A settlement has been reached between three universities that supported Amazon.com’s popular Kindle electronic book reader and the federal government. The U.S. Department of Justice settled with Case Western in Cleveland, Ohio; Pace University in New York City; and Reed College in Portland, Ore., after they agreed to no longer use or promote the Kindle DX or any other electronic reader until the devices are accessible to blind students.
The universities were part of an Amazon.com pilot project to use the Kindle DX in the classroom. Six schools participated in the project.
The three universities agreed that if they use e-book readers, they will be sure that students with vision disabilities can acquire the same materials, participate in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as other students.
“Advancing technology is systematically changing the way universities approach education, but we must be sure that emerging technologies offer individuals with disabilities the same opportunities as other students,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez. “These agreements underscore the importance of full and equal educational opportunities for everyone.”
The DOJ first made a case against the schools after the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in Baltimore, Md., and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) in Arlington, Va., filed complaints about violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Amazon’s popular e-reader includes a function to convert text to speech, which could be used by someone with impaired vision. The device, however, does not have text-to-speech features in its menu bar or on its navigation controls.
The Justice Department argued that without access to the menus, blind students have no way of knowing which book to select or how to use the Kindle DX browser. Others have also complained that the software used to convert text to speech is not always clear.
Amazon Vice President Ian…