National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard


The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard 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 of print instructional materials. The full set of files includes XML content files, a package file, images, and a PDF file of the title page.
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.