The Department of Education has released a final rule on the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, which seeks to ensure the availability of universally designed instructional materials.
NIMAS guides educational publishers in creating uniform digital versions of textbooks that can be easily converted into materials that are accessible for students with disabilities. For example, the common standard will allow publishers to more quickly create Braille textbooks for students who are blind. In addition to creating a uniform standard, NIMAS is also intended to be flexible enough to incorporate all elements of a standard print textbook, such as charts and tables. NIMAS will also apply to subjects that require special notations, such as music and science.
The rule appeared in the July 19 issue of the Federal Register.
