Oklahoma ABLE Tech

Janet Barresi, State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
Oklahoma State Department of Education Special Education Services

Technical Assistance Document
Oklahoma Procedures for Providing Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM)

Oklahoma State Department of Education
2500 North Lincoln Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Phone: 405-522-3248 www.ok.gov/sde

It is the policy of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability in its programs or employment practices as required by Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Civil rights compliance inquiries related to the OSDE may be directed to the Affirmative Action Officer, Room 111, 2500 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4599, telephone number (405) 522-4930; or, the United States Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. Inquiries or concerns regarding compliance with Title IX by local school districts should be presented to the local school district Title IX coordinator.

Background

Some students with disabilities have difficulty reading and accessing standard print learning materials such as textbooks and supplementary materials. A student with a visual impairment, for example may not be able to read a standard print textbook and would likely require larger print or braille to read independently. A student with a physical disability, who is unable to hold and turn the pages of a standard textbook, may benefit from having an audio or digital version of a textbook. A student with a reading disability may better comprehend information that is displayed on a computer or a tablet while the text is read aloud by a computer voice. To be successful in school, these students and others like them need learning materials in specialized formats. When the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 2004, it included a requirement that elementary and secondary school students with disabilities who need print instructional materials in an accessible format receive them in a timely manner. This means that school districts must
take reasonable steps to provide accessible instructional materials (AIM) to eligible students with disabilities without delay, typically at the same time as other students receive instructional materials.

What is a Print Disability?

“Print disability” is used by U.S. copyright law to determine who is eligible to receive specialized formats of print materials under the provisions of the 1931 Act to Provide Books to the Adult Blind, as Amended. Under this Act, individuals with a print disability are those who have been certified by a competent authority to be unable to read or use standard print materials because of:

• Blindness,

• Visual impairment,

• Physical limitations, or

• Reading disabilities resulting from an

organic dysfunction such as dyslexia.

This guide was created to explain:

• The process for making decisions about AIM;

• Why a student may need AIM;

• What types of specialized formats are available;

• How AIM are acquired;

• What supports are necessary to effectively utilize
AIM; and

• What can be done to promote the use of AIM for
students.

With this knowledge, school districts, educators, and families can ensure that students with disabilities have access to the materials they need to participate in class and achieve academically.

What are Print Instructional Materials?

“Print instructional materials” include printed textbooks and related print core materials that are written and published primarily for use in elementary and secondary school instruction and are required by a state or local education agency (LEA) for use by students in a classroom. Such materials often include workbooks and other supplemental materials packaged with the textbook by the publisher.

Accessible Instructional Materials and the Law

NIMAS is a standard file format established by IDEA that was created to make it easier for students with disabilities
to access learning materials in the formats they need as quickly as possible. Electronic files of books created
using the NIMAS format are designed to be easily converted into specialized formats including braille, large print,
audio, and digital text. States must ensure that students with disabilities who need AIM receive them “in a timely
manner.” Each state has the responsibility to define “in a timely manner.” Oklahoma has defined it as “at the same
time as other students or to the greatest extent possible.”

Oklahoma coordinates with the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) as a means to provide
specialized formats to qualifying students in a timely manner. IDEA mandated the establishment of the NIMAC.
The NIMAC is a national repository for publisher source files of textbooks and related core printed materials that
are created according to the NIMAS technical specification.

Purchase orders made by state and local education agencies should include language that requires publishers to
submit NIMAS-conformant files to the NIMAC, or provide assurances that they have already done so, for each
specific title purchased. Contract language must also ask publishers to use the MathML3 Structure Guidelines
recommended by the NIMAS Center when requesting NIMAS files. MathML3 structure increases the accessibility
of math and science textbooks. By doing this, the education agencies obligate publishers to submit source files to
the NIMAC, ensuring that all students with print disabilities receive appropriate accessible versions of instructional
materials in a timely manner. Sample contract language can be found at okabletech.okstate.edu/AIM.html.
For more information about MathML3 and NIMAS formats visit www.aim.cast.org.

Who is Qualified to Receive NIMAS Textbooks?

Access to NIMAS textbooks is limited to individuals who
qualify for an exemption to copyright law due to print
disability. The Chafee Amendment (17 U.S.C. § 121
[1]) allows authorized entities to reproduce or distribute
copies or phonorecords of instructional materials in
specialized formats exclusively for use by “blind or other
persons with disabilities.”

