HB 1246

Abstract

Public elementary and secondary schools; students; digital tools; accessibility. Requires the Department of Education to convene a work group to provide input and recommendations to the Department of Education, the Board of Education, and the General Assembly no later than November 1, 2022, regarding (i) ways in which school divisions can effectively identify and receive responsive and responsible bids from vendors to procure digital tools, including online platforms, courses, digital applications, information and communication technology services, and digital content, that comply with the federal accessibility standard and (ii) any statutory or regulatory changes that may assist school divisions to procure such digital tools that comply with such standard.

Public elementary and secondary schools; students;digital tools; accessibility. Adds several provisions relatingto the accessibility of each digital tool, defined in the bill asan online platform, a course, a digital application, information and communication technology services, and digital content, to beused in the instruction of public elementary and secondary schoolstudents, including requiring (i) the Department of Education to establishand revise when necessary guidelines for local school divisions thatgovern the purchase of accessible digital tools to be used in studentinstruction and (ii) except in certain limited circumstances, theprocurement process utilized by each local school division for thepurchase of a digital tool initiated on or after September 1, 2022,to require (a) the digital tool procured to meet or exceed the Department'sstandards; (b) each digital tool vendor to submit a voluntary productaccessibility template prepared by a third-party professional accessibilitytester to demonstrate how the digital tool conforms to the Department'sstandards and to remedy any nonconforming digital tool within 180days of receipt of notice of such nonconformity from the local schooldivision at any time during the term of the contract; and (c) eachdigital tool vendor to indemnify the local school board for liability resulting from the use of a procured digital tool that fails to meetthe relevant federal accessibility standard, including nonvisualaccess.