Accessible Instructional Materials

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Home > OSL&P > Regional Programs > Blind/Visually Impaired Education Services > Accessible Instructional Materials

Accessible instructional materials are specialized formats of curricular content that can be used by and with learners who are unable to read or use standard print materials. They include formats such as braille, audio, large print, and digital text.

Legal References

Copyright Law: Chafee Amendment (1996)
Amendment allowing “authorized entities to reproduce or distribute copies or phonorecords of previously published nondramatic literary works in specialized format exclusively for use by blind or others persons with disabilities.”
IDEA 2004 Regulations
Access to Instructional Materials (300.172)
Purchase of Instructional Materials (300.210)
Oregon Administrative Rules (related to accessible materials)
Accessible Instructional Materials Required (OAR 581-011-0052)
Accessible Materials (OAR 581-015-2060)
Independent Adoptions of Instructional Materials (OAR 581-022-1622)
Instructional Materials Adoption (OAR 581-022-1640)

Eligible Individuals
School districts must provide instructional materials in accessible formats to children who need it, including those who are not blind or print disabled. However, the source to acquire materials is based on Copyright Law and IDEA requirements.

Flowchart - Acquiring AIM from Appropriate Sources 09/10/2012 (418.32 KB)
Assessment of student needs and acquisition of materials
AIM Fact Sheets - Oregon Technology Access Program
Facts about Accessible Instructional Materials
AIM Process Sheets - Oregon Technology Access Program
Determining student need for accessible instructional materials

Authorized User (AU) and Accessible Media Producer (AMP)
An AU or AMP is the coordinating, authorized entities which are the sole “people” who can download the NIMAS source files from the NIMAC. These entities alter the NIMAS source files to make them “student-ready” in accessible formats such as braille, audio, large print, and digital text.

Bookshare
On-line library of accessible digital books available to individuals with visual impairments, physical disabilities, and learning disabilities
Learning Ally
Learning Ally's materials are for all people who cannot effectively read standard print because of a visual, perceptual, or other physical disability for Oregon.
American Printing House for the Blind
Provides specialized materials, products, and services needed for education and life
Oregon Textbook and Media Center (OTMC)
Provides textbooks and supplementary materials in a format selected to match individual student needs (Braille, large print, or audio recordings)

Other Resources

Oregon Technology Access Program (OTAP)
Provides professional development, technical assistance, and resource development to school districts and education agencies in Oregon
NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance Centers
Background, policy, and technology resources for state and local educators, parents, educational publishers, conversion houses, and accessible media producers
Talking Books and Braille Services (TBABS)
Provides books, magazines, newspapers, and music scores to eligible Oregonians with print disabilities
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Housed through the Library of Congress and utilizing a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS administers a free library program of Braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail.