National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
Encyclopedia
The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) helps facilitate timely access to alternate formats of instructional materials for students with visual impairments or other print disabilities. NIMAS outlines a set of consistent and valid XML
-based source files created by K-12
curriculum
publishers or other content producers. These well-structured source files can be used to create accessible specialized formats (i.e., braille
, audio, e-text
, large print, etc.) of print instructional materials. The full set of files includes XML content files, a package file, image
s, and a PDF file of the title page (or whichever page contains ISBN and copyright
information).
In a significant step forward for students with disabilities, the U.S. Congress adopted NIMAS as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, a reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
.
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
-based source files created by K-12
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
publishers or other content producers. These well-structured source files can be used to create accessible specialized formats (i.e., braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
, audio, e-text
E-text
An e-text is, generally, any text-based information that is available in a digitally encoded human-readable format and read by electronic means, but more specifically it refers to files in the ASCII character encoding.E-text has the broad meaning of something electronic that represents words, a...
, large print, etc.) of print instructional materials. The full set of files includes XML content files, a package file, image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
s, and a PDF file of the title page (or whichever page contains ISBN and copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
information).
In a significant step forward for students with disabilities, the U.S. Congress adopted NIMAS as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, a reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a United States federal law that governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities...
.