Tell Congress to Keep Bookshare Free for All Students

Bookshare is a book distribution program that has served people with disabilities for over 20 years. It serves students with multiple disabilities across the country for no fee. It has been funded through the Education, Technology, Media, and Materials Program (Ed Tech). Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children are ensured access to accessible education materials in an accessible format.

For many years now, accessible materials for students have been provided by Bookshare. The Ed Tech program provides funding to procure the materials from Bookshare. The budget proposed by Congress will eliminate this funding. What the proposed budget would do is to split the program into a separate, fifty-state model, where each state provides the books on a state-by-state basis. Such a model will be detrimental for students with disabilities. Bookshare has been providing materials for children for more than two decades and has an accessible platform to do so. Congress must maintain funding for Bookshare to serve students with disabilities.

Dear [Lawmaker],

In the new appropriation bills, a cut to funding for Bookshare services through the Education, Technology, Media, and Materials Program (Ed Tech) has been proposed. This program provides vital services for children with disabilities to procure materials in accessible formats so they can be successful in the classroom. A new proposal calls for such services to be separated into fifty separate material distributors at a state-by-state practice. However, Bookshare, a long-present platform, has a superb reputation in providing academic materials to students with an easy-to-use platform.

I urge Congress to continue appropriating resources through the Ed Tech program to maintain access to Bookshare for students with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to provide accessible materials to enable the students to be successful in school. Bookshare has a positive reputation in provided necessary materials to students. I urge you to ensure that the funding for Bookshare under the Ed Tech program continues.

Sincerely,
______

Prefix

First Name

Last Name

Phone

Address

Zip