Accessibility News
Kentucky Promotes Use of MathML in Textbook Adoption
Louisville, KY - May 7, 2008 - The Kentucky Department of Education announced
today that the state will grant
preferential procurement status to math textbook titles submitted by publishers
who use Mathematical Markup Language
(MathML). Kentucky has a strong history of being an educational
trend-setter, especially when it comes to accessibility. The move by the
Kentucky Department of Education to put MathML into the state's preferential procurement
status language is expected to be followed soon by other states that are looking
for ways of assuring their students with disabilities have effective access to math
textbooks.
The new adoption language will impact textbooks submitted for the 2009 math
adoption. This adoption cycle will cover math textbooks that will be sold in
Kentucky beginning in July 2009, and first used in the classroom during the
2009-2010 school year. In order to qualify for preferential procurement status,
publishers will be required to use MathML to mark up math equations within
NIMAS-compliant electronic files submitted for the creation of student-ready
digital materials.
MathML provides an unprecedented level of accessibility for students with
disabilities who use assistive technologies. MathML contains sufficient
information and structure to provide support for both visual display and
alternative access means such as synthetic speech and braille. Making digital
versions of textbook materials with MathML available to students will enable the
user to set different verbosity levels, adjust for the user's native language,
customize the way math is spoken, or allow for the choice of various braille
math formats, depending upon the student's needs and the type of assistive
technology used.
Further information on Kentucky's math textbook adoption process, as well as
a copy of the draft bid packet made available to publishers may be found on the
Kentucky Department of Education website.
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