The National Instructional Materials Access
Center (NIMAC)

The National Instructional Materials Access Center
is the national library of files developed according to the
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
(NIMAS). To receive specialized formats created with
NIMAS source files from the NIMAC, a student must:

• Have an IEP. This means the child has undergone
an evaluation and is or will be receiving special
education services under IDEA, and

• Be certified by a competent authority as having a
“print disability” as defined by copyright statute.

Students eligible for materials created from NIMAS
files from the NIMAC will not receive them directly.
Authorized users designated by states and registered
with the NIMAC access these files for creation of
student-ready materials in braille, large print, audio
and digital text formats. In Oklahoma, ABLE Tech,
Bookshare, Learning Ally, Liberty Braille, the AIM
Center at the Oklahoma Library For the Blind and
Physically Handicapped, and the Oklahoma School for
the Blind are authorized users of the NIMAC.

A competent authority certifies students as having
a print disability. For students who are blind, have
a visual impairment, or have physical limitations, this
can be a doctor or other medical professional, a social
worker, or a school official such as a school psychologist
or special educator. Students with reading disabilities
resulting from organic dysfunction must be certified as
having a print disability by a medical doctor.

Specific Questions the Team Might Ask Include:

• Can the student see the material well enough

to read the information on a level comparable to
other classmates?

• Can the student physically manipulate the

material without a lot of effort?
• Does the student have the necessary stamina

to read standard printed materials for extended
periods of time?

• Does the student have the decoding, fluency, and
processing skills needed to gain information from
grade-level printed materials?

Answering “no” to any of these questions might
indicate that a student needs the instructional materials
in specialized formats. If there are cognitive concerns
as well, the student may need modified or alternative
materials.

Decision Process for Accessible Instructional Materials

There are four decision-making steps members of an
Individualized Education Program (IEP) team should
take to ensure that students receive specialized formats
that are needed for educational participation and
achievement. The IEP team should:

1. Establish need for instructional materials in
specialized formats.
2. Select which type of specialized format(s) are needed
by the student.
3. Determine how to acquire needed formats in a timely
manner.
4. Consider what supports are needed for effective use
of the specialized formats by the student.

Determining Student Need for AIM

Students with a variety of disabilities may need AIM.
Students who can understand the textbook content but
are unable to read or use standard print materials can
access that content through specialized formats, which
include braille, large print, audio, and digital text.

An IEP team should consider a variety of factors when
determining whether a student needs materials in a
specialized format. First, the IEP team should consider
whether the student can read and use the standard
print-based materials used by the other students.

• If the answer is “yes,” specialized formats would not

be needed at this time, and the team should continue

with the development of the IEP.

• If the answer is “no,” the team should then determine

if the student needs exactly the same content in one

or more specialized formats or if the student needs

modified content or alternative materials.

When thinking about a student’s possible need for
specialized formats, the IEP team might consider, along
with other factors, the student’s sensory, physical, and
cognitive capability; reading level (decoding, word
recognition, comprehension, and fluency skills); grades;

classroom performance; and levels of academic
proficiency in all subject areas.

Specialized Formats vs. Alternative Materials

• Specialized formats include the same content as
a printed textbook or other instructional material
but change the way the content is presented to
the student. No information is added or removed.

• Alternative materials address the same educational
goals as the standard print document, but the content
is modified (usually made less complex) so that the
student can better understand it. Some students may
need alternative materials in specialized formats in
order to access them.

Selecting Specialized Formats

If the IEP team determines that a student needs AIM,
the next step is to select which specialized format would
be most appropriate. The four types of specialized
formats are braille, large print, audio, and digital text:

• Braille is a tactile system of reading and writing
made up of raised dot patterns for letters, numbers,
and punctuation marks. This format is used almost
exclusively by people with visual impairments or
blindness. Braille may be either embossed (a permanent
printed document) or refreshable (electronically
generated and accessed via a braille display device).

• Large print is generally defined as 18 point or larger
font size. A document produced in large print format
usually has more white space and may not look like
the original document, but it contains the same
information. Large print may be printed on pages that
are the same size as a standard textbook page or on
pages of a larger size.

• Audio formats present content as sound with no
visual component. Audio formats include recorded
human voice or synthesized electronic speech.

