This practice brief outlines a series of recommendations for improving the timely provision and use of high-quality braille – both embossed and electronic – and tactile graphics for state-mandated assessment. The primary target audience for these recommendations is State Education Agency (SEA) assessment leaders and others at the State-and national level who are responsible for ensuring that braille readers are full participants in their state assessment, whether general or alternate. Most desirable is that these recommendations will initiate conversations between and among states, districts, braille service providers, and test developers.

Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) help students with disabilities access print- and technology-based materials in school. But what about accessing educational materials in the community? Learn about AEM in the community: where you might find it, what it can look like, what to do if community materials are not accessible, and how to equip and advocate for yourself or those you support. In addition, hear what Community Vision is doing to help make businesses, organizations, and public spaces more accessible. They also share a few resources they have created around accessibility.

Understanding accessible formats requires some background knowledge of the barriers many learners with disabilities experience when reading or accessing information in print-based and certain digital-based materials.

"Text-based" refers to materials with static or fixed text and images, such as textbooks and supplemental text materials. Both print and digital materials can be text-based. For example, an electronic textbook that replicates a standard print textbook is considered a text-based material.

Books in standard print are common examples of text-based materials. To successfully use print, learners need functional skills related to sensory, physical, and cognitive abilities. Some learners may have visual disabilities that make it difficult to see the text and images on the page. Other learners may be unable to hold printed materials because of a physical disability. Still others may be unable to read or derive meaning from the printed text because of a learning disability.

Certain digital materials also have text and images. Specifically, text-based digital materials are not consistently designed for use with assistive technology (AT). Some learners use AT to read and navigate text and images in digital materials. Screen readers, text to speech, and switches are a few examples of AT devices and software that learners with a wide range of disabilities use. To prevent barriers for learners who use AT, see Vetting for Accessibility.

Because of the frequent barriers presented by text-based materials, some learners with disabilities need alternative forms, known as accessible formats. Examples of accessible formats include audio, braille, large print, tactile graphics, and digital text conforming with accessibility standards.

The term accessible format is defined in section 121 of the Copyright Act, known as the Chafee Amendment:

About the AEM Center at CAST
Share:
National Center on Accessible Educational Materials logo
Based at CAST, the AEM Center is funded by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. We work with states and districts to build capacity for developing and sustaining robust systems for providing accessible materials and technologies for all learners who need them. To us, accessibility means that individuals with disabilities—from early childhood through the workforce—have equal access to materials and technologies for reaching educational outcomes and advancing in employment.

We provide three levels of technical assistance:

Universal technical assistance is available to everyone. You’ll find products and services throughout our website and collected on our resources page. Webinars and conference presentations are listed on our events page.
Targeted technical assistance describes the Center's strategic collaborations to address problems of practice in early childhood programs, higher education, and workforce development. Supports for families are also a part of our targeted technical assistance.
Intensive technical assistance describes the Center's capacity-building activities with a small cohort of states. This partnership is designed to produce practices that can be scaled nationally.

Join us for an insightful session on accessibility supports available on the Oregon Statewide Assessments. We will review 2022-23 assessment data, explore commonly used supports, and discuss integrating them into everyday instruction. Learn how to prepare students for success on statewide assessments and gain valuable insights into the accessibility process at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Join us to empower your students and enhance their assessment experiences!

The Accessibility Course for Education is designed to provide you with a basic introduction to digital accessibility and provide practical guidelines for complying with accessibility guidelines in your own educational content. This course was developed by the Arthur Lakes Library at the Colorado School of Mines using an Open Educational Resources grant from the Colorado Department of Higher Education. While the initial intention was to provide training to faculty participating in Mines' OER program, the course is now open to all to help foster inclusive and accessible educational resources. Course content is geared toward instructors, but other accessibility advocates will also benefit from the course.

Join Aujalee Moore (ODE), Debra Fitzgibbons (OTAP), Linda Brown (ODE), and Michael Cantino (BVIS) for shared learning about accessibility and instructional materials in Oregon K-12 schools.

