenshots; and any other data
that are pertinent to the instructional material, is included when that printed
instructional material is provided in electronic format; 2) be compatible with
commonly used Braille translation or speech synthesis software; 3) include
corrections and revisions as necessary; and 4) be in an electronic format that is
mutually agreed to between the publisher and the requester or, if the publisher and
the requester cannot agree to a format, be in a format that is suitable for the creation
of instructional material in an alternative format and that maintains the structural
integrity of the original material as much as possible.
The bill permits an institution of higher education to use instructional material
in electronic format provided under the bill solely to convert that material into an
alternative format. The bill also permits an institution of higher education that
converts instructional material into an alternative format to share the alternative
format version of the material with the state repository, with any other institution
of higher education that is serving a student with a disability, or with an entity that
is authorized under the federal Copyright Act to reproduce and distribute previously
published works in alternative formats exclusively for use by persons with
disabilities and that commonly provides instructional materials in alternative
formats to students enrolled in institutions of higher education.
Finally, current law prohibits any person from denying to another the full and
equal enjoyment of any public place of accommodation or amusement because of
disability (public accommodations law). This bill provides that a publisher of
instructional material is considered to be a public place of accommodation or
amusement and that any publisher that refuses to provide instructional material as
required under the bill is in violation of the public accommodations law.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB469, s. 1 1Section 1. 106.52 (1) (e) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB469,4,82 106.52 (1) (e) 1. "Public place of accommodation or amusement" shall be
3interpreted broadly to include, but not be limited to, places of business or recreation;
4lodging establishments; restaurants; taverns; barber or cosmetologist, aesthetician,
5electrologist or manicuring establishments; nursing homes; clinics; hospitals;
6cemeteries; publishers, as defined in s. 106.57 (1) (h); and any place where
7accommodations, amusement, goods, or services are available either free or for a
8consideration, subject to subd. 2.
AB469, s. 2 9Section 2. 106.52 (3) (a) 6. of the statutes is created to read:
AB469,4,1110 106.52 (3) (a) 6. Refuse to provide instructional material in electronic format
11in violation of s. 106.57 (3) (a).
AB469, s. 3 12Section 3. 106.57 of the statutes is created to read:
AB469,4,14 13106.57 Postsecondary education; accessible instructional material for
14students with disabilities. (1)
Definitions. In this section:
AB469,4,1815 (a) "Alternative format" means Braille, large print texts, audio recordings,
16digital texts, digital talking books, or any other medium or format for the
17presentation of instructional materials, other than standard print, that a student
18with a disability needs to make those materials accessible to the student.
AB469,4,1919 (b) "Board" means the technical college system board.
AB469,4,2120 (c) "Board of Regents" means the Board of Regents of the University of
21Wisconsin System.
AB469,5,3
1(d) "Institution of higher education" means an institution or college campus
2within the University of Wisconsin System or a technical college within the technical
3college system.
AB469,5,64 (e) "Instructional material" means any material that the instructor of a course
5of study at an institution of higher education includes in the syllabus of that course
6of study.
AB469,5,137 (f) "Maintain structural integrity" means to include all of the information
8provided in the original printed instructional material, including the text of sidebars;
9the table of contents; chapter headings and subheadings; footnotes; indexes;
10glossaries; bibliographies; nontextual elements, such as pictures, illustrations,
11graphs, charts, and screenshots; and any other data that are pertinent to the
12instructional material, when that printed instructional material is provided in
13electronic format.
AB469,5,1714 (g) "Nonprinted instructional material" means instructional material in a
15format other than print, including instructional material that requires the
16availability of electronic equipment, such as a computer software program,
17videodisc, videotape, or audiotape, to be used as a learning resource.
AB469,5,1918 (h) "Printed instructional material" means instructional material in a book or
19other printed form.
AB469,5,2120 (i) "Publisher" means a person that publishes or manufactures instructional
21material.
AB469,5,2322 (j) "State repository" means the state repository for instructional materials
23established under sub. (2) (a) 1.
AB469,6,224 (k) "Student with a disability" means a student enrolled in an institution of
25higher education who is blind or visually impaired, or who has a specific learning