• Digital text provides electronic content that is
delivered on a computer or another device. Electronic
content may be changed in many ways (e.g., size,
contrast, read aloud) to accommodate the needs and
preferences of a student. How content is presented to
a user depends upon the technology being used and
student needs.

should also be considered. A student will typically
need a trial period with different formats to determine
which are most effective and preferred in different
environments for various reading tasks. Oklahoma AIM
service providers listed on page 5 provide free shortterm
assistive technology loans to help students and
teachers determine the right fit.

Acquiring AIM

AIM can be acquired from a variety of sources;
however, not all students are eligible to receive
materials from each of the sources. U.S. copyright
laws require individuals to have a certified “print
disability” in order to receive specialized formats of
copyrighted materials from some sources. However,
if an IEP team has determined that a student needs
accessible instructional materials in order to receive
a free appropriate public education (FAPE), the
school must provide specialized formats even if the
student does not have a print disability as defined by
copyright statute.

Students may require different formats depending
on their needs, the instructional material, and the
environments in which it will be used. For example,
a student may use a digital format at school, an audio
format at home, a large print book for math, and a
digital text for history. The IEP team will select the
formats that are needed for each print instructional
material that must be available in an accessible form. In
making the decision, the team should consider which
format will best enable the student to:

• Access information contained in the printed
materials,

• Work as independently as possible,

• Develop literacy skills, and

• Participate in educational activities.

The student’s preferences, language, vision, memory,
listening skills, tactile skills, and English proficiency

Sources of AIM

AIM can be acquired from the following common
sources:

• National Instructional Materials Access Center

(NIMAC)

• Accessible media producers (AMPs)
• Publishers

• Other sources

• Locally created
continued on page 5

The following providers are available to help with AIM services and assistive technology. The
organizations with asterisks are NIMAC authorized users and can download textbooks and
related instructional materials on behalf of Oklahoma students as well as provide the
appropriate specialized format, often at no cost to the school:

• *Oklahoma ABLE Tech (AIM and Assistive Technology Center) 800.257.1705 or
405.744.9748 www.okabletech.okstate.edu/AIM/

• *The AIM Center at the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
800.523.0288 or 405.521.3514 www.library.state.ok.us/aim/
• *Bookshare www.bookshare.org
• *Learning Ally www.learningally.org

• *Liberty Braille 800.920.3369 or 405.562.3996 www.libertybraille.com

• *Oklahoma School for the Blind for in-house students. 877.229.7136
• Oklahoma Assistive Technology Center (OATC) 405.271.3625 or 800.700.6282 theoatc.org

Sources of AIM

There are numerous free and commercial sources for
accessible materials. Some of the sources are for
textbooks and other books. Items with expired
copyrights and in the public domain are typically
available free of charge.

NIMAC (NIMAC.us)
Provides core instructional textbooks and materials
for K-12 students.

Bookshare (Bookshare.org)

Bookshare creates and provides files that can be
used by students with print disabilities who need
materials in digital text, audio, or braille formats.
Materials are free for students with print disabilities.

• American Printing House for the Blind: aph.org

• Audible: www.audible.com

• Audio Editions: www.audioeditions.com

• Blackstone Audio, Inc: www.blackstoneaudio.com

• Learning Ally: www.learningally.org

• LibriVox: librivox.org

• Louis Database: louis.aph.org

• National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped: loc.gov/nls

• NetLibrary: www.netlibrary.org

• Online bookstores: www.amazon.com,
www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.

• OverDrive: www.overdrive.com

• Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org

“Open Source” Instructional Materials

Open source materials can be acquired, customized, and
used with any student free of charge, or for a very small
fee, depending on the source. The IEP team will need
to verify that an open source material is accessible. The
CK-12 Foundation (about.ck12.org) has additional
information on this source.

Locally Created

Although specialized formats are increasingly available
through accessible media producers and commercial
sources, the “do-it-yourself” method of creating
materials - often by scanning the material or by creating
it on a computer and saving it as digital text - remains
a way to meet the needs of some students for certain
materials. For example, teacher-made materials will
almost always need to be created in this manner.

When an accessible version of a published, copyrighted
material is created in this way, copyright law must still be
respected. The safest approach is to ask permission from
the publisher.

