By Peggy Schenk

Note from the editor: This article is reprinted with permission from the publisher and it originally appeared February 11, 2003 in The New Haven Register

GUILFORD - Democratic U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd visited senior Jessie Kirchner's English literature class at Guilford High School Monday to announce he will reintroduce special legislation to help thousands of visually impaired students nationwide. Kirchner, a National Merit Scholar and honor student who aspires to become a lawyer, is an outspoken advocate for visually impaired students who are forced to wait months for Braille textbooks and certain classroom materials. She is one of four surviving quintuplets, and she is blind.

Dodd said that he will submit a bill today that will provide better access to textbooks and instructional materials for visually impaired students.

Such "students should not be considered second-class citizens," Dodd said. "It is simply unfair to expect any student to wait, sometimes for months, for textbooks and appropriate classroom materials. This legislation will give more students like Jessie the tools they need to succeed in school and on a par with other students."

Also visiting the school to lend their support to the legislation were several visually impaired people, including Dodd's sister, Carolyn Dodd, an early-education teacher in Hartford; James Gashel, director of governmental affairs for the National Federation of the Blind, and Betty Woodward, president of the state chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.

Last June 28, Kirchner, at Dodd's request and the recommendation of the state chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to speak in favor of the bill, the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act.

Kirchner told the senator that "many blind and visually impaired students sit in classrooms without books, while their sighted peers, books in hand, are able to follow along with the daily lesson. Even with the best planning, Braille textbooks frequently do not arrive when needed, if at all." Dodd introduced the bill last year, but Congress adjourned before it could be approved, he said.

The bill mandates the creation of a single uniform electronic file format that will ease Braille conversion and eliminate multiple formats now used by various states.

It also creates a National Instructional Materials Access Center for the formats, allowing efficient and timely dissemination of materials to schools.

Plus, "it will be more cost effective," said Kirchner.

"An incredible savings," said Gashel, who was instrumental in preparing the bill along with members of the publishing industry.

Gashel presented Kirchner with her own copy of the bill written in Braille.

The bill also provides funding to convert electronic files into Braille. It will cost about $1 million to implement, about as much as the electric bill for federal buildings, Dodd said.

Peggy Schenk can be reached at pschenk@nhregister.com , or (860) 664-4118.

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