National Federation of the Blind files discrimination complaint against Penn State

The Chronicle of Higher Education's Wired Campus blog reports that the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has filed a complaint with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, requesting an investigation of Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) for violating the civil rights of blind students and faculty.  According to an NFB press release, the complaint was filed because a variety of computer- and technology-based services and Web sites at Penn State are inaccessible to blind students and faculty and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires public state universities to offer equal access to their programs and services. The NFB cites accessibility problems that  include Penn State’s course-management software, library catalogue, and departmental Web sites. Even the Web site for its Office of Disability Services is not fully accessible to the blind, said the federation. The official complaint is available on the NFB website (7 page Word document).