Think about the diverse learners in your classroom. How do we engage ALL learners in the curriculum content?  In the Accessible Content for All modules, you will learn about Accessible Educational Material (AEM) and tech tools that are hidden in plain sight in your schools.  You will hear teacher accounts of using tools like read-aloud, closed captioning, and translation to increase student engagement.  These modules are self-paced and cover ways to create accessibility within Google, Microsoft, and IOS.  Peruse the modules and explore the topics you want to learn more about.  Create your own learning journey toward building accessibility, equity, and engagement in your classroom.

Some educational materials can create barriers for some students when they are not designed with accessibility in mind. Some students with disabilities may h...

Accessible Educational Materials was previously referred to in the IDEA as Accessible Instructional Materials. “Educational materials and technologies are “accessible” to people with disabilities if they are able to “acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services” as people who do not have disabilities. As a person with a disability, you must be able to achieve these three goals “in an equally integrated and equally effective manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use” (Joint Letter US Department of Justice and US Department of Education, June 29, 2010).” (aem.org.cast)The NC Policies Governing Services for Children with Disabilities cites IDEA on Accessible Instructional Materials.

Watch move videos at www.perkinselearning.org/videos/webcastIn this webcast, Yue Ting Siu provides us with an introduction to current technologies employed t...

Discover accessible learning across the lifespan in these short and informative videos designed to start conversations about the importance of accessibility and accessible materials in your context.

Introduction to Accessibility

In this first video in our series, you’ll build an understanding of what accessibility means. People who need accessible materials and technologies describe how access creates inclusion where they live, learn, and work. Ultimately, accessibility is achieved when we remove barriers — or better yet, design environments that are inclusive for everyone from the beginning.

Turn learning barriers into learning opportunities by exploring the world of accessibility and Universal Design for Learning.

Each episode of The Accessible Learning Experience features interviews with national, state, and local leaders whose work focuses on turning learning barriers into learning opportunities. These leaders share their top tips and strategies for implementing accessibility best practices in a variety of settings. They also shine a spotlight on the partnerships and collaboration that are needed to create robust systems for the timely provision and use of accessible educational materials and technologies in support of inclusive teaching and learning practices. Episodes are released monthly and you can listen on the web through Anchor or through the podcast app of your choice.

Advocating For My Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) is a workbook designed for students to use as they begin to learn to advocate for the accommodations and accessibility features they need in their educational programs. It applies common self-advocacy principles to the needs of students who use AEM in their daily educational programs. Students and their support teams will find this guide useful when an assessment has been completed to establish the need for accessible educational materials, technology, and assistive technology. In creating this workbook, the authors have assumed that the student is already using their AEM in functional ways in their educational environments. Because students can start building self-advocacy skills as soon as they begin to use AEM, individual sections of the workbook may be useful as soon as students begin to learn to use AEM.

The purpose of the Quality Indicators and Critical Components is to assist state and local education agencies, institutions of higher education and workforce development agencies with planning, implementing, and evaluating dynamic, coordinated systems for the timely provision of accessible educational materials and accessible technologies. Given the variability of policies and practices across these organizations, the Quality Indicators and Critical Components are designed to provide agencies with consistent goals and to promote discussion around multiple methods to achieve those goals.

The transition from high school to higher education can be daunting, especially for blind and low vision students! In this session, professionals from K12 and higher education discuss what blind and low vision students need to know to make the transition process as smooth as possible. We'll discuss accessible materials, assistive technology, and the important differences between high school and higher education. We'll also discuss key support systems that students can access so they know who to turn to when they need a little help. This session is your roadmap to confident transition planning, helping teachers empower students as they get ready to embark on the next step of their educational journey.

This website provide a list of all the AEM State Contacts in the United States.

Georgia AEM Vision​​​​​​​​
All Georgia students will have access to educational materials in the most appropriate ​format and with the technology to make those formats accessible.​​