The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 requires states to address the critical difficulty in obtaining accessible textbooks for students with disabilities by adopting a new file format, the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS). This same legislation offers a means to assist states in this responsibility by establishing a national repository to collect and store these files and make them available to states. The American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. has been collecting and storing NIMAS files, and serves as the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) with support from the U.S. Department of Education.
Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004 set in motion multiple changes that will help teachers, parents and schools ensure that every student with disabilities receives a quality education. The most significant area of improvement involves the intent and promise to provide textbooks in accessible formats for individuals with print-related disabilities.
