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National Instructional Materials
Access Center (NIMAC) and
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic® (RFB&D®)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA,
2004) requires that districts provide accessible instruction
materials to students with disabilities who need them. To
help schools do this, IDEIA established the National Instructional
Materials Access Center (NIMAC), which houses electronic files
that can be used to produce alternate formats, such as braille
and audiobooks, for students with print disabilities.
The National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) now
has an online database with hundreds of electronic files for newly
published textbooks. Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D)
has been selected by the state to provide these textbooks in CD
format to eligible students, as requested by local schools.
So that schools may take full advantage of NIMAC, the Massachusetts
Department of Education will provide free RFB&D membership
and specialized CD playback equipment to interested public school
districts. The specialized CD players allow students to play our
audio version of these textbooks, and they can adjust the playback
speed, jump to a particular page, and electronically bookmark
sections of the text that they want to revisit. Computer software
with similar capabilities is also available at a minimal cost.
The software also allows students to view the text on a computer
while they listen to the audio. As part of the membership package,
RFB&D Outreach Staff will provide equipment training to all
members free of charge.
We encourage you to sign up for membership so that we can assist
you in providing these materials. A basic membership package,
including playback equipment, is funded by the
state - there is no financial obligation for your school district
- and membership will also give your students access to RFB&D's
collection of nearly 38,000 digital audio textbooks that are already
available in RFB&D's CV Starr Learning Through Listening®
library .
If your district is already an RFB&D member, you are eligible
to receive additional resources through our arrangement with the
Department of Education. Please call me to discuss how your district
can benefit from this new program.
We look forward to the opportunity to serve your students with
print disabilities and assist you in complying with the IDEIA
regulations. If you have any questions or would like further information,
please contact me.
Additional information is also available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/edtech/assistive/nimas.html.
Read the news release
Jeanne Guiney
Regional Director of Educational Outreach
Tel: 617-577-1111 x18 Fax: 617-577-1113
Email: jguiney@rfbd.org
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