If you don't follow Michael Barbour's Virtual School Meanderings you missed this post. He has posted a press release from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights about a settlement with the Virtual Community School of Ohio. And, towards the bottom of the page, there's the announcement of a settlement with the South Carolina Virtual Charter.
Both of these compliance reports should be very informative for all online education programs, and also for anyone doing blended education. The findings are the first real indication of what constitutes access under Federal civil rights legislation. In particular Section 504, 508 and Title II of ADA.
I'm writing a new publication for iNACOL that will help focus online education on their responsibilites as relates to access and equity.
Higher education institutions are not immune, and most in fact, have not been meeting their legal obligations based on OCR findings. They should pay attention in particular to findings against the University of Montana. You can read about that here.
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