Future Reflections  Winter/Spring 2007

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Textbooks on Time--Federal Fact Sheet

From the Editor: Federal documents can be intimating to first-time readers. Filled with an alphabet-soup of acronyms, every other sentence seems to end with references to section such-and-such or so-and-so. But if you think of them like the yapping dog whose bark is worse than his bite, you will discover that with a little patience and persistence, these documents are not as difficult to understand as appearances might suggest. Effective advocacy begins with accurate information, and for parents or other advocates of blind students, there really is no substitute for the information to be gained from documents written and released by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. If your child or student has suffered from late or delayed textbooks over the years, then the following document is worth spending some time reading and digesting. In the fall, we hope to publish a follow-up article with specific suggestions or a checklist about what parents and other advocates can do to monitor this process.

But, first things first. The following fact sheet is available on the new Web site for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEPs) at <http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home>. Go to the side bar entitled �Browse Major Topics� and click on �National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS).� Other topics in this series of fact sheets are also available on this Web site. Information about the newly established National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) is available on the Web site, <http://nimac.us/>. The NIMAC is administered by the American Printing House for the Blind. Here, now, is the federal fact sheet about NIMAS and NIMAC:

IDEA�Reauthorized Statute
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was signed into law on December 3, 2004, by President George W. Bush. The provisions of the Act became effective on July 1, 2005, with the exception of some of the elements pertaining to the definition of a �highly qualified teacher� that took effect upon the signing of the Act. The final NIMAS was published on July 19, 2006 (71 FR 41084) and was included as Appendix C to Part 300--National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard--published on August 14, 2006. This is one in a series of documents, prepared by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of Education that covers a variety of high-interest topics and brings together the regulatory requirements related to those topics to support constituents in preparing to implement the new regulations. This document addresses statutory and final regulatory requirements regarding NIMAS.

IDEA Regulations

1. Provides definitions related to purchase of and access to instructional materials.

• These definitions apply to each State and local educational agency (LEA), whether or not the State or LEA chooses to coordinate with the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC).
  [34 CFR 300.172(e)(2)] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(23)(E), 1474(e)(3)(A)]
• �NIMAS� has the meaning given that term in section 674(e)(3)(B) of the Act (NIMAS means the standard established by the Secretary to be used in the preparation of electronic files suitable and used solely for efficient conversion into specialized formats).
  [34 CFR 300.172(a)(1)(iii)] [20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(3)(B)]
• �Specialized formats� has the meaning given that term in section 674(e)(3)(D) of the Act (�Specialized formats� means Braille, audio, or digital text which is exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities; and with respect to print instructional materials, includes large print formats when such materials are distributed exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities).
  [34 CFR 300.172(e)(1)(iv)] [20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(3)(D); 17 U.S.C. 121(d)(3)]
• �NIMAC� means the center established in section 674(e) of the Act, through the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), not later than one year after the date of enactment of IDEA. NIMAC�s duties are:
  • To receive and maintain a catalog of print instructional materials prepared in the NIMAS, as established by the Secretary, made available to such center by the textbook publishing industry, State educational agencies (SEAs), and LEAs.
  • To provide access to print instructional materials, including textbooks, in accessible media, free of charge, to blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary schools and secondary schools, in accordance with such terms and procedures as the NIMAC may prescribe.
  • To develop, adopt, and publish procedures to protect against copyright infringement, with respect to the print instructional materials provided in sections 612(a)(23) and 613(a)(6) of the Act.
    [34 CFR 300.172(e)(1)(ii)] [20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(2)(A), (B), (C)]
• The statute defines �print instructional materials� to be 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 SEA or LEA for use by students in the classroom.
  [20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(3)(C)]
• �Blind persons or other persons with print disabilities� means children served under Part 300 who may qualify to receive books and other publications produced in specialized formats in accordance with the Act entitled �An Act to Provide Books for the Adult Blind,� approved March 3, 1931, 2 U.S.C. 135a.
  [34 CFR 300.172(e)(1)(i)] [20 U.S.C. 1474(e)(3)(A)]

