District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support
Educational Technology

National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)

What is NIMAS?
NIMAS is a new technical standard that curriculum publishers began using in 2006. Publishers will send NIMAS files to a national repository, the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC). The NIMAS files can then be used to produce alternate formats, such as Braille and audiobooks, for students with disabilities.

How will NIMAS help students?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires school districts to provide instructional materials to blind persons or other persons with print disabilities in a timely manner. This means that districts must take all reasonable steps to provide print instructional materials in accessible formats to children with disabilities at the same time as other children receive those materials. NIMAS and the NIMAC are designed help districts do this, by streamlining the process and reducing duplication of efforts on the part of districts and publishers.

Which students are eligible to use NIMAS materials?
NIMAS files are available only to blind or other students with print disabilities in elementary schools and secondary schools. See Documenting Student Eligibility for Use of NIMAS Files.

How can districts participate in the NIMAC?
To participate in the NIMAC, a district needs to include a NIMAS provision in its contracts with publishers. When purchasing core instructional print materials published after July 19, 2006, the district should require the publisher to send NIMAS files for those materials to the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC), on or before delivery of the print instructional materials. By doing this, districts will help to build a library of files at the NIMAC.

What books are available through the NIMAC?
According to IDEA 2004, the NIMAC will maintain a catalog of "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." Materials must have been published on or after July 19, 2006. Also, keep in mind that NIMAC depends on districts' participation to help to build their library (see the previous paragraph).

How can districts access NIMAS files?
In most cases, districts will access accessible materials created from NIMAS files, rather than accessing NIMAS files directly. The following organizations will coordinate the conversion of NIMAS files into several formats, which districts can access on behalf of eligible students with disabilities:

• Braille and large print
  If a student needs Braille or large print, the district (through its Teacher of the Visually Impaired) can contact the Massachusetts Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) Library to request these materials. NIMAS has not changed the VRL's policies and procedures; it just offers a more efficient means of providing textbooks in alternate media. Before a district can request materials, it must submit documentation of student eligibility for services.

• Computer files
  If a student needs a computer file for use with text-to-speech software, the district can order these files from non-profit organizations such as Bookshare or Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D). While both organizations have files for books published after 2006, Bookshare also has files for older books. Before files can be ordered, the district needs to submit documentation of student eligibility. Note that Bookshare has received a federal grant allowing it to provide its computer files at no cost to schools. The state has funded district-level RFB&D memberships for all Massachusetts school districts for the 2007-2008 school year.

• Audiobooks
  If a student needs an audio-only CD, the district can order it from Recording for the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD). CDs read by volunteer narrators are available for many books, including those published before NIMAS went into effect in 2006. Before materials can be ordered, the district needs to submit proof of student eligibility for services. Note that, for the 2007-2008 school year, the state has funded district-level RFB&D memberships for all Massachusetts school districts, and additional school-level memberships will be available on a limited basis.

For More Information

National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standards (NIMAS)

NIMAS Development & Technical Assistance Centers (at CAST)

National Instructional Materials Access Center

Documenting Student Eligibility for Use of NIMAS Files

Accessible Textbooks in the Classroom