Created by IDEA 2004, the National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC) is a federally funded, online file repository of educational source files. The recent enactment of the Marrakesh Treaty has modified who is eligible to access NIMAC derived materials and made several other changes detailed below.
The changes are important because they affect eligibility requirements for the many students who rely on accessible materials derived from the NIMAC. The updated list of “eligible person” now includes those with IEPs who, regardless of any other disability, are
a. blind
b. have a visual impairment or perceptual or reading disability that cannot be improved to give visual function substantially equivalent to that of a person who has no such impairment or disability and so is unable to read printed works to substantially the same degree as a person without an impairment or disability
c. is otherwise unable, through physical disability, to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes to the extent that would be normally acceptable for reading.
The list of professionals who can certify a student as eligible has also changed. Most notable is the change that a
medical doctor is no longer required to certify individuals with reading disabilities. The new certifying professionals are
d. Doctor of Medicine, doctor of osteopathy, ophthalmologist, optometrist, psychologist, registered nurse, therapist, and professional staff of hospitals, institutions, and public or welfare agencies (such as an educator, a social worker, case worker, counselor, rehabilitation teacher, certified reading specialist, school psychologist, superintendent, or librarian).
Finally, accessible formats are no longer limited to only braille, large print, audio, and digital text. For example,
tactile graphics could now be considered an accessible format.
The best way to learn more about these changes is to review the
AEM center treaty website and their
Module 5 resources. The
AEM Navigator