Complaint: Google programs hard for blind students

[The Northerner]

WASHINGTON — A complaint filed on Tuesday with the federal government accuses New York University and Northwestern University of discriminating against blind students by adopting Google e-mail and other programs that aren't fully compatible with technology that translates written words into speech.

The National Federation of the Blind has requested a Justice Department investigation into the schools' use of Gmail and other Google programs, saying that requiring students to use them violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Baltimore-based group is also asking other colleges not to adopt the software until it's accessible to all students and faculty.

"Given the many accessible options available, there is no good reason that these universities should choose a suite of applications, including critical e-mail services, that is inaccessible to blind students," said Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind.

Google said in an e-mail that it had a productive discussion last week with Maurer on accessibility issues but didn't offer further specifics.

"We left the meeting with a strong commitment to improving our products," said Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president for engineering and research.

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