[Federal Register: April 27, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 82)]
[Notices]
[Page 21125-21129]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27ap01-46]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Funding Priorities for Fiscal Years (FYs)
2001-2003 for three Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects.
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SUMMARY: We propose three funding priorities under the Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program (DRRP): Strategies
for Promoting Information Technology (IT)-based Educational
Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities, Strategies for
Promoting Information Technology (IT)-based Employment and Training
Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities, and Wayfinding
Technologies for Individuals Who are Blind under the National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) for FYs 2001-2003. We
may use these priorities for competitions in FY 2001 and later years.
We take this action to focus research attention on areas of national
need. We intend these priorities to improve the rehabilitation services
and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before May 29, 2001.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed priorities should be
addressed to Donna Nangle, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., room 3414, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2645.
Comments may also be sent through the Internet: donna_nangle@ed.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Nangle. Telephone: (202) 205-
5880. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the TDD number at (202) 205-4475.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed
priorities.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed
priorities. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about these priorities in Room 3414, Switzer Building, 330 C
Street SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
[[Page 21126]]
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for these proposed priorities. If you want to
schedule an appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-
8113 or (202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
National Education Goals
These proposed priorities will address the National Education Goal
that every adult American will be literate and will possess the
knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and
exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
The authority for the program to establish research priorities by
reserving funds to support particular research activities is contained
in sections 202(g) and 204 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended (29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764). Regulations governing this program
are found in 34 CFR part 350.
We will announce the final priorities in a notice in the Federal
Register. We will determine the final priorities after considering
responses to this notice and other information available to the
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking
requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use these proposed priorities, we invite
applications through a notice published in the Federal Register.
When inviting applications we designate each priority as absolute,
competitive preference, or invitational.
The proposed priorities refer to NIDRR's Long-Range Plan that can
be accessed on the World Wide Web at: (http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/
NIDRR/#LRP).
Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program
The purpose of the program is to plan and conduct research,
demonstration projects, training, and related activities to:
(a) Develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that
maximizes the full inclusion and integration into society, employment,
independent living, family support, and economic and social self-
sufficiency of individuals with disabilities; and
(b) Improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Act.
Priorities for IT-based Employment and Education Initiatives
Background
The mission of the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is to ``generate, disseminate, and
promote the full use of new knowledge that improves substantially the
options for disabled individuals to perform regular activities in the
community, and the capacity of society to provide full opportunities
and appropriate supports for its disabled citizens'' (NIDRR Long-Range
Plan, 64 FR 68575-68614, http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/NIDRR).
Consistent with NIDRR's mission, the NIDRR long-range plan introduced
an expanded research agenda focused on elucidating the ``New Paradigm
of Disability.'' The new paradigm of disability presents a framework
for conceptualizing and understanding the interaction between
individuals and the environment and how it impacts the lives of persons
with disabilities. The dynamic person-environment relationship is
complex, encompassing both influences and consequences in a variety of
domains at the individual, institutional, and community levels. These
complex person-environment relationships are not clearly understood
although they have the potential to either facilitate community
integration and independence for individuals with disabilities or,
conversely, to serve as barriers to full participation in society,
including education and employment.
Employment is a critical factor in providing individuals with
disabilities opportunities to function independently in society.
Employment frequently engenders empowerment, inclusion, and
independence to the fullest extent possible. The National Organization
on Disability, Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities (2000)
found that only 32% of individuals with disabilities of working age
(18-64) work full or part time compared to 81% of the non-disabled
population, a difference of 49 percent. More than two-thirds of those
individuals with disabilities who are not employed say they would
prefer to be working.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that four of the top
ten fastest growing occupations over the next eight years will be in
the information technology industry (``The 10 fastest growing
occupations, 1998-2008'', Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department
of Labor, 2000, http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t06.htm).
Information technology (IT) is also projected to be the number one
industry with the fastest wage and salary employment growth through
2008 (``Career Guide to Industries 2001-01 Edition, Bureau of Labor
Statistics'', U.S. Department of Labor, pg. 4, 2000, http://
stats.bls.gov/cghome.htm,). Given the increase in IT employment
opportunities along with the flexibility these careers provide, the IT
field offers tremendous opportunities for individuals with
disabilities. One needs only to scan the daily newspapers to see the
abundance of openings for skilled IT professionals. Therefore, research
examining opportunities and barriers for individuals with disabilities
in IT-based employment is crucial in this IT driven society.
For purposes of this discussion, IT-based education and training
may occur in secondary, post-secondary, and vocational environments.
IT-based employment careers encompass the use of, but are not limited
to, high speed computers, modems, sophisticated telecommunications
networks, cable networks, intranets, the Internet, the World Wide Web,
and satellites.
In general, people with disabilities are less likely to have access
to technology. For example, 11 percent of people with disabilities aged
15 and above have access to the Internet at home, compared to 31
percent of individuals without disabilities (National Center for
Education Statistics, ``Students with disabilities in post-secondary
education: A profile of preparation, participation, and outcomes'',
NCES 199-187, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, pg. 12,
1999, http://nces.ed.gov/spider/webspider/1999187.shtml). Consequently,
many individuals with disabilities have not experienced the benefits of
using information technology to advance their education or employment
careers.
Students of all ages with disabilities encounter barriers that
limit their participation in IT-based education and training.
Environmental, attitudinal, technical, social, and financial barriers
that limit access to IT-based education and training in IT are often
referred to as the ``digital divide'' (U.S. Department of Commerce
Report, ``Falling through the Net II: New Data on the Digital Divide'',
pg. 2, 1998, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/net2/falling.html).
Studies have found that students with disabilities in grades K-12
receive the poorest exposure to science and math of any category of
students. Data comparing college students with and without disabilities
indicates that students with disabilities are underrepresented in life
sciences,
[[Page 21127]]
physical sciences, and math (National Center for Education Statistics,
``Students with disabilities in post-secondary education: A profile of
preparation, participation, and outcomes'', NCES 199-187, Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Education, pg. 12, 1999, http://nces.ed.gov/
spider/webspider/1999187.shtml). Therefore, an under-exposure to the
disciplines of science, engineering and technology increases the
likelihood that students with disabilities who seek higher education
will arrive poorly prepared to pursue educational opportunities in
these disciplines, further limiting their chances to compete for
employment in these and related areas.
Strategies to expand access to IT careers vary immensely. Private
and public partnerships may provide one mechanism for promoting skill
and knowledge acquisition and employment in the field of information
and communication technology. For instance, the DO-IT Scholars program
at the University of Washington is an example of collaboration between
educational and business partners to help students with disabilities
explore technology careers and encourage the acquisition of knowledge
and skills necessary to pursue technology careers. The National High
School and High Tech Program allows students with disabilities to
participate in ``hands on'' enrichment activities including site visits
to laboratories and manufacturing plants, mentoring with professionals
in high tech fields, and paid summer employment and internship
opportunities in high tech environments (U.S. Department of Labor,
``High School and High Tech--Chapter I--Introduction,'' Office of
Disability Employment Policy--U.S. Department of Labor, 2001, pg. 1,
http://www.dol.gov/pcepd/pubs/hsht00/chapter1.htm).
Increased knowledge and understanding of different disabilities as
well as reasonable accommodations, including assistive technologies and
access to IT, are critical to the recruitment and ongoing support of
individuals with disabilities in IT-based employment. In addition,
expanded knowledge of employee rights and responsibilities, cost
factors, legal issues, healthcare liabilities, and disability culture
will have an impact on the development of strategies used by employers
to successfully train and employ individuals with disabilities.
While individuals with disabilities are faced with barriers that
limit access to technology and related education and training, the
Internet and other information and communications technologies are
changing the way our society operates. For example, these technologies
have increased entrepreneurial and self-employment opportunities for
individuals with and without disabilities (``Career Guide to Industries
2001-01 Edition'', Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of
Labor, pg. 42, 1999, http://stats.bls.gov/cghome.htm). To encourage
growth in this sector, an examination of the factors involved in IT-
related self-employment is needed to ensure that individuals with
disabilities have access to a full-range of employment options. It is
vital that more individuals with disabilities possess the skills
necessary for employment in IT-related fields as this will greatly
facilitate their full participation in America's economic, political,
and social life.
Proposed Priority 1: Strategies for Promoting IT-Based Educational
Opportunities for Individuals With Disabilities
We propose to establish multiple research projects to develop and
evaluate IT-based education and training strategies that increase the
employment of individuals with disabilities in IT related jobs. These
projects must:
(1) Identify, develop, and evaluate strategies that assist with
overcoming barriers that limit or preclude access to IT education and
training in secondary, postsecondary, and vocational education
programs;
(2) Identify and evaluate private and public partnerships between
educational entities and businesses to provide education or skill-based
training that assist individuals with disabilities in preparing for and
securing employment in the IT industry or employment in jobs requiring
expertise and training in IT; and
(3) Develop and implement in the first year of the grant, in
consultation with the NIDRR-funded National Center for the
Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR), a plan to disseminate the
project's research results to the appropriate audiences including, but
not limited to, educators, employers, manufacturers, persons with
disabilities, disability organizations, technology service providers,
businesses, and journals.
