Please note below the student eligibility criteria now in effect (August 2007).

This database provides public access to the list of accessible digital materials available through the Kentucky textbook adoption process. It also provides secure access for Digital Rights Managers (DRM) to request these materials for qualifying students with disabilities.

Kentucky public schools use a variety of technology to provide students with disabilities increased access to the general education curriculum. Textreader software (i.e. text-to-speech) is one means of access that provides reading support for students with print disabilities. In order for schools and students to use this software, curriculum materials must be available in an electronic format. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE), Division for Exceptional Children Services, partners with the University of Louisville’s Center for Innovation and Instruction for Diverse Learners (CIIDL), to provide textbooks and other print instructional materials in an accessible digital format.

With the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, Congress established the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS). The NIMAS outlines a set of consistent and valid XML-based source files created by K–12 curriculum publishers or other content producers. These source files are used to create accessible specialized formats (i.e., braille, audio, digital, large-print, etc.) of print instructional materials. The NIMAS requirements affect all basal and related core materials published after July 2006. As these materials are adopted by Kentucky public schools, the CIIDL will convert the source files to a student-ready format and deliver them to the schools upon request by a DRM. See http://nimas.cast.org for more information on NIMAS. Materials published prior to July 2006 that have been delivered to the CIIDL by publishers are also available for request by DRMs.

The KDE in partnership with the CIIDL provides the following services:

  1. Receives, classifies and catalogs pre-July 2006 accessible materials (e.g., copyrighted and non-copyrighted materials).
  2. Disseminates accessible materials to authorized school users.
  3. Utilizes the KY Accessible Materials Database (KAMD) to track requested materials sent to schools to maximize copyright protection.
  4. Provides training and technical assistance to school staff on accessible technology tools and use of accessible content.
  5. Assists with awareness efforts and development of materials to increase consumer understanding and use of accessible digital materials.

Who qualifies for use of copyright materials from the KAMD?

Digital books from the KAMD are available to students with disabilities who meet the following criteria:

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.

New for 2007-08 school year: Before any student is given access to CDs from the KAMD, each school must have a completed NIMAS Eligibility form on file.