Martin Hensel has been named to an Advisory Panel that will develop a voluntary national file format for the electronic transmission of instructional materials for students with disabilities. Hensel, President of Texterity, is a pioneer in electronic publishing, working for over 20 years in technologies to help publish content in multiple media. He is widely known for his expertise in using SGML, XML, and SVG in content production.

The U.S. Department of Education, working with the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum (NCAC) at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), will develop a voluntary national file format for the electronic transmission of instructional materials for students who are blind and students with other disabilities.

Hensel will serve on the CAST-sponsored advisory panel of publishers, disability advocates, assistive technology developers, producers of curriculum materials for students with disabilities, data transformation experts and state representatives.

The panel will develop recommendations for a set of technical specifications for accessible instructional materials, a timeline for the implementation of the proposed standard, and a process for assessing the success of standards implementation. The Secretary of Education will provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposed standard through a notice in the Federal Register.