1. Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) and NIMAS*
What AIM Means for Principals
and School Administrators
Welcome to this webinar on NIMAS and AIM, and thank you for joining us today. My name is Kathy McWhorter and I work at the Clearinghouse for Accessible Instructional Materials at the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities in Laramie. We are partly funded by the Wyoming Department of Education to provide information about this component of IDEA and to coordinate the acquisition and use of accessible instructional materials by qualified students with disabilities.
*National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
Wyoming Institute for Disabilities
University of Wyoming

2. AIM/NIMAS is an IDEA Part B Federal Regulation Requirement
Provides definitions related to purchase of and access to instructional materials
Requires adoption of NIMAS
Establishes SEA rights and responsibilities
Establishes requirements for the preparation and delivery of files
Requires collaboration with State agencies providing assistive technology programs
Establishes responsibilities of LEAs for purchase of instructional materials
Tucked away in a corner of the 2004 Reauthorization of IDEA is a very important requirement that students with qualifying disabilities must have access to their core instructional materials in an accessible format. Let’s take a look at the primary points of this mandate.
First, there are specific terms used in the law, which we’ll look at in a minute.
Second, every state had the option of opting in or opting out of the NIMAS provision—however, since federal dollars were tied to the option, 49 of our 50 states elected to opt in.
Third, the rights and responsibilities of the state education agency (SEA) were clearly laid out.
Fourth, there are very specific methods for accessing, preparing, and providing the core materials.
Fifth, the program must work collaboratively with the State AT programs, which in our case, would be the WIND Assistive Technology Resources program (WATR).
And finally, the responsibilities of the Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to purchase accessible materials is defined. Let’s look at each of these six requirements in more depth.

3. 2004 Reauthorization of IDEA
NIMAS
National
Instructional
Materials
Accessibility
Standard
A technical publishing standard (ANSI/NISO Z39.86)
NIMAS applies to print instructional materials published after August 18, 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.
2004 Reauthorization of IDEA

4. What exactly is a NIMAS file?
Digital, electronic
Raw Source File (unable to be used in present form)
Standard Contents:
.xml file
Images folder
.pdf title page & copyright info
.opf (the “coordinating agent”)
A NIMAS file is a raw file that, when downloaded, contains 4 items or icons. One is a .pdf of the front cover, so we can compare to be sure we are accessing the correct file. There is a folder containing all of the images. There is a coded, unusable .xml file with all the formatting code. And then there’s the .opf file, that “coordinates” all the pieces and parts so that they’ll come together in the proper order, and the pictures will wind up correctly placed.

5. Essential Points of IDEA Regulations
Provides definitions related to purchase of and access to instructional materials
NIMAS
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
2. Eligibility Requirements
3. Print Instructional Materials
4. Specialized Formats
(3) DEFINITIONS—In this subsection:
1. * (B) NATIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD—The term 'National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard' 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.
2. * (A) BLIND OR OTHER PERSONS WITH PRINT DISABILITIES—The term 'blind or other persons with print disabilities' means children served under this Act and who may qualify in accordance with the Act entitled 'An Act to provide books for the adult blind', approved March 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a; 46 Stat. 1487) to receive books and other publications produced in specialized formats.
3. * (C) 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.
4. * (D) SPECIALIZED FORMATS—The term 'specialized formats' has the meaning given the term in section 121(d)(3) of title 17, United States Code.

6. Essential Points of IDEA Regulations and the Provision of FAPE
Requires the Adoption of NIMAS - States must:
Provide instructional materials to students with print impairments in a timely manner
Establish a State definition of “timely manner”
Wyoming Department of Education has set a high standard in defining “timely manner.” Alternate format materials will be provided at the same time that other students receive their materials. Essentially, knowing that there is lead time and production involved, we must provide materials just as soon as we can possibly can.

7. Essential Points of IDEA Regulations
Establishes SEA Rights and Responsibilities
Must ensure:
1. That students with disabilities who need instructional materials in accessible formats (altformat) are provided those materials in a timely manner.
2. That all public agencies take all reasonable steps to provide altformat materials at the same time as other students receive instructional materials.
So the SEA must ensure that districts understand that while there is lead time and production involved, we must provide materials just as soon as we can possibly can.

8. Essential Points of IDEA Regulations
Establishes Requirements for the Preparation and Delivery of Files - LEA must:
1. Enter into a written contract with publishers:
- That requires publishers to prepare and provide to NIMAC
NIMAS compliant files as part of the purchase contract
- To purchase materials that are produced in or can be rendered in specialized formats
2. Provide instructional materials to eligible students in a timely manner
So how do we do this?
First step: Once determined eligible for alternate format materials, the instructional materials must be purchased, and to follow Copyright Law, one book – one student. One format – one student. The purchasing agent or whoever has the responsibility for acquiring textbooks and core instructional materials can contribute to the process by including specific language on the PO:
NIMAS Purchase Order / Contract Language (1/14/09)
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 fileset 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 filesets 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. Note that the delivery of print versions should not be delayed in cases where the NIMAS fileset has yet to be completed, validated and/or cataloged by the NIMAC.
The NIMAC is the National Instructional Materials Access Center, and holds all of these NIMAS filesets for textbooks, workbooks, supplementary materials, and aids.
(Back to slide: To purchase materials that are produced in…..) There may already be a repository that has the format that a student needs.

9. Essential Points of IDEA Regulations
Requires collaboration with State agencies providing assistive technology programs
WIND Assistive Technology Resources
And as I mentioned earlier, we work very closely with the WATR program (which is right across the hall from us) to identify various means of delivering alternate format materials, such as portable E-readers like the Nook, the Kindle, or the iPad. There are over 25 different ways to provide support for eligible students, and we try to keep sufficient short-term loan devices for educators to try out before making a purchase decision.

10. Essential Points of IDEA Regulations
Establishes responsibilities for LEAs for purchase of instructional materials
The LEA is responsible to ensure that students with disabilities who need instructional materials in an accessible format receive those materials in a timely manner, and at the same time as their non-disabled peers.
1. Purchase from publisher or acquire from repositories (BookShare, RFB&D)
2. Coordinate with AIM/NIMAS to acquire materials in a specialized format
In the past few years, publishers have explored directions that would accommodate the access of textbook material. There’s the NIMAS repository, of course; however, those files are totally unusable in their present state. Publishers have standardized a format that can be manipulated and converted into multiple formats, like braille, large print, digital talking books/audiobooks, and DAISY – the most navigable and value-added format available to us. DAISY is the new standard for delivering digital books, as it accommodates images, allows immediate search, and provides audio as well as visual supports.
Other repositories can also be searched for alternate format versions of textbooks: Bookshare has traditionally prepared literary files, and their books are available in a DAISY (some with, most without images). A recent federal award, however, has enabled Bookshare to digitize and prepare thousands of books available to eligible students at no cost.
RFB&D has traditionally provided textbooks on CDs, and their proprietary formats include downloadable audio and CDs. These are audio-only books with human narration.
If those two sites do not have the books needed, then we urge you to contact us and we will locate them through further searching, or seek conversion through Accessible Media Producers (AMPs).

11. What are “specialized formats?”
The most common:
Braille
Large Print
eText
Audio Files
Tactile Graphics
Digital Talking Book (DTB)
Self-explanatory – discussion of TGs

12. Which “print instructional materials” must be provided in an alternate format?
LEAs: Core textbooks and related materials
Publishers: Only textbooks and resources that are considered “core instructional materials” and hold a copyright date from August 2006 forward must be provided to the NIMAC as NIMAS compliant files.
*Source files of older versions of textbooks are not required of publishers - not a retroactive mandate; LEAs remain responsible for providing altformat materials
Initially, we need to look at the core textbooks and any associated materials like supplementary readers and workbooks.
According to publishers, they are not required to supply NIMAS file sets if the copyright of the book was earlier than August 2006; the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), however, has interpreted the law to include books with earlier copyright dates that are still being purchased today.
Regardless of whether schools experience a lack of success in identifying or locating altformat materials, they are not relieved of the requirement to provide the accessible material.

