FR Doc 05-12853
[Federal Register: June 29, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 124)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 37302-37306]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29jn05-20]
Download: 
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 300
RIN 1820-AB56
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education proposes to establish the National
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS or standard) as
required under sections 612(a)(23)(A) and 674(e)(4) of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, as amended by the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (Act). The purpose of
the NIMAS is to help increase the availability and timely delivery of
print instructional materials in accessible formats to blind or other
persons with print disabilities in elementary schools and secondary
schools.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 12, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed standard to Troy
Justesen, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5126, Potomac
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2641. If you prefer to send your
comments through the Internet, you may address them to us at the U.S.
Government Web site: http://www.regulations.gov.
Or you may send your Internet comments to us at the following
address: Osersnimascomments@ed.gov.
You must include the term ``NIMAS Comments'' in the subject line of
your electronic message.
Please submit your comments only one time in order to ensure that
we do not receive duplicate copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Troy R. Justesen. Telephone: (202)
245-7468.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding our proposal to adopt
the NIMAS and to make your comments as specific as possible. Also, if
appropriate, please identify the specific section or subsection of the
NIMAS that each of your comments addresses and arrange your comments in
the same order as the standard.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from this proposed
regulatory action. Please let us know of any further opportunities we
should take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits in
connection with this regulatory action.
Please include the following with your comments: A description of
the area of your involvement in special education or regular education,
as well as your role, if any, in that area (e.g., parent, teacher,
student, state or local administrator, or researcher) or other area
(e.g., technology specialist, publisher, or software developer).
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about the standard in room 5126, Potomac Center Plaza, 550
12th Street, SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Comments
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for this standard. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
States use electronic files from publishers of educational
materials to produce accessible versions (e.g., Braille or digital
audio) of these materials or contract to have accessible versions
produced from these files. Because States have different requirements
for these electronic files, however, publishers often experience
increased costs for production, and States experience delays and
inconsistencies in the materials produced.
To facilitate the provision of accessible, timely, and consistent
versions of print textbooks in the United States, the Department of
Education funded the National Center on Accessing the General
Curriculum (NCAC) at the Center on Applied Special Technologies, Inc.
(CAST) to establish technical specifications for a voluntary national
instructional materials accessibility standard. Beginning in November
2002, NCAC convened a panel of 43 experts, composed of educators,
publishers, technology specialists, and disability groups. The National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) also participated on the
panel. The panel held three public meetings in January, March, and June
2003, and conducted extensive teleconference and online discussions.
[[Page 37303]]
The panel developed, with consensus, a common standard for digital
source files that can be used to accurately and reliably produce
instructional materials in a variety of alternate formats using the
same source file. This standard, known as the National Instructional
Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS, version 1.0), provides a
single, uniform format that can be used for the electronic files
associated with instructional materials. The Department announced the
establishment of the NIMAS as a voluntary standard on July 27, 2004.
Additional information on the standard and the expert panel's report is
available at
http://nimas.cast.org/about/index.html.
The purpose of the NIMAS is to help increase the availability and
timely delivery of print instructional materials in accessible formats
to blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary schools
and secondary schools. The term print instructional materials is
defined in section 674(e)(3)(C) of the Act, and the term blind or other
persons with print disabilities is defined in section 674(e)(3)(A) of
the Act.
Under section 674(e)(4) of the Act, the NIMAS applies to print
instructional materials published after the date on which the final
rule establishing the NIMAS is published in the Federal Register. This
notice proposes to establish the NIMAS and would amend 34 CFR part 300
for purposes of complying with section 674(e)(4) of the Act. A separate
rulemaking proceeding will be conducted to require States to adopt the
standard. In this separate notice, the Secretary will propose other
amendments to 34 CFR part 300, which will contain information and seek
public comment on the requirement for States to adopt the NIMAS in a
timely manner after it has been established by the Department, as set
forth in section 612(a)(23)(A) of the Act.
Significant Proposed Regulation
We propose to establish the NIMAS in our regulations by adding an
appendix to 34 CFR part 300 that will set forth the technical elements
and specifications for the standard. The proposed appendix is included
at the end of this notice.
Executive Order 12866
Potential Costs and Benefits
Under Executive Order 12866, we have assessed the potential costs
and benefits of this regulatory action.
