From Bloomberg/Business Week, AP/MSNBC, PC World, AP/ABC News:
Three universities say they will stop promoting the use of Amazon.com’s Kindle DX e-book reader in classrooms in the wake of legal complaints that the device doesn’t allow students with disabilities equal access to information.
The Department of Justice announced settlements involving Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Pace University in New York City and Reed College in Portland, Oregon. The schools were among six that had participated in a pilot program testing the use of the device in the classroom.
Earlier in the week, Arizona State University, announced it had settled a lawsuit with disability rights organizations challenging its participation in the Kindle pilot program. Advocates had alleged that the device’s inaccessibility constituted a violation of federal law. Arizona State denied that its pilot program violated any law, but said that “it will strive to use devices that are accessible to the blind” if it does decide to use e-book readers in the future.
Three other schools announced last year that they will not use Kindle in the classroom.
Amazon has said it is working to improve the device’s accessibility with audible menus and extra-large type.