Publishers

Upon request by a state or local education agency
(LEA), a publisher may be willing to provide a digital
file or grant permission to copy and scan materials
that are not available from another source. When
publishers provide these files, it is usually with the
understanding that use of materials created from the
file will be limited to students certified as having a print
disability. This is especially helpful when the material
is no longer sold and has no NIMAS source file. These
materials are called “legacy materials.”

Some publishers also provide digital versions of
instructional materials that can be purchased along
with or instead of the printed books. This can be very
useful if the digital version contains the same information
as the printed book rather than supplementary
material. Just because a material is in a digital format,
however, does not necessarily mean that the material
is accessible to all students. For example, perhaps the
text cannot be read aloud, highlighted, or otherwise
changed.

Supports Needed for AIM

The IEP team should determine whether any of the following
supports are needed for a student to effectively
use the selected AIM:

• Technology

• Training

• Instructional strategies

• Support services

• Accommodations or modifications

Why Aren’t More Instructional Materials
Available for Purchase in
Accessible Formats?

Some publishers have said that few educational
agencies are asking for accessible materials for
purchase, but that may be because people do not know
they exist.

To increase the availability of AIM for purchase,
school staff and parents are encouraged to
contact publishers to ask for accessible versions of
textbooks that can be purchased. This is extremely
important because a purchased textbook in any
format can be used by any student, rather than by
only students who meet certain qualifications.

In addition, if the accessible material is coming
directly from the publisher of the printed material,
it is likely that both formats will be delivered at the
same time.

Technology

After selecting the specialized formats and determining
how to acquire them, the team should decide what
types of technology or tools are needed for a student
to use the accessible materials. Information about the
specific formats and features needed by the student
along with how and where the student will use the
accessible materials can be helpful when choosing
among the various technology tools that might be used
to deliver the specialized formats.

Oklahoma’s AIM service providers help schools,
students, parents, and guardians determine which
device(s) and/or software will be most effective with
the specialized format used by a student. As Oklahoma’s
Assistive Technology Act Program, ABLE Tech
offers device loans for up to six weeks for trial
purposes. After the loan term is complete, it is the
responsibility of the local education agency (LEA) to
purchase equipment listed in a student’s IEP. Liberty
Braille, the AIM Center, and OATC offer short term
assistive technology loans. Bookshare and Learning Ally
also offer specialized assistive technology for use with
specialized formats free-of-charge, for purchase or loan.

Training

The amount of training required for the student to use AIM will vary according to the complexity of the technology
or tool selected to access the specialized formats. For example, use of a large print book would not require
much training. However, if a student is using text-to-speech software or a screen reader to access digital text, he
or she may need to learn more advanced skills. Teachers, other school staff, and families may also need training in
order to support the child at home and school.

Students may also need additional types of training, such as when to use a particular format or tool for a specific
learning task or how to ask for needed supports when they are not readily available.

Instructional Strategies

Educators may need to use various instructional strategies to support students using specialized formats and
supporting technologies. When a student first begins using these tools, instruction should include multiple
opportunities for the student to understand the purpose, benefits, and outcomes of using the tools. It is helpful
to start by providing opportunities for the student to use the tools to successfully complete familiar learning tasks
(possibly in a single environment). Gradually building on early successes and slowly introducing the complexity
of the tools will enable the student to master them and work as independently as possible on learning goals
in a variety of environments. Educators and families will need to work together to support the student’s use of
accessible materials and to monitor the change in the student’s participation and achievement.

Support Services

A student’s IEP should describe any support services needed for effective use of various specialized formats and
who is responsible for providing them. Different support services may be needed for different formats. For example,
a student using braille may require specialized instructions from a qualified teacher of the visually impaired,
and a student with a physical disability may need the support of an occupational or physical therapist. Additional
supports such as case management, classroom organization and arrangement, equipment management and maintenance
and file acquisition may also be needed.

Accommodations and Modifications

The use of AIM may require accommodations or modifications to a student’s education program. For example,
a student may need preferential seating or additional time to complete tasks due to the time required to use a
specialized format. A student may need frequent breaks to avoid fatigue. Some students may need to provide
responses orally rather than in writing. The team should consider which accommodations or modifications will
be necessary when writing the IEP.