The potential costs associated with the proposed standard are those
resulting from statutory requirements and those we have determined to
be necessary for administering this program effectively and
efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this regulatory action, we have determined that the
benefits would justify the costs.
We have also determined that this regulatory action would not
unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the
exercise of their governmental functions.
Summary of Potential Costs and Benefits
The National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
applies to print instructional materials required by State or local
educational agencies (LEAs) for classroom use. Publishers, State and
local educational agencies, authorized conversion entities, and
students potentially will be affected by NIMAS.
The adoption of the NIMAS is expected to provide long-term cost
savings for publishers of educational materials. Currently, 26 States
have laws requiring publishers to provide State or local educational
agencies with electronic files suitable for converting print
instructional materials into Braille versions. Depending on what
requirements each State has enacted, publishers may be required to
produce a conversion file in as many as 6 different file formats. This
process wastes time and effort on the part of publishers and is
unnecessarily costly. Adoption of the NIMAS means that publishers won't
have to convert their materials to several different file formats.
The NIMAS will supersede the different standards for source files
currently used by some State and local educational agencies to produce
accessible versions of textbooks. However, unless States and LEAs
currently use electronic source files to produce their own accessible
versions of textbooks, this will not result in any additional cost to
these agencies beyond that associated with publishing new State rules,
as needed, to implement the NIMAS. In most cases, States and LEAs
currently contract with third party providers to take the electronic
source files and convert them into accessible formats such as Braille,
digital text, and digital audio. These third party providers may
encounter some cost in adapting to the use of the NIMAS files, but this
will be more than offset by the savings realized from only having to
work with one format instead of multiple formats. In addition, these
entities will not need to spend exorbitant amounts of time manipulating
different types of files in order to convert them into accessible
formats. Working with only one format is also a benefit for publishers
of textbooks and will result in cost savings for these entities. Any
cost to States and LEAs in moving to NIMAS should be offset by the
increased speed in which they receive files and improved consistency
and quality of the files received.
The adoption of NIMAS is expected to be highly valuable to students
who are blind or who have print disabilities because they will have
access to accessible versions of textbooks in a timely manner. Current
methods of converting print textbooks into Braille and other
specialized formats are complex and time consuming, and the process can
take months to complete. In many cases students who are blind or who
have print disabilities now receive accessible textbooks and other
instructional materials well after the beginning of the instructional
period. The adoption of the NIMAS will improve both the speed of the
process and the quality and consistency of books converted into
specialized formats.
The Act does not require existing textbooks to be converted to
NIMAS. There also are no associated costs to prepare special education
instructors to use or train others to use this new standard because
teachers and other educational staff receive the books in their final
accessible format. The method used to produce the book is not visible
to the teachers or students, except that use of the universal standard
is expected to speed the delivery of the books to the students and
improve the quality and consistency of the texts.
Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
The Secretary certifies that this proposed standard would not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. This proposed standard would largely affect States and State
agencies or individuals. States and State agencies are not defined as
``small entities'' in the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
The proposed standard does not contain any information collection
requirements.
Intergovernmental Review
This standard is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
[[Page 37304]]
Federalism
Executive Order 13132 requires us to ensure meaningful and timely
input by State and local elected officials in the development of
regulatory policies that have federalism implications. ``Federalism
implications'' means substantial direct effects on the States, on the
relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of
government. The proposed standard may have federalism implications, as
defined in Executive Order 13132. We encourage State and local elected
officials to review and provide comments on this proposed standard.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number does not apply)
List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 300
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS),
Special education, Grant programs--accessible instructional materials,
Technology.
Dated: June 24, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Secretary proposes
to amend part 300 of title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations as
follows:
PART 300--ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH
DISABILITIES
1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1411-1420, unless otherwise noted.
2. Appendix D is added to part 300 as follows:
Appendix D--National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard
Technical Specifications--The Baseline Element Set
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Element Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. Document-level tags (required to be valid XML)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
dtbook................... The root element in the Digital Talking Book
DTD. contains metadata in
and the contents itself in .
Head..................... Contains metainformation about the book but
no actual content of the book itself, which
is placed in . This information is
consonant with the information in
xhtml, see [XHTML11STRICT]. Other
miscellaneous elements can occur before and
after the required