NIMASNational Instructional Materials Accessibility

Standard

OSEP Project Directors Conference

July 31, 2006

Chuck HitchcockDirector, NIMAS TA Center

NIMAS: What is it?National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard – NIMAS source file setA recommendation developed by consensus in 2004 by an expert panel of key stakeholders -

Approved by US Dept. of Education in July 2004Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for NIMAS was posted to the Federal Register on 6/29/05 Standard updated as Final Rule – July 19, 2006 and ??

Based on the international DAISY Book StandardANSI/NISO Z39.86 2002 – NIMAS version 1.0Daisy/NISO Z39.86 2005 – NIMAS version 1.1 -> regsNIMAS baseline+optional elements = DAISY elements

Problems Addressed by NIMASStudents

Timely delivery of accessible textbooksAppropriate formats and qualityBreaks down one barrier to the general education curriculumIncreases level of independence

EducatorsReduces scanning duplication of effort – time and moneyIncreases likelihood that specialized formats will be available when they are needed by students with print disabilitiesIncreases awareness of what is available and how to use it

Publishers50 States and 50 sets of requirements – complexity and costCopyright issues – digital rightsDigital rights management issues

NIMAS Statute Highlights (IDEA 2004) State Assurances to US Dept. of Education (Part B, Sec. 612)

Adopt NIMAS in timely manner Coordinate with NIMAC or assure timely delivery of accessible materials Coordinate with State agency responsible for AT

LEA Assurances to State Dept. of Education (Part B, Sec. 613) Coordinate with NIMAC or assure timely delivery of accessible materials

NIMAC (Part D, Sec. 674) Establish and support a 'National Instructional Materials Access Center‘ at APH Receive and maintain a catalog of NIMAS print instructional materials Provide access to print instructional materials in accessible media (source files) Develop procedures to protect against copyright infringement.

Applicability - Applies to print instructional materials published after 8/19/06 (regs)

Section 121 of title 17, United States Code, is amended– (Title III) Not a violation of copyright for publishers to transfer files to NIMAC if required by

State and publisher has rights to publish material in print and files are to be used to create specialized formats.

NIMAS SpecificationPublished on July 19, 2006 in Federal Register

Comments in response to NIMAS NPRMThe NIMAS SpecificationEffective after August 18, 2006 for publishers

Posted as HTML and Word on NIMAS WebsiteSpecificationChanges – list of updates from v.1.0 to v.1.1

Additional regulations to be included in full publication of the IDEA 2004 regulations

Which Students will Qualify? Blind and other students with print disabilities 1996 Chafee Amendment to Copyright statute – authorized entities

can produce and distribute specialized formats to students Consistent with policies of existing authorized entities NIMAS source files are not intended for direct student use.

What Materials will be Included? Print Instructional Materials: The term 'print instructional materials' means

printed textbooks and related printed core materials that are written and published primarily for use in elementary school and secondary school instruction and are required by a State educational agency or local educational agency for use by students in the classroom.

K-12 textbooks, workbooks, assessments, leveled readers, etc. Textbook adoption & open territory state differences Will apply to copyright as of the date of publication of the final rule

that includes NIMAS in the Federal Register Additional clarification may be needed regarding this topic.

What is the NIMAC? A national repository of NIMAS source files maintained

and coordinated by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) in Louisville, Kentucky.

Operations proposal and funding request approved by OSEP

Have contracted with Overdrive to administer validation, security and data base files

Coordinate with NIMAC Opt In = 48 SEAs & DC Opt Out = 2 SEAs

State and Local Education Agency Opt In Scenario

SEAs and LEAs request submission to NIMAS starting on 12/3/06.

Applies to educational materials published on or after 8/19/06.

NIMAS Center Partners NIMAS Development and TA Centers at CAST

http://nimas.cast.org http://nimac.us Client version demo

NIMAS Center Website Resources History of IMAA and NIMAS The NIMAS & NIMAC related language from IDEA 2004 statute The most current version of the NIMAS technical specification (v1.1) List of NIMAS Development Committee members List of NIMAS related conference presentations and Webcasts Minutes of the bi-annual NIMAS Development Committee meetings A detailed NIMAS/NIMAC FAQ and SEA Guidelines Other resources for publishers, conversion houses and states -

Background knowledge on DAISY, XML & accessible materials Guidance on the development of NIMAS file sets Links to conversion houses that can help with NIMAS file development NIMAS baseline file sets and supplemental exemplars Links to research on the use of electronic text in education Links to legislation and regulation pertaining to NIMAS, NIMAC and copyright

laws related to the provision of accessible materials

http://nimas.cast.org