1disability or other disability affecting the activity of reading, and who needs
2reasonable accommodations to read.
AB469,6,43 (L) "Working day" means a day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, a holiday
4designated under s. 230.35 (4) (a), or a legal holiday under federal law.
AB469,6,6 5(2) State repository. (a) The board and the board of regents shall jointly under
6s. 20.901 (4) do all of the following:
AB469,6,127 1. Subject to the availability of funds, establish a state repository for the
8purpose of collecting instructional materials in electronic and alternative formats
9and facilitating timely access to those materials by students with disabilities. The
10board and the board of regents shall jointly determine the location of the state
11repository so as to best meet the needs of students with disabilities enrolled at
12institutions of higher education in this state.
AB469,6,1613 2. Develop policies and procedures to ensure to the maximum extent possible
14that a student with a disability has access to instructional material in an appropriate
15alternative format within the first week of the class for which the material is
16required.
AB469,6,2017 (b) If a state repository is established under sub. (2) (a) 1., the state repository
18shall serve as the central point for processing all requests for instructional materials
19in electronic format or alternative format from institutions of higher education under
20sub. (3) (a) 1. and, in performing that function, shall do all of the following:
AB469,6,2321 1. Compile and maintain a collection of instructional materials in electronic
22format and alternative format received from publishers, institutions of higher
23education, and other sources.
AB469,6,2524 2. Receive requests for instructional materials in electronic format or
25alternative format from institutions of higher education under sub. (3) (a) 1.
AB469,7,3
13. If the instructional material requested is available in the state repository's
2collection or is otherwise available to the state repository, provide a copy of the
3instructional material to the requester.
AB469,7,84 4. If the instructional material requested is not available in the state
5repository's collection or is otherwise not available, request the publisher to provide
6the instructional material in electronic format under sub. (3) (a) 1. and obtain
7permission from the publisher to convert or arrange for the conversion of that
8instructional material into an alternative format.
AB469,7,129 5. Receive instructional material in electronic format from publishers under
10sub. (3) (a) 1., convert or arrange for the conversion of that instructional material into
11an alternative format, and provide the alternative format version to the requesting
12institution of higher education at no additional cost.
AB469,7,1713 (c) If a publisher has previously responded to a request from the state
14repository for instructional material in electronic format under sub. (3) (a) 1., the
15state repository shall satisfy all subsequent requests for the material from an
16institution of higher education. On request of a publisher, the state repository shall
17provide to the publisher all of the following:
AB469,7,2018 1. A summary of all instructional materials published by that publisher that
19the state repository has provided in electronic format or alternative format to
20institutions of higher education from its holdings.
AB469,7,2221 2. Copies of requests for instructional materials published by that publisher
22that the state repository has received from institutions of higher education.
AB469,8,523 (d) In its biennial report under s. 15.04 (1) (d), the Board of Regents shall
24include an assessment of the need for technical assistance, training, and other
25support to increase the availability and effective use of instructional materials in

1alternative formats by students with disabilities enrolled in the University of
2Wisconsin System. In its biennial report under s. 15.04 (1) (d), the board shall include
3an assessment of the need for technical assistance, training, and other support to
4increase the availability and effective use of instructional materials in alternative
5formats by students with disabilities enrolled in the technical college system.
AB469,8,8 6(3) Provision of instructional materials in electronic or alternative
7format.
(a) If a state repository is established under sub. (2) (a) 1., all of the following
8shall apply:
AB469,8,189 1. An institution of higher education, on behalf of a student with a disability,
10may request the state repository to provide instructional material in electronic
11format or alternative format by submitting a request that complies with par. (b) and
12with any requirement imposed by the publisher under par. (c) to the state repository,
13and the state repository shall satisfy the request as provided in sub. (2) (b) 3. to 5.
14If it is necessary for the state repository to request instructional material in
15electronic format from the publisher, within 15 working days after receipt of the
16request the publisher, subject to par. (e), shall provide the instructional material in
17an electronic format that complies with par. (d) to the state repository at no
18additional cost.
AB469,8,2319 2. All requests to publishers for instructional materials in electronic format
20from institutions of higher education shall be made through the state repository. A
21publisher is required to honor and respond only to those requests for instructional
22materials in electronic format from institutions of higher education that are made
23through the state repository.
AB469,9,724 (b) A request under par. (a) for instructional material in electronic format or
25alternative format shall be prepared and signed by the coordinator of services for

