Q&A
Interested in learning about accessible instructional materials for your child?

This factsheet is also available in Word and PDF formats.

Did you know? It’s the law...

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) requires that states and school districts provide accessible versions of instructional materials to students with disabilities in a timely manner, typically at the same time as their peers. While it may be obvious that students who are blind or have print disabilities must be provided with instructional materials that are accessible to them, IDEA 2004 goes further to say that states and school districts are responsible for ensuring that even students who are not included under the definition of blind or other persons with print disabilities, must receive accessible instructional materials in a timely manner. This includes many students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) who struggle to read using traditional print.

To help support the implementation of IDEA 2004, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has funded the NIMAS Center* and the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials (http://aim.cast.org). The AIM Center is a national technical assistance and dissemination center working with states, educators, parents, publishers, and other stakeholders to ensure that students with disabilities receive instructional materials in a timely manner and in formats that are accessible to them.

AIM Center resources for parents

The AIM Center web site (http://aim.cast.org) is a rich resource for parents of students with print disabilities. Two guidebooks have been developed by the PACER and AIM centers especially for families and parents center staff (http://aim.cast.org/learn/aim4families):

• AIM Basics for Families (2011)
• AIM: A Technical Guide for Families and Advocates (2011)
  

Additional resources are always being added to the AIM Center web site, so keep checking to find answers to questions such as—

• What legal issues should I be aware of (e.g., How do I determine if my child qualifies for accessible instructional materials)? http://aim.cast.org/learn/accessiblemedia/allaboutaim/aimbasics
• What tools and resources are available to help my child?
  • http://aim.cast.org/experience/decision-making_tools/aim_navigator
  • http://aim.cast.org
• Who can I contact in my state for more information?
  http://aim.cast.org/learn/policy/state
• How can I share my ideas and insights and learn from others?
  http://aim.cast.org/collaborate
• How can I stay abreast of the latest information about accessible instructional materials that may be useful to my child? Visit the AIM Center (http://aim.cast.org) home page to—
  
  • Sign up for the e-newsletter, the AIM Connector
    http://tiny.cc/j5n9y
  • Follow the AIM Center on Twitter
    http://twitter.com/aim_center
  • Become an AIM Center fan on Facebook
    http://tiny.cc/h5027

*The NIMAS Center maintains and updates the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS), which guides the production of alternate versions of textbooks and related instructional materials so they can be more easily converted to accessible formats, including digital text, braille, large print, and audio.

National Center on AIM at CAST, Inc.  | 40 Harvard Mills Squre, Suire 3 | Wakefield, MA 01880-3233
Voice: (781) 245-2212 | TTY: (781) 245-5212 | Web: http://aim.cast.org