In addition to activities proposed by the applicants to carry out
these purposes, the projects must:
Coordinate with appropriate private and federally funded
programs, such as the NIDRR-funded Community Based Rehabilitation
Research Projects on Technology for Independence and the National
Center on Accessible Education-Based Information Technology as
identified through consultation with the NIDRR project officer; and
Involve individuals with disabilities and underserved
populations in all aspects of this project.
Proposed Priority 2: Strategies for Promoting IT-based Employment and
Training Opportunities for Individuals With Disabilities
We propose to establish a project that will conduct research on IT-
based employment and training strategies to identify barriers at the
systems and individual level and to identify and evaluate effective
strategies for promoting increased employment opportunities for
individuals with disabilities. This project must:
(1) Identify and evaluate IT-based training and employment
recruitment, hiring and placement strategies, including entrepreneurial
opportunities, that promote successful employment for persons with
disabilities in the IT industry;
(2) Identify, develop, and evaluate strategies to assist with
overcoming barriers that limit opportunities for advanced skill
development and promotions in jobs requiring significant IT knowledge
and skills (including training for individuals currently working in IT
industry and those in jobs requiring significant expertise with IT);
(3) Develop and evaluate training programs to inform employers,
educators, and individuals with disabilities about effective strategies
that will assist with overcoming barriers for IT-based training and
improve IT based employment opportunities; and
(4) Develop and implement in the first year of the grant, in
consultation with the NIDRR-funded National Center for the
Dissemination of Disability Research (NCDDR), a plan to disseminate the
project's research results to the appropriate audiences including, but
not limited to, educators, employers, manufacturers, persons with
disabilities, disability organizations, technology service providers,
businesses, and journals.
In addition to activities proposed by the applicant to carry out
these purposes, the project must:
Coordinate with appropriate private and federally funded
programs, such as the NIDRR-funded Community Based Rehabilitation
Research Projects on Technology for Independence, Projects with
Industry (PWI), as identified through consultation with the NIDRR
project officer; and
[[Page 21128]]
Involve individuals with disabilities and underserved
populations in all aspects of this project.
Proposed Priority 3: Wayfinding Technologies for Individuals Who Are
Blind
Background. Traveling independently without the use of sight
presents certain challenges for some individuals and significant
limitations for others. Typical approaches used to reduce problems
associated with independent travel include environmental features that
provide audible or tactile equivalents of information available
visually to sighted pedestrians, training for individuals who are blind
or visually impaired, and the provision of devices to aid in
wayfinding.
Wayfinding refers to techniques used by people who are blind or
visually impaired as they move from place to place independently and
safely. Wayfinding is typically divided into two categories:
orientation and mobility. Orientation concerns the ability for one to
monitor his or her position in relationship to the environment; and
mobility refers to one's ability to travel safely, detecting and
avoiding obstacles and other potential hazards. In general terms,
wayfinding is the ability to; know where you are, where you are headed,
and how best to get there; recognize when you have reached your
destination; and find your way out--all accomplished in a safe and
independent manner.
On September 28, 1999, the Interagency Committee on Disability
Research (ICDR), Subcommittee on Technology, sponsored a workshop to
explore the state-of-the-art of wayfinding technology and to identify
research and development activities that could improve the wayfinding
capabilities of individuals who are blind or visually impaired. A panel
of researchers, supported by the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the
National Science Foundation, and the Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board, described the state of current technology as
well as ongoing research in the field. A panel of individuals who are
blind or visually impaired provided consumer perspectives. A common
theme expressed by the consumer panel was that newly developed
wayfinding technologies should supplement, and not supplant, already
accepted mobility aids such as white canes and guide dogs. Some
expressed concern that individuals could become too dependent on
electronic travel aids and lose their ability (or readiness) to travel
elsewhere. However, the panel also expressed the need for better
technical and environmental solutions that provide location and
mobility orientation for blind individuals at critical points in their
daily activities. (http://www.ncddr.org/icdr/icdr_wayfinding.html)
People who are blind or visually impaired rely heavily on their
senses to gather information about their surroundings, then use their
cognitive abilities, especially reasoning and memory, to determine what
the sensory information ``means'' for spatial orientation. Typically
individuals use auditory, tactile, olfactory and kinesthetic feedback
as they move about and associate certain sensory and perceptual
experiences with locations along a route. The quality and usefulness of
sensory information depends in part on how the individual who is blind
or visually impaired perceives the information and the specificity of
the information provided (Blasch, B., ``An Overview of Wayfinding
Issues and Technology,'' presented at the Interagency Committee on
Disability Research, Subcommittee on Technology Wayfinding Technology
Workshop, September 28, 1999).
