Audio Textbooks Allow All Students to Keep Up

Kids with learning disabilities will continue to reap the benefits of Santa Barbara Unified School District’s contracting with Learning Ally, a national non-for-profit that provides audio versions of textbooks, novels, and other reading material. Students with dyslexia, for example, can keep up on their studies by listening to reading assignments. The program — recently reupped by the school board for two more years — also provides in-class training for special-ed teachers and continued collaboration with the Parent Resource Center. The district will cover 25 percent of the program’s $64,500 annual cost this year, and 50 percent next year. The balance will be paid through philanthropic funding.