2. Requires the adoption of NIMAS.

• States must:
  • Adopt the NIMAS, published as appendix C to Part 300, for the purposes of providing instructional materials to blind persons or other persons with print disabilities, in a timely manner after publication of the NIMAS in the Federal Register on July 19, 2006 (71 FR 41084); and
  • Establish a State definition of �timely manner� for purposes of 34 CFR 300.172 (b)(2) and (b)(3) if the State is not coordinating with the NIMAC or 34 CFR 300.172 (b)(3) and (c)(2) if the State is coordinating with the NIMAC.
    [34 CFR 300.172(a)] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(23)(A)]

3. Establishes SEA rights and responsibilities.

• Nothing in 34 CFR 300.172 shall be construed to require any SEA to coordinate with the NIMAC. If an SEA chooses not to coordinate with the NIMAC, the SEA must provide an assurance to the Secretary that it will provide instructional materials to blind persons or other persons with print disabilities in a timely manner.
• Nothing in this section relieves an SEA of its responsibility to ensure that children with disabilities who need instructional materials in accessible formats, but are not included under the definition of blind or other persons with print disabilities in 34 CFR 300.172(e)(1)(i) or who need materials that cannot be produced from NIMAS files, receive those instructional materials in a timely manner.
• In order to meet its responsibility under paragraphs 34 CFR 300.172 (b)(2), (b)(3), and (c) to ensure that children with disabilities who need instructional materials in accessible formats are provided those materials in a timely manner, the SEA must ensure that all public agencies take all reasonable steps to provide instructional materials in accessible formats to children with disabilities who need those instructional materials at the same time as other children receive instructional materials.
  [34 CFR 300.172(b)] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(23)(B)]

4. Establishes requirements for the preparation and delivery of files.

• If an SEA chooses to coordinate with the NIMAC, as of December 3, 2006, the SEA must:
  • As part of any print instructional materials adoption process, procurement contract, or other practice or instrument used for purchase of print instructional materials, enter into a written contract with the publisher of the print instructional materials to:
    • Require the publisher to prepare and, on or before delivery of the print instructional materials, provide to NIMAC electronic files containing the contents of the print instructional materials using the NIMAS; or
    • Purchase instructional materials from the publisher that are produced in, or may be rendered in, specialized formats.
  • Provide instructional materials to blind persons or other persons with print disabilities in a timely manner.
    [34 CFR 300.172(c)] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(23)(C)]

5. Requires collaboration with State agencies providing assistive technology programs.

• In carrying out this section, the SEA, to the maximum extent possible, must work collaboratively with the State agency responsible for assistive technology programs.
  [34 CFR 300.172(d)] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(23)(D)]

6. Establishes responsibilities of LEAs for purchase of instructional materials.

• Not later than December 3, 2006, an LEA that chooses to coordinate with the NIMAC, when purchasing print instructional materials, must acquire those instructional materials in the same manner, and subject to the same conditions as an SEA under 34 CFR 300.172.
• Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an LEA to coordinate with the NIMAC.
• If an LEA chooses not to coordinate with the NIMAC, the LEA must provide an assurance to the SEA that the LEA will provide instructional materials to blind persons or other persons with print disabilities in a timely manner.
• Nothing in this section relieves an LEA of its responsibility to ensure that children with disabilities who need instructional materials in accessible formats but are not included under the definition of blind or other persons with print disabilities in 34 CFR 300.172(e)(1)(i) or who need materials that cannot be produced from NIMAS files, receive those instructional materials in a timely manner.
  [34 CFR 300.210] [20 U.S.C. 1413(a)(6)(E)]
• Appendix C to Part 300--National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)

Under sections 612(a)(23)(A) and 674(e)(4) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, the Secretary of Education establishes the NIMAS. Under section 674(e)(4) of the Act, the NIMAS applies to print instructional materials published after July 19, 2006. The purpose of the NIMAS is to help increase the availability and timely delivery of print instructional materials in accessible formats to blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary and secondary schools.

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