On May 26, 2020 the U.S. Department of Education issues a Notice of Interpretation (NOI) permitting the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) to accept files derived from digital instructional materials. These FAQs will be updated as more is learned about the implementation of the NOI.
Material Type: Primary Source
or some students with disabilities, the text in instructional materials is a barrier to their participation in the general education curriculum. Some students may have visual disabilities that make it difficult for them to see the text. Other students may be unable to hold materials because of a physical disability. Still others may be unable to read or derive meaning from the text because of their disability-related needs. For these reasons, some students with disabilities need instructional materials that are converted into accessible formats in order to learn the same curriculum that is being taught to other students in the class. In 2004, provisions were added to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to help improve the quality and delivery of accessible formats to students with disabilities who need such materials. Among these provisions, States were required to adopt NIMAS, which stands for the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard. NIMAS is a technical standard used by publishers to prepare “electronic files” that are used to convert instructional materials into accessible formats. The “electronic files” are known as NIMAS source files. The purpose of NIMAS is to help increase the availability and timely delivery of instructional materials in accessible formats for qualifying students in elementary and secondary schools.
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NIMAS Q&A Share: This Q&A provides states, state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and other interested parties with information to facilitate implementation of the NIMAS and coordination with the NIMAC. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in the U.S. Department of Education issued a Q&A document in August 2010 to provide states, state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and other interested parties with information to facilitate implementation of the NIMAS and coordination with the NIMAC. OSERS has updated this document to reflect changes in the NIMAS resulting from the 2020 Notice of Interpretation (NOI) [3] and the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (MTIA). [4] This Q&A document supersedes the previous document and will be updated with new questions and answers as important issues arise or to amend existing questions and answers, as needed.
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The Marrakesh Treaty has resulted in changes to the disability categories used to determine eligibility for NIMAS-derived materials. Additionally, the term “accessible formats” replaces “specialized formats.” The terms “eligible person” and “accessible formats” are now used in relation to the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) provisions of IDEA.
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On November 17, 2004, a bipartisan House-Senate conference committee approved a final special education reform bill that reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and set in motion important reforms that helped teachers, parents, and schools ensure every student with disabilities receives a quality education. The bipartisan agreement is based on legislation authored by House Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman Mike Castle (R-DE) that passed the House in 2003 with bipartisan support. The measure includes reforms recommended in 2002 by President Bush's special education commission, as well as key elements of the IDEA reauthorization bill passed by the Senate in 2004. On December 3, 2004, the President signed IDEA 2004 and stated: "All students in America can learn. That's what all of us up here believe. All of us understand we have an obligation to make sure no child is left behind in America. So I'm honored to sign the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, and once again thank the members for being here."
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Accessibility & Accommodations Assessments should be designed to ensure that all test takers have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills on what the assessment is measuring. Critical to realizing this is providing accessibility features so that assessments are fair, valid, and reliable. “Accessibility” is a general term currently used for three levels of supports. Universal features, which might include use of a highlighter for example, are available to all test takers. Designated features, which might include text-to-speech, are available to all students for whom an adult or team of adults has indicated a need for them. Accommodations are provided only to students with disabilities and English learners for content assessments (general and alternate), and only for English learners with disabilities for English language proficiency (ELP) assessments. Accessibility policies are state-determined, and often vary by content area. Universal features, designated features, and accommodations may be embedded in technology-based assessments or may be provided by a human. The terminology used for the levels, and the specific features included in each level, may differ by state and by assessment.
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We believe that all deaf people can THRIVE.GROW.BLOSSOM. As deaf people leave high school and prepare for college or careers, the National Deaf Center wants them to succeed. Our research shows that deaf people are not completing college degrees, getting jobs, or earning as much as hearing people. We’re here to change that.
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This website provides a list of webinars on the topic of Deaf education.
Material Type: Lecture
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that: no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity 42 U.S.C. 12132. However, many websites from public entities (i.e., State and local governments) fail to incorporate or activate features that enable users with disabilities to access the public entity’s programs, activities, services, or information online. The Department intends to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its Title II ADA regulation to provide technical standards to assist public entities in complying with their existing obligations to make their websites accessible to individuals with disabilities.
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This tutorial is for teachers designing online interactive lessons for reading interventions.
Material Type: Interactive, Teaching/Learning Strategy
Our Very Own Tree: Tactile Graphics and Slide Presentations Science, literacy, tactile graphics, concepts, slide presentation, identifying/labeling pictures, and more all rolled into these tree-related activities!
