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An Examination of the NIMAS and the NIMAC Provisions in IDEA 2004: A Brief for Families and Educators

Prepared for the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials by
Joanne Karger, J.D., Ed.D.
January 16, 2012

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, most recently reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), require that students with disabilities be taught to the same high academic standards that are set for all students and be provided the opportunity to participate in the same general education curriculum that is provided to students without disabilities. For students with print disabilities, however, the printed text of instructional materials is a barrier to their participation in the general education curriculum.

This brief is intended to help families and educators understand the legal provisions that were included in IDEA 2004 to improve the quality and delivery of accessible instructional materials to students with print disabilities. Some students with print disabilities may have visual disabilities that make it difficult for them to see printed text. Other students may be unable to hold printed materials because of a physical disability. Still other students may be unable to read or derive meaning from the printed text because of their disability-related needs. Accessible instructional materials are instructional materials that have been converted into accessible or specialized formats (Braille, audio, digital text, or large print) in order to help students with print disabilities learn the same curriculum that is being taught to other students in the class.

What is NIMAS?

IDEA 2004 established NIMAS, which stands for the “National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard.”1 This technical standard is used to prepare “electronic files” that can be used to convert instructional materials into specialized formats (Braille, audio, digital text, or large print).2 All states were required to adopt NIMAS for the purpose of providing instructional materials to blind students or other students with print disabilities.3 While all States must adopt NIMAS, State educational agencies (SEAs) may choose whether or not to coordinate with the NIMAC (described further below).4 Upon adopting NIMAS, States must, at a minimum, accept and use electronic copies of instructional materials in the NIMAS format.5 Adopting NIMAS is a State responsibility and does not impose any legal obligations on publishers.

A national standard was needed to help reduce the costs and delays associated with the provision of accessible instructional materials. For example, a common problem was that different States and districts would often request that publishers produce the same textbook in different kinds of electronic files.

What is the NIMAC?

IDEA 2004 also established the NIMAC, which stands for the “National Instructional Materials Access Center.”6 This center stores the electronic files of print instructional materials that have been developed based on NIMAS.7 The center is run by the American Printing House for the Blind.8

Under IDEA 2004, SEAs and local educational agencies (LEAs) choose whether or not they want to coordinate with the NIMAC. Currently, all 50 States have chosen to opt into the NIMAC.9 To coordinate with the NIMAC, an SEA or LEA, when purchasing print instructional materials from a publisher, must enter into a written contract:

  • to require the publisher to provide to the NIMAC electronic files of the print instructional materials based on NIMAS; or
  • to purchase instructional materials directly from the publisher that are already produced in, or may be made into, specialized formats.10

The NIMAC has set up a system that allows SEAs and LEAs to identify “authorized users” to access the catalog of NIMAS files on their behalf. Authorized users then contract with companies or organizations available to act as accessible media producers (AMPs), which convert NIMAS files into student-ready formats.

The goal of the NIMAS/NIMAC provisions is to help make the process of converting print instructional materials into accessible formats more efficient and less costly and to avoid duplication by different States and school districts. In carrying out these provisions, SEAs are required to work with the State agency responsible for assistive technology, to the maximum extent possible.11

What is meant by the term “print instructional materials”?

Print instructional materials are printed textbooks and related printed core materials that are written and published primarily for use in elementary and secondary school instruction.12 These materials must also be required by an SEA or LEA for use by students in the classroom.13 IDEA requires that NIMAS file sets be provided to the NIMAC for print instructional materials published after July 19, 2006.14 “Published” means that the materials were “made available to the public for sale” after this date, even if the materials were originally published on an earlier date.15

No curriculum area is exempt from the NIMAS/NIMAC process, including math, science, and foreign languages.16 Textbooks that are published primarily for use in post-secondary instruction are not included.17 Materials used in advanced placement classes, trade books, or supplemental materials are not included, unless these materials are published primarily for use in elementary and secondary instruction and are required by an SEA or LEA for use by students in the classroom.18 Teacher editions are not included.19

What does it mean to provide accessible instructional materials in a “timely manner”?

All SEAs and LEAs, regardless of whether or not they coordinate with the NIMAC, must ensure that students with disabilities who need accessible instructional materials receive these materials in a “timely manner.”20 Each State must establish its own definition of “timely manner.”21 Although IDEA 2004 does not define the term timely manner, IDEA regulations state that SEAs must ensure that LEAs take all “reasonable steps” to provide accessible instructional materials to students with disabilities who need them “at the same time” that other students receive their instructional materials.22

Which students are eligible to receive materials developed from NIMAS file sets via the NIMAC?

Students who fall under the definition of “blind or other persons with print disabilities” are eligible to receive materials that have been developed from NIMAS file sets through the NIMAC.23 Students who fall under this definition are those:

  • who are served under IDEA; and
  • who may qualify under “An Act to provide books for the adult blind” to receive books and other publications produced in specialized formats.24

(1) Students served under IDEA

A student who is served under IDEA has been determined to qualify as a “child with a disability” under the statute because:

  • the student has one of the disabilities that are identified under IDEA (intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, speech or language impairments, visual impairments, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, specific learning disabilities or, for a child ages three through nine, developmental delays); and
  • by reason of this disability, the student needs special education and related services.25

Only students who are served under IDEA and who may qualify under “An Act to provide books for the adult blind” are eligible to receive specialized formats developed from NIMAS file sets through the NIMAC.26 Students receiving services under Section 504 are not eligible unless they are otherwise eligible to receive these materials under IDEA.27

