Legislation Authored by Assemblyman Cusick and Senator Lanza Aids the Disabled Community

Disabled Advocates State-Wide in Support of the Legislation

Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid Island) and Senator Andrew Lanza (R- Richmond) announced today a bill they authored (A.4989/S.4585) has been signed into law by the Governor (Chapter 194). The bill would reauthorize the current law that requires manufacturers of printed instructional materials for college students to provide electronic formats of printed instructional material to be available for purchase for students with disabilities. 

      Under the provisions of the bill, electronic versions of the printed instructional materials would be required to maintain the structural integrity of its printed versions, be compatible with commonly used Braille translation and speech synthesis software, include corrections and revisions as necessary, and be available at a cost that is comparable to the printed version.

Cusick, a member of the Assembly Higher Education committee as well as Past Chair of the New York State Task Force on People with Disabilities introduced the bill to ensure that students with disabilities have full access to instructional materials in suitable alternate formats for use in colleges in New York State.  The legislation extends current law provisions for an additional three years. 

  “I'd like to thank Assemblyman Cusick for his leadership on this important bill that will ensure residents with disabilities continue to have full access to the educational materials they need in order to pursue their college dreams in New York State,” said Senator Lanza.

“This bill will greatly aid people with disabilities by providing them with necessary instructional materials and I am pleased this legislation has been signed into law by the Governor. Disabled Advocates state-wide are in support of the bill,” said Assemblyman Cusick.