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Evidence Based Reading Training focused on Vocabulary, Fluency, Phonics & Comprehension. By learning about root words, prefixes and the like my students find more fluency & comprehension in the GED materials that they work with. I am sharing some of the different resources I have found & created to use in teaching ABE, or Adult Basic Education.
Material Type: Homework/Assignment
Across the country, educators are beginning to expand RTI to secondary schools. Middle, junior, and high schools are very different places from elementary schools and, in fact, different from each other. Whether or not your school is presently implementing RTI, you will want to be prepared to ask and answer key questions regarding the opportunities RTI presents in high school settings.
Material Type: Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy
This is a parenting tool to be sent for support with reducing impulsive speech at home.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
The purpose of Unified Arabic Braille Portal is to present the Arabic Braille table in math and science signs/ symbols, as well as to develop the first eight-dots Arabic computer braille table to take benefit of its multiple features, such as writing or reading a single code in a single cell and supporting some computer signs.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Data Set, Diagram/Illustration, Syllabus, Teaching/Learning Strategy
Discover the latest updates for Microsoft Learning Tools and the inclusive classroom including support for reading, writing, math and communication. The pres...
Material Type: Primary Source
On Thursday, March 9th, in celebration of Open Education Week, the #GoOpen National Network presented the session, OER & Digital Accessibility, featuring Cynthia Curry of the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning (AEM Center) at CAST, in conversation with Vanessa Clark, Aujalee Moore, and Matt Hiefield of the Oregon Department of Education, and facilitated by Amee Evans Godwin of ISKME and #GoOpen.Learn more about accessibility and open educational resources (OER), including shared definitions, benefits, guidelines, and implementations so that educators can better support learners with disabilities and learning preferences.
Material Type: Lecture
One in five students in the U.S. are estimated to have learning and attention issues. Specific learning disabilities can include dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, while attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) centers on an individual's challenge with focus. Learning and attention issues often co-occur. These brain-based differences are not the result of low intelligence, poor vision, or hearing. Although young people will not ‘grow out’ of their learning or attention challenge, the appropriate, evidence-based programs and strategies can support a learner to become successful in school, work, and life. It is particularly important that these interventions occur early on (ideally prior to third grade) to provide students the support they need at critical periods of learning and development. While learning and attention challenges affect all learners from every income level and across all races, genders, and ethnicities, students who are Indigenous, Black, Brown, living in poverty, or learning English are more often over- or under-identified with specific learning disability diagnoses.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for learning design. It is based on research in the learning sciences that each individual is unique in how they learn, and within that variability are patterns that are systematic and predictable based on three neural networks that govern the learning process in the brain (Meyer et al., 2014). Knowing the sources and ranges of this variability helps learning designers proactively design to address it. UDL reflects a paradigm shift from curriculum-centered classrooms to learner-centered classrooms that allow for flexibility in learning. The goal of UDL is for all students to have access to learning and for all students to have agency as learners.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
This guide is designed to support your own professional learning around learner variability as well as ideas and resources for sharing with other educators. Did you know that there is no such thing as an average learner? In fact, each and every learner is different across a whole child spectrum—from the content they know, cognitive abilities, social and emotional factors, and background. Our experiences and our environment shape the way we think and feel about learning and our readiness to process new information. Understanding the research behind learner variability helps us disrupt the inequities of a one-size-fits-all education. What is learner variability? It is a recognition that each and every student has a unique set of strengths and challenges that impact the way we learn. Learning science research supports the concept of learner variability and provides pathways and strategies for student success in school and beyond. For example, a factor of learning such as working memory, critical to learning new information, can be affected by emotions or sleep. Additionally, it helps us understand how factors can be affected by context. How students learn in person versus virtually or from one subject to the next can be very different. Students may respond positively to different strategies in different situations or work better with different people in different classes. It also helps us understand important social and emotional connections like how a Sense of Belonging can affect students’ readiness and Motivation to engage in learning. Did you know that learning styles is a myth? Learning styles is a popular idea that many people learned in school. It says that we are either auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learners. But, that is not what research tells us. Research says we learn best when all three options are present and that which modality we rely on may change according to the task. For instance, the way you remember a phone number may be different from the way you learn about a historical event or a math formula. Furthermore, people who think of themselves as only learning one way, (e.g., I am a visual) learner, can close themselves off from other learning experiences.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
