Las Vegas – Today Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District announced a $472,458 grant from the National Science Foundation to the University of Nevada Las Vegas to develop AccessCSforALL, Advanced Placement (AP) programs for Computer Science Principles (CSP) for students, including those with disabilities. UNLV will partner with the University of Washington on the project and work with the College Board to develop strategies for teaching students who are hearing or visually impaired or learning disabled as well as those at mainstream schools.

“A disability should never prevent any child from succeeding in school and in life. This grant money will lay the foundation for new jobs and opportunities for all students and show that everyone in classrooms can make valuable contributions. It’s not just the right thing for our children – it’s the right thing for our economy.”

Background From NSF

Approximately 7.5 million K-12 students are identified as having a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These students should have access to quality computer science education, but there are often significant barriers, including inaccessible tools (for example, programming languages and integrated development environments not accessible to screen readers), or curricula that include exclusively visual program output. Civil rights legislation requires that curriculum be offered in a format that is accessible to students with disabilities.

AccessCSforAll will create a researcher practitioner partnership (RPP) that includes practitioners at schools that serve students who are hearing or visually impaired or learning disabled, as well as schools that serve mainstream students. Building on previous work with more than 30 CS10K projects, AccessCSforAll will provide professional development for CS teachers that includes strategies for supporting students with disabilities.