Sources for Accessing Non-copyrighted Digital Curriculum
There are MANY sites on the Internet to download books or to read them directly on the web page. When downloading files pay attention to the file format to make sure you will be able to open and read with a text reader.
Files with the extension .doc will open in Microsoft Word. Files with the extension .txt or .rtf will open in any word processor, including Microsoft Word.
Files with extension .html are web pages and are usually readable with a text or screen reader, unless the text is embedded in an image.
Files with extension .pdf open in Acrobat Reader. These files may or may not be text-based (readable by a text or screen reader). Some .pdf files that are scanned images cannot be read with a text reader.
Microsoft Reader files are proprietary and will only open in that program. However, the program is a free download for Windows computers, and text-to-speech can be an added feature.
To begin looking for a book in the public domain visit Kentucky Accessible Materials Database Resource Links.
Kentucky Accessible Materials Database (KAMD)
As of August 2006, federal law requires publishers of K-12 curriculum to provide a digital version of textbooks and other related materials. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) established the format of these digital versions as the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, or NIMAS (pronounced Nye-mas). Textbooks that are on the multiple list, sometimes referred to as the adoption list, and also published after July 2006, are available through the Kentucky Accessible Materials Database (KAMD).
The Kentucky Accessible Materials Database (KAMD) provides local schools a way to find out what instructional materials are available in digital format, and allows schools to order the digital materials for use by qualified students with disabilities.
Qualified students are those who meet the definition as described by the Library of Congress and referenced in IDEA 2004:
From Federal Register 34 CFR Parts 300 and 301, p. 46621, published August 14, 2006:
The Library of Congress regulations (36 CFR 701.6(b)(1)) related to the Act to Provide Books for the Adult Blind (approved March 3, 1931, 2 U.S.C. 135a) provide that blind persons or other persons with print disabilities include:
(i) Blind persons whose visual acuity, as determined by competent authority, is 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting glasses, or whose widest diameter if visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees.
(ii) Persons whose visual disability, with correction and regardless of optical measurement, is certified by competent authority as preventing the reading of standard printed material.
(iii) Persons certified by competent authority as unable to read or unable to use standard printed material as a result of physical limitations.
(iv) Persons certified by competent authority as having a reading disability resulting from organic dysfunction and of sufficient severity to prevent their reading printed material in a normal manner.
Competent authority is defined in 36 CFR 701.6(b)(2) as follows:
(i) In cases of blindness, visual disability, or physical limitations ‘‘competent authority’’ is defined to include doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, ophthalmologists, optometrists, registered nurses, therapists, professional staff of hospitals, institutions, and public or welfare agencies (e.g., social workers, case workers, counselors, rehabilitation teachers, and superintendents).
(ii) In the case of a reading disability from organic dysfunction, competent authority is defined as doctors of medicine who may consult with colleagues in associated disciplines.
Before a school can request and receive materials from the KAMD, its principal must designate a building level staff person to be the Digital Rights Manager (DRM). The DRM is the local school level staff person deemed by the principal to be responsible for monitoring and documenting copyright compliance within the school. DRMs who have been appointed by their principal receive a login and password to order digital copies (CDs) of textbooks available through the KAMD. Also, before any student is given access to CDs from the KAMD, each school must have a completed NIMAS Eligibility form on file.
To search for books available in digital format to students with a print disability, go to the KAMD Search Textbooks page.
Schools that purchase textbooks off the multiple list are responsible for ensuring that the publisher will submit the digital version of their books to the NIMAC, the national repository for NIMAS file sets. This is done through the completion of the OFF-List Notification Form.
Center for Innovation and Instruction for Diverse Learners (CIIDL)
The CIIDL is an interagency source for accessible digital materials for individuals whose disability limits their access to printed materials. This consortium, housed at the University of Louisville, offers the following services:
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Serve as a state repository for accessible materials
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Identify, locate, receive classify and catalog accessible materials (e.g., copyrighted and non-copyrighted materials).
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Disseminate accessible materials to authorized users
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Convert non-copyrighted text or electronic materials to an accessible format
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Develop and implement effective tracking systems to maximize copyright protection.
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Provide training and technical assistance to member agency staff on accessible technology tools and use of accessible content
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Preparation and provision of NIMAS files to student-ready format.
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Assist with awareness efforts and development of materials to increase consumer understanding and use of accessible digital materials.
Copyright Issues
Another way that educators are providing access to print materials in digital format is by the use of a scanner and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). OCR software allows a page of text to be converted into a digital file for text reading by the computer. While there are conditions in federal copyright law which allow for the conversion of text material to a digital format, it is extremely important that certain conditions be met to avoid violation of the copyright statute.
The Chafee Amendment to Chapter 1 of title 17, United States Code, of September 16, 1996, allows authorized entities to reproduce or distribute copies of previously published non-dramatic literary works in specialized formats exclusively for use by persons with blindness or other disabilities. The following provides the parameters that must be met by any local school district when using scanning to convert copyrighted material to a digital format for access by students with disabilities who are low or emerging readers.
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Scanning material is never to replace the purchasing of material;
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Scanning can only be done by an "authorized entity" as defined in Section 121(c) of the Chafee amendment [Section 121(c)(1): "For purposes of this section, the term . . . 'authorized entity' means a nonprofit organization or a governmental agency that has a primary mission to provide specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities." In accordance with the Chafee amendment definition of an authorized entity only being a "governmental agency that has the primary mission of providing specialized services for persons with blindness or other disabilities", ONLY special education teachers whose primary purpose is serving such persons are deemed authorized to utilize scanning for purposes of accessibility of materials for students with disabilities who otherwise cannot access the content.
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Scanned material must be used only for students with identified disabilities, i.e. those with an IEP or 504 plan.
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Scanned copies are not to be sold or shared if such exchange would lead to avoiding the purchase of the copyrighted material by a second party.
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Scanned copyrighted materials under Section 121 of the Chafee amendment shall (1) "bear a notice that any further reproduction or distribution in a format other than a specialized format is an infringement," and (2) "include a copyright notice identifying the copyright owner and date of the original publication."
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Assessments that are standardized, secure or norm-referenced tests may not be scanned.
The Kentucky Department of Education supports the appropriate use of copyrighted materials.