Government Rulings on Closed Captioning

Closed Captioning - It's the Law

US FCC ruling on closed captioning

Canadian ruling on closed captioning

21st Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act of 2008

Requirements for Closed Captioning in Higher Education

FCC fining stations over caption lapse 

Access to emerging Internet Protocol-based communication and video programming technologies

Source: http://www.coataccess.org/node/74

Track the Legislative Progress of H.R. 6320, the "Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008"

FCC fining stations over caption lapse

By Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 27, 2005; Page E02

For details click on FCC Fining Stations Over Caption Lapse.

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed fining three Washington area television stations for failing to provide adequate closed-caption information for hearing-impaired viewers during a tornado watch in May 2004.

NBC-owned WRC (Channel 4), ABC affiliate WJLA (Channel 7) and Fox-owned WTTG (Channel 5) face proposed fines totaling $40,000, the FCC said yesterday.

As dangerous thunderstorms and tornado conditions bore down on Washington on May 25, 2004, local weather broadcasters told viewers in certain areas they should take cover but failed to relay the same information in closed captions, the FCC reported. Under federal law, broadcasters are required to provide emergency information in both audio and visual form, whether by closed captioning or a similar presentation.

One viewer wrote to the FCC: "[Fox] cut into the screen during 'American Idol' for news about the weather. From this visual (with no captions), it look[ed] like the bad weather might be in Maryland. I was totally confused."

The FCC investigation found that, at 9:02 p.m., WRC meteorologist Bob Ryan told viewers to move away from windows and toward a bathroom or basement if they sensed high winds but failed to provide the information in any visual form.

An $8,000 fine is proposed against WJLA, which failed to display closed-caption information during one storm report. The other stations each face $16,000 fines because they each failed to provide the closed captioning during two reports.

The stations can appeal the fines.

Requirements for Closed Captioning
in Minnesota Higher Education

Several far-reaching pieces of state and federal legislation form the guiding framework for accessibility compliance in a distance education setting. This body of law includes real-time and delayed captioning of courses delivered live to students at a distance.

1973 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) -

The section mandates that the colleges must not discriminate in the recruitment, admission, or treatment of any students with disabilities and provide equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from any services or programs that are offered. Providing aural information through real-time or live, captioning of distance education meets the mandate of Section 504.

1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforcement of the ADA has focused on three areas: timeliness of delivery, accuracy of translation, and provision in a manner and medium appropriate to the significance of the message and the abilities of the individual with the disability. Live captioning of courses meets the ADA‟s mandate for “timeliness of delivery.”

1995 Title 5 California Code of Regulations –

Requires post secondary institutions that receive funding from the State of California to provide accessibility for distance education courses.

California Government Code 11135 – Discrimination. California Senate Bill 105 which strengthens compliance regardless of federal funding to “…meet the protections and prohibitions contained in Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990” has been incorporated into California Government Code 11135.  

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (amended 1998) provides distinct standards for web accessibility compliance.  

For details, click on http://www.mncdhh.org/news/141/we-waited-to-see-if-the-governor-chose-to-unallot-he-didnt

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