(2) Students qualifying under “An Act to provide books for the adult blind”

In addition to being served under IDEA, a student must qualify under “An Act to provide books for the adult blind.”28 This Act, initially passed in 1931, authorized the Library of Congress to set up a national library program for adults who were blind.29 The program was later expanded to include children who were blind and eventually became the “National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped” (NLS).30, 31 Federal regulations establish four categories of disabilities that qualify an individual for the NLS program:

  • Blindness
  • Visual Disability
  • Physical Limitations
  • Reading Disability Resulting from Organic Dysfunction32

In order to be identified as falling under one of the above disability categories, students must be certified by a “competent authority.”33 For the first three categories, a competent authority may be individuals such as medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, therapists, social workers, and counselors.34 For a reading disability resulting from organic dysfunction, the competent authority must be a medical doctor, who may consult with colleagues from other disciplines.35 A reading disability resulting from organic dysfunction is a reading disability that is “physically-based” or has a “physical origin” in the central nervous system.36 LEAs have the responsibility to obtain the appropriate certification for students, including the assumption of any costs associated with certification by a medical doctor.37

What is the responsibility of SEAs and LEAs to provide accessible instructional materials to students who are not NIMAS/NIMAC-eligible?

Only students who are served under IDEA and may qualify under “An Act to provide books for the adult blind” are eligible to receive specialized formats that have been developed from NIMAS files via the NIMAC.38 However, all students with disabilities who need accessible instructional materials must be provided these materials in a timely manner. IDEA regulations state that SEAs and LEAs must ensure that:

  • students with disabilities who need accessible instructional materials, but are not included under the definition of “blind or other persons with print disabilities,” receive these materials in a timely manner; and
  • students with disabilities who need accessible instructional materials that cannot be produced from NIMAS file sets receive these materials in a timely manner.39

For students who are unable to receive accessible instructional materials through the NIMAS/NIMAC process, SEAs and LEAs must obtain these materials in other ways.

The U.S. Department of Education has stated that timely access to appropriate and accessible instructional materials is an inherent component of the obligation of public agencies to ensure that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is available for children with disabilities and that children with disabilities participate in the general education curriculum as specified in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).40

1. 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(3)(B).

2. 20 U.S.C. §§ 1474(e)(3)(B), 1474(e)(3)(D) (incorporating by reference 17 U.S.C. § 121(d)(3) (current version at 17 U.S.C. § 121(d)(4)).

3. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(23)(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.172(a)(1).

4. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(23)(B); 34 C.F.R. § 300.172(b)(1).

5. 71 Fed. Reg. 46540, 46616 (Aug. 14, 2006).

6. 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(1).

7. Id. § 1474(e)(2)(A).

8. Id. § 1474(e)(1).

9. 20 U.S.C. §§ 1412(a)(23)(B), 1413(a)(6); 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.172(b)(1), 300.210.

10. 20 U.S.C. §§ 1412(a)(23)(C), 1413(a)(6)(A); 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.172(c)(1), 300.210(a).

11. 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(23)(D); 34 C.F.R. § 300.172(d).

12. 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(3)(C).

13. Id.

14. Letter to Koscielniak, 50 IDELR 287, at **1-2 (OSEP 2008) (citing 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(4)).

15. Id. at *2.

16. Id. at *3; OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUC. PROGRAMS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE NATIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD (NIMAS), at 10 (rev. Aug. 2010). Letter to Koscielniak, 50 IDELR 287, at *3 (OSEP 2008).

17. Letter to Koscielniak, 50 IDELR 287, at *3 (OSEP 2008).

18. Id.

19. Id.

20. 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.172(b)(2), (c)(2), 300.210(b)(2), (3).

21. 34 C.F.R. § 300.172(a)(2).

22. Id. § 300.172(b)(4).

23. 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(2)(B).

24. Id. § 1474(e)(3)(A).

25. 20 U.S.C. § 1401(3); 34 C.F.R. § 300.8.

26. 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(3)(A).

27. OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUC. PROGRAMS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE NATIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD (NIMAS), at 6 (rev. Aug. 2010).

28. 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(3)(A).

29. Pub. L. No. 71-787, ch. 400, §§ 1-2, 46 Stat 1487 (Mar. 3, 1931) (current version at 2 U.S.C. §§ 135a, 135a-1, 135b).

30. Pub. L. No. 82-446, ch. 566, 66 Stat. 326 (July 3, 1952).

31. National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, A History of the National Library Service for Blind and Handicapped Individuals, the Library of Congress, in THAT ALL MAY READ: LIBRARY SERVICE FOR BLIND AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED PEOPLE, at 156 (1983).

32. 36 C.F.R. § 701.6(b)(1).

33. Id.

34. Id. § 701.6(b)(2)(i).

35. Id. 701.6(b)(2)(ii).

36. Library of Congress, NLS Factsheets: Talking Books and Reading Disabilities (1997), available at Opens new windowhttp://www.loc.gov/nls/reference/factsheets/readingdisabilities.html.

37. OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUC. PROGRAMS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE NATIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD (NIMAS), at 7 (rev. Aug. 2010).

38. 20 U.S.C. § 1474(e)(3)(A).

39. 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.172(b)(3), 300.210(b)(3).

40. 71 Fed. Reg. 46540, 46618 (Aug. 14, 2006).

IDEAs that Work logoThis report was written with support from the National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials (NCAIM), a cooperative agreement between CAST and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Cooperative Agreement No. H327T090001. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and no official endorsement by the Department should be inferred.


Last Updated: 04/13/2012