Examples

The following examples are provided to illustrate how
AIM can be used with various students:

• A ninth-grade student with a visual impairment is
enrolled in Oklahoma History, English Literature,
Physical Science, Algebra I, and French. His IEP
team has determined that he needs digital text for
Oklahoma History, Physical Science, and French;
audio for English Literature; and embossed braille for
Algebra I. The student will also need audio versions of
several novels required for English Literature.

School personnel could contact ABLE Tech or
Liberty Braille to facilitate the acquisition of specialized
formats and to borrow assistive technology such as
screen reader software or text-to-speech software on
a computer or a tablet, if needed for decision making
purposes.

ABLE Tech will coordinate with Bookshare or the
NIMAC for digital versions of the Oklahoma History,
Physical Science and French textbooks, Learning Ally
for the audio version of the English Literature textbook
and additional novels, and Liberty Braille for an
embossed copy of the Algebra I textbook. The
school may also contact these AMPs individually for
assistance.

Oklahoma AIM service providers will also help schools
set up organizational accounts and individual memberships
for students with AMPs such as Bookshare and
Learning Ally.

• A second-grade student with a reading disability
from organic dysfunction may need his materials for
reading, science, and social studies in a digital format.
The school would contact ABLE Tech to help with
getting digital textbooks from Bookshare or the
NIMAC and to borrow assistive technology if needed.
The school may also obtain an organization membership
with Bookshare and assist the student in getting
an individual membership to have access to additional
reading materials.

• The IEP team has determined that an eleventhgrade
student who has been diagnosed with emotional
disturbance needs instructional materials in digital
format to be read with text-to-speech. Since he does
not have a qualified print disability, this student is not
eligible to receive NIMAS materials. However, the
school is still required to provide AIM. In this case,
school personnel may request a digital copy from the
publisher or permission to copy and scan this student’s
materials into electronic text.

Steps to Promote AIM

The requirement for providing AIM to students is
a relatively new provision in IDEA. Teachers, school
officials, parents, and advocates can help facilitate the
use of specialized formats by:

• Sharing information about AIM and available
supports;

• Using a decision-making process during the
development of the IEP to determine if students
need AIM;

• Learning about the process for obtaining materials
from the NIMAC, accessible media producers and
other sources;
• Communicating with IEP teams and school
administrators about accessible materials that are
often available to eligible students free of charge; and

• Collaborating with local and state education agencies
to urge publishers to offer accessible versions of textbooks
for purchase.

AIM can help students with disabilities access the
same content as their peers and be successful in
school. Because of new provisions in IDEA, specialized
formats are more readily available to students
who cannot read or use a standard textbook.

Reading this booklet, learning more information and
sharing it with others are important first steps to
ensuring that students with disabilities have access to
accessible materials needed for their school participation
and achievement.

Decision-Making Tools and Supports

Interactive tools from the National Center on Accessible
Instructional Materials can be used by teams to help
with decisions about accessible instructional materials.

The AIM Navigator facilitates the process of decision making
about AIM for an individual student by IEP
or other decision-making teams. The four decision
points in the process include 1) determination of need,
2) selection of format(s), 3) acquisition of formats,
and 4) selection of supports for use. The Navigator
provides support for decision-making at each
point by providing guiding questions, resources,
and links to other tools. The AIM Navigator
collects information and creates a summary “to do” list.
www.aim.cast.org/navigator.

The AIM Explorer is a free downloadable simulation
tool that combines grade-leveled digital text with
access features common to most text readers and
supported reading software. Settings for magnification,
colors of text and background, text-tospeech,
text highlighting, and layout options can be
manipulated to help educators, families, and struggling
readers decide ways in which these supports
can be configured to help with access to and understanding
of text. The AIM Explorer collects information
and prepares a summary that can be printed or
saved to a local computer. http://aim.cast.org/experience/
decision-making_tools/aim_explorer

Additional AIM Resources

National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials:
www.aim.cast.org

National Instructional Materials Access Center:
www.nimac.us

NIMAS Information from the U.S. Department of
Education, IDEA Part B: idea.ed/gov/explore/home

United States Department of Education Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): idea.ed/gov

Accessible Instructional Materials Technical Guide for
Families and Advocates, National Center on Accessible
Instructional Materials at CAST:
www.pacer.org/publications/stc.asp

Janet Barresi, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Oklahoma State Department of Education Special Education Services Technical Assistance Document Oklahoma Procedures for Providing Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM)