Accessible+Materials

=**AIM WEBINARS FROM PATTAN:**= Please note that Act 48 is not provided for viewing the recorded webinars
 * Focus on Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) **

AIM in PA: Responbilities of LEA

AIM in PA: Roles of the IEP team**

What is AIM? **

Many students with varying needs are unable to use traditional textbooks and print instructional materials due to physical or learning disabilities. These individuals may need Braille, digital text, or large print to be able to successfully access their academic curriculum. With the approval of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004), states and local school districts are mandated to ensure the provision of accessible instructional materials to those students who need them. This statue states that textbooks and related core instructional materials must be provided in specialized formats to students with print disabilities in a timely manner. Pennsylvania has defined “timely manner” in Chapter 14 as taking all reasonable measures to ensure that materials are provided to students with print disabilities at the same time as their non-disabled peers. To support states and local school districts in providing AIM to qualified students, IDEA 2004 further established the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) and the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Center (NIMAC). The NIMAS is a standard file format of textbooks and print instructional materials which publishers must submit to the NIMAC upon request. NIMAS file sets can be transformed into specialized formats, including Braille, large print, and/or digital text, by various accessible media producers (AMPs) to be used by students with print disabilities. The NIMAC is the repository which houses the NIMAS files sent by various publishers. The NIMAC was established to assist in ensuring that copyright regulations are maintained and can only be accessed by state-designated authorized users (AUs). In Pennsylvania, Pattan staff have been designated as the Pennsylvania AUs. To obtain NIMAS file sets through the NIMAC, school districts must indicate in their contracts with publishers that NIMAS file sets must be sent to the NIMAC and contact Pattan AUs to have these materials sent to accessible media producers.


 * Who qualifies for NIMAS file sets? **

While school districts are required to provide AIM to all students who are in need of it, only a certain sub-set of students are able to receive AIM through the use of NIMAS file sets. Based on the Chafee amendment and the definition of an individual with print disabilities as indicated in “An Act to provide books for the adult blind”, an individual with a print disability is defined as blind individuals whose visual acuity is 20/200 or less in the better eye, individuals with visual disabilities preventing the reading of standard text, individuals with physical limitations which prevent them from accessing text-based materials, or individuals who have reading disabilities as a result of organic dysfunction. Individuals who are blind, have visual disabilities, or have physical limitations preventing the reading of standard text may be certified as having these disabilities by doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, registered nurses, therapists, or other professional staff of hospitals, institutions, etc. Individuals with reading disabilities of organic dysfunction must be certified as having this disability by a doctor of medicine.


 * Where can I find more information? **

[|http://aim.cast.org] [] [|http://nimac.us]


 * Where can I get resources for my students? **

[|www.bookshare.org-] Free new release digital books to students K-12 with a qualified print disability. Information for membership on the website. [|http://nimas.cast.org-] Provides a list of Nimas Resources, technical guidance, and updated Nimas information [] lists the location information for over 180,000 books and other products in the following media [|www.rfbd.org-] A national nonprofit, volunteer organization, with a library including textbooks and new releases. Free to those who qualify.