13. Who are “Blind Persons or Other Persons with Print Disabilities”
Low Vision
Physically unable to manipulate books
Learning disability due to organic dysfunction
- unable to gain meaning from print
- unable to decode or comprehend print
So who qualifies under this requirement?

14. How does the provision of AIM relate to accommodations & achievement?
The use of accessible instructional materials supports
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Differentiated Instruction
Response to Intervention (RtI)
Assistive technologies that read, display or support literacy initiatives are accommodations required by students to meet their academic goals.
As the state monitoring teams move across Wyoming, they will be looking to see if students are using assistive technology to meet their goals, and they will definitely be looking to see if accessible instructional materials are in place and are being used by qualified students. The introduction and continued use of accessible materials are a great fit in current literacy initiatives and accommodations such as UDL, DI, and RtI.

15. Central Repository Supported by:
Key Players: NIMAC
National
Instructional
Materials
Access
Center
Central Repository Supported by:
American Printing House for the Blind
U.S. Department of Education
Association of American Publishers
Association of Educational Publishers
NIMAS Centers in Each State
Who or which agencies are involved in this provision? There are multiple players:
NIMAC

16. Key Players: WIND Wyoming INstitute for Disabilities
University of Wyoming
University-Affiliated Program
Funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, US Dept of Health and Human Services
University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD)
Focus on teaching, research, and service
WIND…

17. Key Players: WAC Wyoming Accessibility Center
Reflects an expanded reorganization to address and accommodate the growing access needs of Wyoming individuals with disabilities and those who serve them
WAC allows us to prepare altformat materials for individuals who do not qualify for AIM. These may be kids who are on Section 504 plans, or students who just need additional supports and who do not have IEPs.

18. Key Partnerships: WATR
WATR strives to increase access to and acquisition of assistive technology in the areas of educa-tion, employment, community living, and IT/telecommunications.
WIND
Assistive
Technology
Resources
WATR…

19. Key Partnerships: WDE/SPD
Wyoming
Department of
Education
Special
Programs
Division
WDE/SPD contracts with WIND to assist in the statewide implementation of AIM.
Compliance is a requirement of IDEA 2004 and applies to Part B students with print impairments.
Self Explanatory

20. How can I, as an administrator, support my teachers?
Provide or request professional development opportunities for teachers to learn how to implement AIM
Identification of students who would benefit
Device and hardware selection and use
Direct classroom implementation strategies
AIM process training and publications*
Provide financial resources to support AIM
Teachers need funding to acquire appropriate AT devices and programs
Providing accessible materials is not a new concept to special ed teachers, as they have traditionally modified and altered students’ learning materials. But doing it in a systematic, step-by-step process requires substantial training and TA throughout the process. We have two publications that are attached to our website as resources for you. One is entitled, “Wyoming Procedures for Providing Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM), and then there’s a more targeted one, “What You Need to Know About NIMAS and Accessible Instructional Materials: A Guide for Decision Making Teams.”
As teachers work with us to identify students who would not only benefit from AIM but truly require AIM to meet their academic outcomes, they need the support of their administrator. You hold the key to success, and you are critical to the process.

21. Are my teachers providing AIM?
YES
Are teachers current in their understanding of AIM and in the use of devices/assistive technologies that support AIM? NO
Request training or refer appropriate personnel to AIM resources
aim.cast.org
So take the test, are your teachers providing AIM? If you’re unsure or if your answer is “No,” call us or us and we can start planning.

22. How can staff at the AIM/NIMAS Clearinghouse help my teachers?
Assist teachers in the altformat acquisition process:
identification of appropriate students
selection of the most appropriate alternate format
completion of eligibility and request forms
coordination and acquisition of requested materials
access to WATR resources and services

23. Who would I contact for assistance?
Barbara Locke (307) Alyssa Newcomb (307) Mary Fick Monteith (307) Leo Urbanek (307)
The AIM / NIMAS Clearinghouse
(307)
Kathy McWhorter

24. Thank you, thank you, thank you…
We know how busy your days are, and we appreciate this opportunity to share our resources and services with each of you.
This presentation is being recorded and will be placed on our NIMAS website.