Blind pedestrians often experience difficulty navigating where
there is free flowing traffic such as in parking lots, malls and office
complexes, campuses, and roads constructed to keep traffic flowing.
They frequently find it difficult and dangerous to obtain information
needed to cross at traffic intersections because of noise, intermittent
traffic flow, veering due to little or no acoustic guidelines or the
street being too wide, and intersections that offset from one another.
Conventional traffic signals often complicate the situation. In
contrast, intersections equipped with accessible pedestrian signal
(APS) technologies (e.g., audible or vibrotactile information sources)
have been shown to be helpful to blind and visually impaired
pedestrians.
Another problem stems from a growing trend of using free-flowing
roundabout intersections to move traffic quickly and safely.
Roundabouts, also referred to as traffic circles, are defined as
circular intersections typically with a center island and no traffic
signals. Many traffic engineers feel that roundabouts increase safety
because vehicles: (1) must yield on entry to a roundabout; (2) rarely
travel perpendicular to one another: and (3) travel at relatively low
rates of speed while in roundabouts (Guth, D., ``Wayfinding at Modern
Roundabouts,'' presented at the Interagency Committee on Disability
Research, Subcommittee on Technology Wayfinding Technology Workshop,
September 28, 1999). However, much of the planning efforts for
roundabouts have neglected the wayfinding requirements and as a result,
blind or visually impaired pedestrians have reported difficulty with
perceiving gaps in traffic that are sufficient to cross safely at high-
volume roundabouts (National Safety Council, ``Pedestrian Accidents,''
National Safety Council Accident Facts (Injury Statistics), 1998). (See
http://www.nsc.org/Irs/stainfo/af80.html)
Due to tremendous advances in electronic and computer technologies,
there is great potential for development of new electronic travel aids
(ETAs). Ubiquitous computing, Global Positioning Systems, wearable
computers, wireless connectivity, microelectronic mechanical systems,
and new interface technologies are all examples of technological
advances that could be incorporated into a new generation of ETAs and
ultimately improve the wayfinding skills of individuals who are blind
or visually impaired. For example: traffic control buttons could be
programmed to be interactive with a wearable device; digital compasses
could aid users with alignment and veering; accessible digital maps
could provide blind pedestrians with information regarding street
names, addresses, and businesses; and sensor technology could help
blind pedestrians navigate hallways in large buildings and correct
veering in open spaces (i.e., malls, parks, transit plazas, etc.)
(Ross, D., ``Integrating Current Wayfinding Technology,'' presented at
the Interagency Committee on Disability Research, Subcommittee on
Technology Wayfinding Technology Workshop, September 28, 1999).
However, there is little evidence that advances in electronic and
computer technologies have been incorporated into new ETAs.
Proposed Priority 3: Wayfinding Technologies for Individuals Who Are
Blind
We propose to establish a project to investigate wayfinding
strategies, designs, environmental features, and electronic information
and travel aids that will enable blind and visually impaired
pedestrians to safely and independently navigate their surroundings
including traffic intersections and roundabouts. The project must:
(a) Identify, assess, and evaluate current and emerging needs, and
barriers to meeting those needs, that affect the wayfinding abilities
of blind and visually impaired pedestrians to safely, and
independently, navigate
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their surroundings, including traffic intersections and roundabouts;
(b) Based upon the activities described in paragraph (a),
investigate, evaluate, and develop new planning strategies,
environmental features, and electronic travel aids that can be used by
blind and visually impaired pedestrians to safely and independently,
navigate their surroundings, including traffic intersections and
roundabouts; and
(c) Develop and explore various strategies for strengthening
partnerships with industry to facilitate the development and
implementation of new designs, technologies and applications that are
appropriate for blind and visually impaired pedestrians to use for
wayfinding.
In addition to activities proposed by the applicant to carry out
these purposes, the project must:
Collaborate on research projects of mutual interest with
relevant projects such as the NIDRR-funded RERCs on Low Vision and
Blindness and Information Technology Access as identified through
consultation with the NIDRR project officer;
Collaborate with relevant Federal agencies responsible for
the administration of public laws that address access to and usability
of traffic intersection for individuals with disabilities such as the
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the U.S.
Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration, Federal
Transit Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, and other relevant Federal agencies identified by
NIDRR; and
Involve individuals who are blind and visually impaired in
all aspects of this project.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR part 350.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 762(g) and 764(a).
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(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.133A, Disability
and Rehabilitation Research Project and Centers Program)
Dated: April 10, 2001.
Francis V. Corrigan,
Deputy Director, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research.
[FR Doc. 01-10499 Filed 4-26-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P