1students with disabilities at an institution of higher education or by another
2employee of an institution of higher education who is responsible for monitoring
3compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 USC 12101 to 12213,
4or the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC 701 to 796L, by a representative
5of the division of vocational rehabilitation in the department on behalf of an
6institution of higher education, or by a representative of the state repository on
7behalf of an institution of higher education, and shall certify all of the following:
AB469,9,108 1. That a copy of the instructional material in standard format has been
9purchased for use by a student with a disability by the student or by the institution
10of higher education in which the student is enrolled.
AB469,9,1211 2. That the student has a disability that prevents the student from using
12instructional material in standard format.
AB469,9,1413 3. That the instructional material is for use by the student in connection with
14a course at the institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled.
AB469,9,1715 (c) A publisher may require a request under par. (a) to be accompanied by a
16statement signed by the student or, if the student is a minor, the student's parent,
17guardian, or legal custodian agreeing to all of the following:
AB469,9,1918 1. That the student will use the instructional material solely for his or her own
19educational purposes.
AB469,9,2120 2. That the student will not copy or distribute the instructional material for use
21by others.
AB469,9,2322 (d) Instructional material provided by a publisher in electronic format shall
23meet all of the following requirements:
AB469,9,2524 1. Maintain the structural integrity of the original instructional material,
25except that this requirement does not apply to nontextual instructional material

1unless technology is available to maintain the structural integrity of the nontextual
2instructional material.
AB469,10,43 2. Be compatible with commonly used Braille translation or speech synthesis
4software.
AB469,10,55 3. Include corrections and revisions as necessary.
AB469,10,126 4. Be in an electronic format that is mutually agreed to between the publisher
7and the requester. If good faith efforts fail to produce an agreement as to an
8electronic format that will maintain the structural integrity of the original
9instructional material, the publisher shall provide the instructional material in an
10electronic format that is suitable for the creation of instructional material in
11alternative format and that maintains the structural integrity of the original
12instructional material as much as much as possible.
AB469,10,2013 (e) If providing instructional material in electronic format within 15 working
14days after receipt of a request under par. (a) 1. would impose an undue burden on a
15publisher, the publisher shall, within those 15 working days, submit a statement to
16the requester certifying the date by which the publisher expects to transmit or
17deliver the instructional material. If a publisher has previously responded to a
18request from the state repository for instructional material in electronic format, the
19state repository shall satisfy all subsequent requests for that material from an
20institution of higher education.
AB469,11,6 21(4) Use of instructional materials in electronic format. (a) An institution
22of higher education may assist a student with a disability by using instructional
23material provided by the state repository or a publisher in electronic format solely
24to convert or arrange for the conversion of that material into an alternative format.
25If an institution of higher education converts or arranges for the conversion of that

1material into an alternative format, the institution of higher education may share
2the alternative format version of the material with the state repository, with any
3other institution of higher education that is serving a student with a disability, or
4with an authorized entity, as defined in 17 USC 121 (c) (1), that commonly provides
5instructional materials in alternative formats to students enrolled in institutions of
6higher education.
AB469,11,127 (b) If an institution of higher education permits a student with a disability to
8directly use instructional material in electronic format, the disc or file of the
9electronic format version shall be copy protected, or the institution of higher
10education shall take reasonable precautions to ensure that the student does not copy
11or distribute the electronic format version in violation of the federal Copyright Act,
1217 USC 101 to 1332.
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