NIMAS National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard 2006 ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF AT ACT PROGRAMS June 14, 2006 Chuck Hitchcock Chief Officer, Policy and Technology for CAST and Director, NIMAS TA Center

The Plan  Background  Quick demonstration – DTB3 & XHTML  What does the IDEA 2004 statute require?  How will the system work?  Which students will qualify for specialized formats developed from NIMAS source files?  What types of instructional materials will be included?  The NIMAC at APH  NIMAS / NIMAC graphic – the ring  Future direction for providing accessible materials  NIMAS Development and TA Centers  NIMAS Center partners  NIMAS and NIMAC Web sites  NIMAS support resources for publishers

Quick Demo  Daisy Book  NIMAS file set – quick conversion to Daisy Book  XHTML version – for validation and possible use within a talking browser

Not the focus of this brief presentation.

NIMAS: What is it?  National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard – NIMAS source file set  A recommendation developed by consensus in 2004 by an expert panel of key stakeholders -  Approved by US Dept. of Education in July 2004  Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for NIMAS was posted to the Federal Register on 6/29/05  Will be updated as Final Rule – summer 2006 likely  Based on the international DAISY Book Standard  ANSI/NISO Z – NIMAS version 1.0  Daisy/NISO Z – NIMAS version 1.1 -> regs  NIMAS baseline+optional elements = DAISY elements

Problems Addressed by NIMAS  Students  Timely delivery of accessible textbooks  Appropriate formats and quality  Breaks down one barrier to the general education curriculum  Increases level of independence  Educators  Reduces scanning duplication of effort – time and money  Increases likelihood that specialized formats will be available when they are needed by students with print disabilities  Increases awareness of what is available and how to use it  Publishers  50 States and 50 sets of requirements – complexity and cost  Copyright issues – digital rights  Digital rights management issues

NIMAS Statute Highlights (IDEA 2004)  State Assurances to US Dept. of Education (Part B, Sec. 612)  Adopt NIMAS in timely manner - once published in federal register  Coordinate with NIMAC or assure timely delivery of accessible materials  Requires publishers to provide NIMAS file to NIMAC by contract  Or, purchase alternate formats directly from publisher (market model)  Coordinate with State agency responsible for AT  LEA Assurances to State Dept. of Education (Part B, Sec. 613)  Same conditions as above (with exception of AT coordination requirement)  NIMAC (Part D, Sec. 674)  Establish and support, through the APH, a center to be known as the 'National Instructional Materials Access Center' not later than 1 year after IDEA 2004  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 the date on which the final rule establishing NIMAS is published in the Federal Register.  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.

How Will it Work?  States and districts provide assurances to qualify for federal funds:  SEAs adopt NIMAS in a timely manner (by 12/3/06)  SEAs and LEAs opt-in to NIMAC (by 12/3/06)  Have option to opt out of NIMAC but must assure delivery of accessible materials in a timely manner to students with print disabilities.  SEAs and LEAs require publishers to submit NIMAS file sets  Educational publishers submit source files to NIMAC (copyright protections for publishers provided by IDEA 2004, Title III)  NIMAS conforming XML content files  Images in folders: SVG, PNG or JPEG (order of preference)  PDF of the print materials title page  Package file (metadata and manifest - list of submitted files)  NIMAC validates and catalogs the NIMAS file set  Authorized entities obtain files from NIMAC to prepare student-ready versions of core instructional materials.  From authorized entities, LEAs request and receive accessible instructional materials for students with print disabilities – or, obtain them directly from publishers if and when available.

SEA Contract and LEA Purchase Order Language Sample Language for Adoption Contracts and LEA Purchase Orders By agreeing to deliver the materials marked with "NIMAS" on this contract or purchase order, the publisher agrees to prepare and submit, on or before ___/___/______, a NIMAS file set to the NIMAC that complies with the terms and procedures set forth by the NIMAC. Should the vendor be a distributor of the materials and not the publisher, the distributor agrees to immediately notify the publisher of its obligation to submit NIMAS file sets of the purchased products to the NIMAC. The files will be used for the production of alternate formats as permitted under the law for students with print disabilities. This is page __ of __ of this contract or purchase order. For additional information about NIMAS, please refer to For additional information about the NIMAC, refer to

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 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 under review by OSEP  Have contracted with Overdrive to administer validation, security and data base files

State and Local Education Agency Opt In Scenario

A Near Future Alternative  NIMAS issues regarding copyright, digital rights, compensation and qualified students with print disabilities will stimulate planning and implementation of a Market Model Solution that supports all students with print disabilities – or perhaps, all students. Publisher LEA Student Authorized Entities & Contracted Conversion Services

NIMAS Development Center Purpose: provide national leadership to further the development and maintenance of NIMAS and support its large-scale implementation--  Identify technological advances and pedagogical research that support effective revisions and enhancements of NIMAS as a standard for developing universally designed, multiple-output formats in a cost-effective and timely manner.  Build and support the capacity of the NIMAS Technical Assistance Center, which was also established by OSEP, to implement the adoption of NIMAS by states and other entities;  Explore the feasibility of a market driven distribution model to increase the quality, quantity, and timely delivery of accessible materials. Two open committee meetings held each calendar year: 1.January just prior to the ATIA Conference – Orlando, FL 2.September – Dallas, TX

NIMAS TA Center Purpose: provide support to publishers and states to ensure the successful implementation of NIMAS--  Plan and evaluate technical assistance to improve the availability and timely delivery of accessible materials to student and teachers;  Implement technical assistance to states and other entities that have adopted or are considering adopting NIMAS to support for a timely phase-in of NIMAS;  Facilitate collaboration among various Department-funded stakeholders to ensure a coordinated and effective implementation of NIMAS; and  Disseminate relevant information and resources about the benefits and availability of accessible digital materials to key stakeholders.

NIMAS Center Partners?  NIMAS Development and TA Centers at CAST

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  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